Audiobooks discussion
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New Library Format on Audible
message 51:
by
Specs
(new)
Jul 12, 2016 01:06PM
Yes Robin, that's the old wish list. I'm complaining about the new one, were the arrow's are missing!
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I just got connected with the new library format today, and I have to say that in the 30 minutes I've looked at it, I both like and dislike it. I like that it shows me how many books I've purchased from audible since I started (560), I like the fact that the narrator's name is right there for me to see; I like being able to click on the different categories and seeing what books I have in that genre; and I like that list format only shows only one entry per book. I don't like that I can't sort it by clicking on the headings at the top; I don't like that I can't see when I purchased the book; I don't like that it no longer has the different pages, so I can go to the different pages - I have to go all the way to the bottom of the screen and click on load more, which is just a pain. So, yes, I will say quite firmly, that I both like and dislike it. LOL <><
I too finally got the new library format, I do like the genres even though I feel some are categorized wrong, most that are in the kids category I consider Young Adult and almost all the ones it says are Romance I don't consider them romance but that might just be me.I don't mind it at all which doesn't happen often when websites change a format I am used to!
I still have the old wish list and sorting by price is currently not working anyway. It's sorting by member price, at the moment, and not by the whispersync discounted price.
The only thing I don't care for on the new library at first glance is that I used to rate books after I read them, and then when I was skimming for a particular unread book, I could just look for the one without hte bright stars. The "Finished" tag is more subtle.
However, if you look on the bottom of the left bar, there's now a filter option for "Not Finished" which is even better. However, I wish you could mark stuff as finished manually. I've picked up a handful of free classics I already read in print on the off-chance I might want to listen to them someday.
I got my new library this evening. There are definitely some plus and minuses.I would like to filter by narrator. I know this has been given to Audible as feedback many times.
You have to go to the book to see if there is a pdf accompaniment . It used to show in the list.
Like Msjodi, I also like that you can see how many books you've purchased since joining (442 for me). And I like that you can see how many in each genre.
I decided to see if my wishlist had been restored in light of the fact that the library was revamped. It's back! Yeah! I'm still not happy with customer service over this whole issue. We've been back and forth since March. If they had simply told me they were working on a redesign, I would have been content to wait. Why the secrecy? Why lead me on and then finally just ignore me?
Msjodi777 wrote: "I don't like that I can't sort it by clicking on the headings at the top; I don't like that it no longer has the different pages, so I can go to the different pages - I have to go all the way to the bottom of the screen and click on load more, which is just a pain. "Totally agree with this! Same problem on the UK site with my wish list.
Melanti wrote: "However, if you look on the bottom of the left bar, there's now a filter option for "Not Finished" which is even better. However, I wish you could mark stuff as finished manually. I've picked up a handful of free classics I already read in print on the off-chance I might want to listen to them someday...."This is one of the things I really don't like about the new format, but it's only because I do not use the audible app on my devices.... I listen using iTunes on my computer, so audible never gets the info as to whether or not I've started or finished a book. For me that information is useless.... well except for the fact that I am keeping track of how many hours I've listened to audiobooks so far this year.
Pretty amazing how we all have different reactions to the same thing... <><
Msjodi777 wrote: "Melanti wrote: "However, if you look on the bottom of the left bar, there's now a filter option for "Not Finished" which is even better. However, I wish you could mark stuff as finished manually. I..."If we could manually mark stories as "finished" on the website like you can on the apps then the filter would work for you too.
OK, finally got the new format today. Must be getting released to the masses. It's OK so far. I don't like how far I have to dig to find out whether I rated it or not. Overall, I see a few gains and a few losses. Given that I'm about to give up on my Audible account for awhile, and that I almost exclusively use the app, I guess I'll survive.
Just saw the new AUDIBLE.com MY LIBRARY site. Not sure if I like it. Will check it out on computer later.
I haven't seen it on my computer. Just took a little a quick look on my iPhone.
I got the new format just now on my computer. I'm glad I had a warning from here about how to download. I'm really not happy that I can't see which books I've read and reviewed. It seems they want us to listen through the app or streaming and I never do either. So maybe that's fair. I'm listening outside of the site so I need to track outside of the site. I think I'll make a spreadsheet. But none of my books will ever show Finished on the site. Oh well. There is a help section that explains how to use the site. I am one of the few people who reads instructions and manuals so I appreciated that.
It shows 297 books since I joined in 2011, but that counts 11 chapters of Belgravia separately, and any free downloads of short stories, etc.
I played for a bit earlier today and you can stream a book and fast forward to the last couple of minutes and just let it play to the end... It'll change to 0 minutes left, but it doesn't mark it as finished. I'm really tempted to download some of these and do the same from the app, just so the filter will work right.
But if you want a visual indicator of which are done which aren't, streaming and skipping directly to the last chapter is an option.
I still have the old library format. With all the people on here who say they have switched to the new format in the last several days, I have been checking, but still the same as it has always been.I don't show any books as finished. Never have. I do see which books I have rated and reviewed. I also show which books have been downloaded.
I always listen through the app on my PC and my Android tablet so I don't really run into some of the issues that many of you have. Frankly, I wouldn't know how to listen through a third party app. I like the Audible apps just fine. Never had any real issues with any of them I have used.
It's still rolling out, Jeffrey. When I look at it on this computer, I still have the old format. When I look at it on another PC, I get the new format. It's very random.
Different OS? With the wish list, I had the new one on my mac, but on windows 8 computer it was months before it changed to the new look.
Hm. Windows 10 on one and an earlier version of Windows on the other.Old Windows got it within the last week. New Windows still has the old library.
Robin wrote: "So maybe that's fair. I'm listening outside of the site so I need to track outside of the site. I think I'll make a spreadsheet. But none of my books will ever show Finished on the site. Oh well....."Like you, I don't use any of the apps for listening, so all of my books show that I've never read any of them.... I guess audible thinks I just purchase and download my books, but never ever listen to them.... wonder what they think I do with them.... <><
Melanti wrote: "Hm. Windows 10 on one and an earlier version of Windows on the other.Old Windows got it within the last week. New Windows still has the old library."
@Specs: I have Windows 10 on my computer, and have the new library, so it's not OS... unless it's Windows, MAC, or something else....
Well, I just tried an experiment... I normally use FoxFire for my browser, but I also have the Chromium and Edge browsers on my computer.... I have the new library in both FoxFire and Cromium, but the old library in edge.... have to admit, it's kinda fun trying to figure our how this works....<><
One of the things that I still don't like about this is the fact that there aren't pages. If you are browsing in your library, and see a couple of books that you want to rate and review, you can do one, but then you are sent back to the top so you have to scroll down to the second book again. I have the same problem with audible's wish list... I go in periodically and clean it out... books I have purchased elsewhere or have checked out of the library and I don't intend to read again need to be gotten rid of, so I go thru and delete them... I cannot go thru and check all the books I want to get rid of in the list, then click remove which would be a big help. Nor can I check the books on one page (say page 15) and go back to it. Audible takes me back to page 1, and I have to click 14 times, waiting for each page to load between clicks, before I get back to page 15. While I have learned to start at the beginning and go half-way thru the list, then click on the last page and move forward to the half-way mark, I still have multiple clicks with a wait time between each click. (Yea, I have a very extensive wish list.... maybe I need to move it into an excel spreadsheet....) It just makes me crazy... well, crazier... <><
Yes, could be browser related and not OS - anyway, I was glad I had a few more months of the old wish list, but that's gone now.
Melanti wrote: "It's still rolling out, Jeffrey. When I look at it on this computer, I still have the old format. When I look at it on another PC, I get the new format. It's very random."From what I hear of the new library, I think I am hoping I never get it. I like the old format. I am used to it.
If it is browser related I might try an experiment. I have Edge, Chrome and Firefox (chrome is my default). I might try the other browsers and see if anything changes.
Edit: Okay, I just tried Edge, Firefox and Chrome and I have the old library format in all three. Maybe it's because I am not a member that it has not rolled out to me yet.
Having had the chance to actually try using the new style, I have to say - at risk of repeating myself and everybody else - I hate it. The date of purchase is ... just gone, apparently; it's certainly no longer something you can sort by, and I simply am not finding it anywhere. ETA: you can sort by "most recent" - don't know why I didn't see that. Still - date? Gone.And you still can't sort by narrator. At least the narrator is visible on the first screen, along with the length - this is good.
However, when I tried sorting by the author, my entire library disappeared. That was cute.
Why should I care when or if I downloaded something? Of all the possible things to sort by, that would be the last I'd want or need.
There should be an option left - want the old style? Keep the old style. New doesn't always suck, but this does.
I have the new format on my computer using chrome. But on my chromebook it is still the old format. That's strange to me. Hoping the chromebook never changes but that's probably just wishful thinking.
I don't think it has anything to do with your browser. I have three; Edge, Chrome and Firefox. My library is the same on all three. I still have the old style, which is fine with me.
Well, I had the new look wish list for months on my mac, while it still showed the old wish list on Windows 8. So there is something that triggers it and it's nog your account because I was logged in (wish list).To my shock, today I have the new library format on the mac. Will check tomorrow what windows has to offer... The old wish list is gone for good.
I now have the new library! I just checked a few minutes ago. I don't like not being able to check my books to see which ones I have rated and reviewed like I could in the old format. Also, I noticed several books that I have listened to that are marked "Finished" in my Audible apps but not in my library.
Another thing; why would I want to sort my books by what I have downloaded? I already know what has been downloaded just by looking at the book on the Audible app. I only keep books on my laptop and Android until I finish listening to them. If I am looking at my library on Audible.com I am most likely looking to make sure whether or not I have rated and reviewed something or to make sure a new book I just purchased is showing up. Those are the only two reasons I go to my library to look at it.
For me I like to see what I have downloaded. I sometimes buy multiple books and when I have some time I download them to my computer (since longer books can take 5 minutes or so). I don't always remember where I left off. So the indication is useful. Generally my whole library is on my computer and from there I choose what to put on my iPod, tablet, etc. With all the issues and no guarantee how membership will work in the future, I think everyone should download whatever you own. Audiobooks take up very little space compared to music or video.
I didn't realize you couldn't sort by date purchased, I do sometimes want that, and I definitely want the indication of whether I've reviewed or not. It's going to look like I've never finished (or started!) any of my books since I don't play them from the site, but I don't mind that. I already track my reading both online and on paper.
Do you listen to your books using one of the Audible apps?I have never listened to a book online ever, but most of my books that I have listened to show as finished online.
Not sure if you were replying to my comment - I never use the Audible app. Even on my tablet, I go to the regular website if I want to shop/see my wish list/check my library. I load the specific books I want from my computer to my other devices, and just play from there.
I really like the audible app and use it to play all my audiobooks - even ones not from audible (on iOS the app can "see" audiobooks loaded using iTunes)
Robin wrote: "For me I like to see what I have downloaded. I sometimes buy multiple books and when I have some time I download them to my computer (since longer books can take 5 minutes or so). I don't always re..."Gee, Robin, I could have written your post word for word. The only place I have been able to find the purchase date for my books in under Account Details then scroll down to: Transactions and Returns almost at the bottom of the page, and click on Make Returns and View Past Orders. I was able to find most of my books there, though it only goes back to 2006, and I show that I purchased a couple of books in 2003 and 2004. Those just don't show up on this list, even though they are in my library. Hope that helps. <><
Hunchback Jack wrote: "I really like the audible app and use it to play all my audiobooks - even ones not from audible (on iOS the app can "see" audiobooks loaded using iTunes)"I'm not Robin, but like Robin, I listen from my computer or transfer books from my computer to my devices, without listening thru the app. When I first started with audible I had to do it this way, then when I got a smart phone, and could download using the app, it was so quirky, and used so much data, that it wasn't worth it to me. My son was using my account for a while, and had the same problem with it. So, while I do listen from my iTouch, I transfer from the computer to the iTouch thru iTunes. My excuse is that I'm too old to change now... yep, I'm sticking with that one. One of the best I've ever come up with. LOL <><
ETA
Hunchback Jack, do you use OverDrive for audiobooks too? If so, is the audible app able to "see" those too, or do you have to use the mp3 player or the OD app? <><
Robin wrote: "Not sure if you were replying to my comment - I never use the Audible app. Even on my tablet, I go to the regular website if I want to shop/see my wish list/check my library. I load the specific bo..."If you don't use the Audible apps to listen to books on your devices, what do you use?
I have been downloading my books to my laptop. For those of you who move books from their computers to their devices, what do you move them to and how do you do it?
I actually don't know exactly how it works! I have used all Apple products for years, since my son works at an Apple store. I may have had to do something the first time but I don't remember - all I do now on my desktop computer is click Download in the Audible library to and it shows up within a few minutes in iTunes. Then I plug in an IPod or other device and sync up which books I want in the same way I've selected songs or playlists in the past. It sometimes is a little tricky to find where audiobooks appear in the iTunes library as that has changed with various upgrades. Audible could blow up tomorrow (heaven forbid!) and I'd still have everything I've purchased. I guess if I was away from home and really wanted to listen to something not on my current device I could go to the site or the app to stream it. But I have room for multiple books, so I always have choices if one book isn't working out.
That's one reason I'm loyal to Audible, it just works so well. I stayed with cassettes until about 2011 because I thought digital would be complicated, and it can be depending how you do it. With Audible I have never ever had any technical problem downloading or playing something or having parts of a book out of order, etc. I imagine that if you are using a Kindle, it's very intuitive too as you would be staying in the Amazon universe.
Jeffrey wrote: "I have been downloading my books to my laptop. For those of you who move books from their computers to their devices, what do you move them to and how do you do it?"I either download and move to an iPod, or listen with the Cloud Player - more often the latter than the former, for a while now. But if I do download a book, I'm going to be checking my iTunes list or my iPod to see what I have - I don't care about whether I've ever downloaded something when I'm looking at my Audible library. It's a completely meaningless tool for me: just because I've downloaded something doesn't mean I've listened to it, and just because I haven't doesn't mean I haven't. I'd rather be able to sort by narrator or date purchased - which I can't.
I also don't give a rat's hind-end about "Time Left". Length would be useful; why on earth would I care about how much time is left? I don't listen all the way through to "Audible hopes you have enjoyed this presentation" all the time - why do I have to look at "4 minutes" and (in the case of a book that ended with a section of recipes) "13 minutes"?
Tracey wrote: "I also don't give a rat's hind-end about "Time Left". Length would be useful; why on earth would I care about how much time is left? I don't listen all the way through to "Audible hopes you have enjoyed this presentation" all the time - why do I have to look at "4 minutes" and (in the case of a book that ended with a section of recipes) "13 minutes"?."With Immersion Reading on an Amazon Fire tablet it never completes any of the audio books to that point, so none of them that I have read that way show up as read in the new format. It is useless information to me too, they show as 3 minutes left because that is where the syncing stopped on the tablet. You would think that using a Kindle Fire it would be very intuitive remaining in the Amazon universe but it isn't. Audible needed to do more testing on this design instead of pushing it out to us users to test for them due to an arbitrary deadline.
Jeffrey wrote: "I have been downloading my books to my laptop. For those of you who move books from their computers to their devices, what do you move them to and how do you do it?"Jeffrey, I pretty much do the same thing that Robin does: download into iTunes, then let iTunes move the files to my iDevices. I've always liked iTunes (until the current version that completely forgets about those of us who listen to audiobooks). Even so, I like to have my books sorted by the author's last name, so I change every book that goes into iTunes to read that way. I also make sure that purchases from other places that show up in mp3 format are showing up as an audiobook so that I can find them when I look for them on my devices. OneClickDigital (OCD) is really bad about not having the parts numbered, so I automatically add the numbers for the tracks in iTunes before playing the book on my device. (trust me, it's a lot easier to do that on the computer than it is to move the files around to a proper playing order on the device!)
The last thing I do (though I haven't done it in a while) is move the audiobooks to my external hard drive. From that hard drive, I can put them in or take them out of iTunes, so that I can listen to the books any time I want.
Hope that helps. <><
Doug wrote: " Audible needed to do more testing on this design instead of pushing it out to us users to test for them due to an arbitrary deadline......"Woulda been nice if they had asked us what to include first too, doncha think? <><
Oh H!! I just got the new library format and I hate it. It isn't even correct on which books I have downloaded and which I haven't yet.
Thanks to those of you who answered my question. My problem is I don't have any iDevices so downloading to iTunes wouldn't help me. I have a PC laptop and an Android Tablet. I don't think it will sync to iTunes.
Jeffrey wrote: "Thanks to those of you who answered my question. My problem is I don't have any iDevices so downloading to iTunes wouldn't help me. I have a PC laptop and an Android Tablet. I don't think it will s..."Ah, I see.... My son Drew has an android device, and we put mp3 files on his memory card all the time so he can listen to them. I will get him to let me put an audible file on his card to see if he can access it. We just drag and drop the files from the computer to the card, then his device can see it. Would that help? <><
Maybe! I am just looking for a way to download all my books to the Audible app on Windows 10 and then sync only the ones I want to listen to on my Android to my android device. I have a 16GB memory card on it and use the Audible Android app to listen to books on the go.
The old library format is back! at least for the moment
Yes, my wish list and library (audible UK) have both gone back to the old format since yesterday, and both on windows and mac.
Audiobooks
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