Audiobooks discussion
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Where do you get your audio content and what device do you use to listen?
Hi, all,I use Audible plus OverDrive from one library and now OneClickdigital from another. OneClick just replaced NetLibrary which worked fine. But I spent I-don't-know-how-many-hours trying to put a OneClick book on my device - an XM satellite Inno which stores MP3 and wma files. I found so many bugs with the OneClick software that I actually called the company to discuss it with them. They were super, super nice and helpful and said they're working on it - and thanked me for my input. I do hope they fix it soon. The program looks promising and they've got lots of books OverDrive doesn't have.
I can't remember if I've ever posted in this group before, though I've been a member for a while. In case I haven't, I'm Ellen, a librarian, writer and major audiobook lover. Sadly, my own library only has CD's so far but we're working on closing that particular digitial divide.
Thanks for the info, Ellen!My library's digital page says NetLibrary is temporarily unavailable while moving, nothing about OneClick at all.
NetLibrary was bought out, I believe by Ebsco which owns Recorded Books which has started OneClick. In any event, OneClick is the new library software version of NetLibrary and is part of Recorded Books.I have a feeling that in a few weeks they'll have worked out many if not all of the bugs.
My library's NetLibrary holdings haven't been terrific for my taste, but occasionally there are good ones.
My library had announced they would close the relationship with NetLibrary a few weeks before the time for the switch, mentioned that you could keep any books checked out until the end of the borrowing window and had no word on anything new to replace it. I had one checked out but haven't tried it, too many others in the queue.
When I was working I had an account with audible.com, but now I'm totally dependant upon the library. I burn them to a terrabyte drive I have and them put them on my iPod.
L.A.Theatre Works, multi-cast recording is offering downloads for $4.95 each. There's lots of free stuff here too.
RCHK LIRC wrote: "I have an account with audible.com and have just downloaded the audible.com app to my iPhone which now allows me to use my iPhone as my audiobook device. I'm wondering what other good options peopl..."I have been amazed at the number of audio books that my library has and they have a special section for MP3 downloads. It requires an app that is free but it allows you to search your libraries offerings in downloads. I also will use a CD player and listen the the even more extensive books on CD. If that doesn't work you can always burn the CDs and download them to your MP3 player. I also belong to Audible.com but before ordering I first check the library and at least 80% of the time they have it and the price is really great- FREE.
Happy listening
A suggestion- any book on audio written by Adrian McKinty it you like crime novels. He is a god.
George wrote: "RCHK LIRC wrote: "I have an account with audible.com and have just downloaded the audible.com app to my iPhone which now allows me to use my iPhone as my audiobook device. I'm wondering what other ..."Another source for audio books is SWAP.com a website that lets you swap books with others and they have recently added audio books.
Thanks for the tip George!George wrote: "A suggestion- any book on audio written by Adrian McKinty it you like crime novels. He is a god. "
I listen to audio books on my I touch, Ipad, and Ipod classic. However there are some very cheap alternatives:The Opod Shuffle is only $50 and has enough memory to hold a book or two maybe more. On the Audible web site they have a comprehensive list of all of the MP3 players that support their Audio book format.
Happy listening - reading with your ears
G
I am interested in well written crime novels on Audio with great readers. It is amazing how a reader can butcher an otherwise good book. I am not too interested in the more popular stuff like Nora Reoberts, Janet Evanovich etc. They seem to be book factories not authors. In the like column Adrien McKinty heads the list and it also includes Elmore Lenoard, Decaln Hughes, P.D. James, Ian Rankin, Kate Atkinson, John LeCarre.Any suggestions
G
The Sansa Clip plus is well under $50 - holds over a dozen books (with a card slot as well!) and has a display screen to see the loaded files.
George wrote: "I am interested in well written crime novels on Audio with great readers. It is amazing how a reader can butcher an otherwise good book. I am not too interested in the more popular stuff like Nora ..."Have you ever tried any Ruth Rendel?
John wrote: "The Sansa Clip plus is well under $50 - holds over a dozen books (with a card slot as well!) and has a display screen to see the loaded files."Hey John,
Back in Feb/March we talked a bit about navigation issues with the Clip+, and I think I mentioned some minor difficulty with switch "bounce" whether or not the Clip+ was in the case with the plastic window.
I'm having more and more trouble with that. When it happens I'm usually rewinding for a minute or two somewhere in a track (doesn't seem to matter where). When I let up on the switch, the Clip+ jumps ahead to the beginning of the next track.
Argh! I listen to MP3, one file per track. So after a "bounce forward" like this I have to go back to the beginning of the previous track/file and fast forward to get to where I wanted to be in the first place.
Not only is that bounce forward after rewind happening more often - now, when I'm fast forwarding in the original track to recover and I let up on the switch, it jumps forward one track again! I've kept a close eye on the timeline when I'm doing this, just to make sure I wasn't fast-forwarding too far.
This new bounce forward after fast forward seems to be related to how fast it's forwarding in a track. You know how the action accelerates after you've been fast-forwarding for a few seconds? The faster the action, the more likely it is to jump ahead to the next track when the switch is released.
As far as I can see, tt doesn't matter where in the track the Clip+ is when the jump forward occurs - as long as the forwarding is accelerated to a pretty fast clip (if you'll pardon the expression).
I've been getting around this new "feature" by fast-forwarding in small amounts to get to where I want to be.
Once again, this sort of thing happens whether or not the Clip+ is in the case with the plastic window.
I was wondering if you've been running into something similar with switch bounce as time passes. I'm pretty hard on these little players in terms rewind/fast foward, so I expect this kind of wear over time. I just wasn't expecting to see it so soon with the Clip+.
At this rate, I'll be lucky to get a year's use out of the thing.
Have a good one,
Big Al Mintaka
Al,I'm sorry but no, I haven't really encountered that situation. Then again, I rarely rewind or fast-forward. The two situations I've found, and they are really quibbles, would be that I can't scroll backwards in the list of audiobooks, and I can't seem to switch directly between podcasts, but must return the main device menu and return to Podcasts from there to choose another one.
No Big Al, I've hardly ever used FF. Now and again I'll do a small rewind alright, but have no issues with it. I generally know how much time I want to catch up on, and it's seldom very much. But I will keep an eye and if I notice anything hopefully I'll remember this and will report back.Sorry
John, I think I saw you mention that before, about scrolling backwards in the list of audiobooks - how do you mean? I was curious last time I saw it but don't think I commented, now I'm interested. I've just navigated mine
Music > Audiobooks - and here I can scroll both up and down through the list of book titles.
If I select a book (mine are in folders) I can also scroll both up and down through the files/tracks.
'Backwards' is baffling me!!
I can't seem to figure out how get the audiobooks list to scroll "up" - when I try the pause button is activated instead. Perhaps I'm just too fat fingered?
Weird... are you listening at the time? The buttons do seem to be context driven. I'm often caught that way at night when I want to set my 'sleep' time and also lower the volume. I have to wait a bit for it to 'get out of' whichever mode I've used before I can use the next... Like, if I've set sleep I need to wait for the main screen mode to return before the volume works and visa-versa...Could it be anything like that?
Hello everyone! I am new to audio books and only listen at work, I listen to CD's that I pick up from the library and I listen on my computer. Since I am mainly a book person, I would prefer not to spend money on audio books, since I am purchasing DT books and ebooks for my Nook.
John wrote: "I can't seem to figure out how get the audiobooks list to scroll "up" - when I try the pause button is activated instead. Perhaps I'm just too fat fingered?"How do you have it configured per MSC or MTP? I have mine set up as MSC (mass storage controller) because I need the folder/file handling for all that MP3 ripping and recording I do. The way Aprilla is describing the scrolling of the list in Music > Audiobooks is the way I see it.
The only catch to doing things this way in MSC mode is that the Clip+ still pays attention to the MP3 "Album" tags in every file/track. Thus, even if you have your books in separate folders, the names you actually see in the Music > Audiobooks list are the MP3 "Album" tags, not the folder names.
At least that's the way I can make it work on my Clip+ in MSC mode. I put my books in folders too, but this organization is visible in the Windows File Manager, not the Clip+.
Tangent - one other thing I noticed about MSC mode and flash cards: The flash card shows up in the Windows File Explorer as a separate drive from the "Sansa Clip+". In that separate drive, the folder organization is a little different.
In the Clip+ "drive", the Audiobooks folder is in the root. In the flash card "drive", Audiobooks is a subfolder of the Music folder.
However, as long as the "Album" tags in the audiobooks on both drives are consistently named, the books on both drives all show up in the same "Audiobooks" list in the Clip+ menu.
(Any tracks with blank "Album" tags in any folder are all listed in one place, in the "Unknown" book. This is actually handy for finding tag screwups)
Rambling again. Sorry about that. Anyway, how's your Clip+ configured, re MSC or MTP?
Later,
Big Al Mintaka
Alan wrote: "John wrote: "I can't seem to figure out how get the audiobooks list to scroll "up" - when I try the pause button is activated instead. Perhaps I'm just too fat fingered?"How do you have it config..."
MSC yes.
I'm into file management and have an audiobooks folder naming system for Windows/USB/Flash/whatever, also I am a tagger.
I (first converting all not to mp3s) use Mp3tag to have consistant Title, Author, Genre and Album tags for the Clip+ and then I re-number just to be sure LOL
But - this shouldn't have anything to do with scrolling... if the files can be seen in one direction they should be able to be seen in the opposite. We've just got to get it to scroll backwards LOL
hmmm there's plenty of room above the 'up' arrow for any fingers LOL but have you tried backwards scrolling with a pencil or other pointer or some such to navigate it, just in case???
I did get the scrolling to work both ways at long last - yay!I've never needed to use a storage card yet as I mostly listen to library and Audible books, which are far more compressed than ripped-from-CD ones. As I believe I've said, keeping each tiny track would drive me bonkers, so I rip each CD as a single file.
Oh good!I have both single long ones and multiple ones, I find no difference - except now I'm reminded of the question of fast forwarding/rewinding. As most of mine are multiple files I think I might hop back a file or so rather than rewind. Could be why I haven't noticed any jumping.
It's all very interesting :)
John wrote: "I just sent off a pair of Skullcandy ones -- they cost more but you only pay postage to them to get a replacement pair."Anyone use these?
iLuv i301 Lightweight Ear Buds + Volume Control
I meant to get Skullcandy ones to try out and I forgot :( I wanted ones with volume control, found the iLuv ones and clicked before I remembered... duh!! I hope they'll be comfy :)
After reading the discussions I checked on the Sansa at Amazon and found an offer I couldn't refuse LOLSansa Clip+ 8 Gb
Jbuds
portable stereo sys
combined price of $111.22
AND
if I joined Audible Gold for 1 year I got $100 off
What a deal
Thanks for all the great info.
if interested here is the link
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-C...
Shirley - the intro deals on devices for using audible.com are great. I predict you will love the Clip+
Ann wrote: "Shirley - the intro deals on devices for using audible.com are great. I predict you will love the Clip+"Thanks
I sure hope so. It sounds easy enough. I sometimes have trouble with technology.
UpdateIt was not $100 back it was the price of the Clip+ only so back to the drawing board.
I get two credit per month from Audible.com and sometimes get mp3 versions from friends and family. I keep a copy in iTunes on my computer and transfer my current read to my Nokia E71 smartphone. No need for an extra device. I also like to use a bluetooth earpiece for freedom of movement without cords and a Belkin device in the car that allows my phone to play through the car speakers! I always have my phone with me, so I can listen anywhere, anytime.
I use an iPod Nano (old version when it still had a camera and voice memos)to listen to audiobooks. I really like the bookmarking feature of the iDevices but I've used a Sansa device in the past an it worked fine at less than a third of the price. I get content from Audible, podiobooks, librivox, several podcasts and from the local used book store. Occasionally, I will make an impulse buy at a retail book store when I see something new I have been waiting for.
I was happy to finally figure out how to download audiobooks from my local library onto my ipod. I was never able to do it in the past. Now I'm addicted to library downloads. Although they only let you take 12 out at a time and give you 3 weeks. I have only 4 left until around the 18th when my first set of audiobooks expire.
I'm a big library-downloader too. I've found that my mp3 player is "dumb” and doesn't know when the audiobooks are supposed to expire (unlike my ebooks - my ability to read then expires right when the library says it will).
I have a sansa clip + that I recently purchased, but I don't see a bookmark funcion on it. Is that something brand new? I just got mine a few months ago and love it other than I can only move forward or backward by 1 hour segments.
The bookmark function is activated for if a book is downloaded to the Audiobooks folder, or is tagged as an audiobook before transfer to the Clip - same for podcasts. If a book is tagged something else (mystery, history, etc.) and transferred to the music folder, then there's no bookmark. Bookmarked books will show a prompt of "resume where you left off?" when you return to them from another file.You should be able to fast forward and rewind normally.
I get my audiobooks from www.weread4you.com as I don't have to sign up to a subscription there. I can be sure there will be no DRM, and I've got most of my books half price or better in their sales. To listen I either use an iPad or android phone, or stream from weread4you.
Both the iPad and phone (Samsung Galaxy) have good speakers (I would use headphones on a train/bus journey of course!) and it's nice to have the cover art there on screen. I also listen to Stitcher on my phone - anyone else using this 'Smart Radio'?
When I'm at home I just stream from weread4you through my computer, so I can take advantage of my computer's speakers.
I have never heard of Stitcher - How does it work? And is it available for the Iphone???
Stitcher can be downloaded to phones, either directly from www.stitcher.com/home.php or I believe by app for Apple.It is free and allows you to listen to various radio programs and podcasts (as long as you have an internet connection as it streams rather than downloads the audio).
For any Audible.com members or anyone interested in trying it out, they are having a sale through Sept 20th "Win-Win Sale 200+ books @ $4.95 each"I looked at the selection and I have bought 18 books, and I only got through the columns A-C and D-G. I had to stop after that or I'll never catch up on my reading list. There were also many excellent books listed which I have already bought. Most of the books seem to be around 4-star as rated by Audible.com members.
So if you want to stock up on some Audiobooks, this is a great opportunity.
(I am a Platinum member,so compared to using my credits, this is a 50% discount)
This is a great sale. I love going to my wishlist and seeing multiple books on there for $4.95. It's like Christmas!
I know what you mean. Christmas in September ...I love it. I adore long books on audio. I don't think I could get through Churchill without audio reading it to (for) me. Does Audible have these sales often? I just joined and before I used the credits the sale helped me decide which books to get first.
Fellows wrote: "Stitcher can be downloaded to phones, either directly from www.stitcher.com/home.php or I believe by app for Apple.It is free and allows you to listen to various radio programs and podcasts (as l..."
Hmmm, sounds interesting, I think I will check it out. - thanks for the information.
Shirley wrote: "I know what you mean. Christmas in September ...I love it. I adore long books on audio. I don't think I could get through Churchill without audio reading it to (for) me. Does Audible have these..."Yes, they do! One time you could buy Audible cash for a discount to use on any books, and they have these book sales it seems like almost every or every other month.
Oh No I see temptation in my future. :)
I use an Ipod 6th gen classic and a Motorola Droid. I stick pretty much with audible. Really they are the cheapest that I have found so far. Between Dad and I we need two accounts to keep up with our books. I never have enough credits for me and as a member they do offer discounts and extra credits to be purchased often. I am an audio book nut though. As is my father.
I think it's great you and your Dad are able to share, and it adds value to the books!
Thanks, The funny thing is we read mostly the same Genres. For example we are both big fans of Urban Fantasy. We often tear apart the books together. Also We love to compare books to movies or TV shows depending on the case.
Johnsergeant wrote: "For any Audible.com members or anyone interested in trying it out, they are having a sale through Sept 20th "Win-Win Sale 200+ books @ $4.95 each"I looked at the selection and I have bought 18 bo..."
Yup, I went for it. I knew I'd overspend, so I put all the titles I wanted in my cart - 24 when I was done, and just started trimming down. Got it down to 15 I really wanted. Only way I could come away with something of a reasonable cost :)
I am an Audible subscriber and I "borrow" tons of books via my library and OverDrive Media. Unfortunately, most of the books I can get from my library are in WMA format and I have an Android Phone. Android doesn't support WMA format on their OverDrive app. :( I listen to those books on my laptop. My audible books, I listen to on my laptop or on my phone on the go.Interested to find new avenues for audiobooks. My Audible habit is ridiculous and I can't afford it anymore.
Audiobooks
Books mentioned in this topic
11/22/63 (other topics)The Notebook / The Wedding (other topics)
The Passage (other topics)
Faceless Killers (other topics)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (other topics)
That sounds very good... and great tips on recording radio. It'll arrive before my next flight so I'm happy!