61–70 of 162 posts
Audible's greatest assault is on my wallet. So many audiobooks on that platform are exorbitantly expensive.
Down sides? Choice. (You want a different translation of The Brother's Karamazov? Ha!) You still need a hand, or at least a finger, to pause or go back, like when your mind inevitably wanders. You can't share an audio book with a friend, a downside of e-books too. And then there's the whole mind-wandering thing. I can't multitask. I can't listen to an audio book at just any time I need my hands for something else. The context switch is a buzzkill.
The key to a good audio book, in addition to the book itself being good, is a good reader, so here are some of my current faves with splendid readers: A Clockwork Orange narrated by Tom Hollander; Lincoln in the Bardo, Nick Offerman; Mrs Dalloway, Juliet Stevenson; Lolita, Jeremy Irons; and Milkman, Brid Brennan.
I just wish Audible had adopted a Netflix-style distribution system rather than an Amazon.com style one. Watching all the Netflix I want costs me fifteen dollars a month. Listening to all the Audible content I want would cost me hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month because I'd have to purchase each piece of media individually.
Have you tried scribd?
The best "all you can eat" plan I've seen is from Playster. A very decent selection around the same price as Audible.
For me audio books don't replace regular books, they supplement them, by expanding my reading time and by getting me to read books I'd otherwise not. I often end up with both the physical or e-book plus the audio book. Sometimes I start with the audio book, especially if the book is challenging, then later switch to the non-audio book. Sometimes I jump back and forth. Yeah, crazy. Down sides? Choice. (You want a diff…
Sure you can, DRM-breakers are easy to find.
Audible's greatest assault is on my wallet. So many audiobooks on that platform are exorbitantly expensive.
Yep. Fifty hours of Netflix is fifteen dollars a month. Fifty hours of Audible content is close to a hundred bucks. Now, two dollars per hour is cheap compared to traditional entertainment like movie theaters and DVDs but downright insane compared to YouTube and Spotify.
Instead of Audible, I recommend downloading audiobooks for free from your local library. The San Francisco Public Library uses an app called "Libby." (I think most major US libraries support it.) It's free and convenient. No complaints.
Although OverDrive has published multiple open letters proclaiming their dedication to accessibility, they have done relatively little in this space. In one disappointing conversation with a senior executive, I was told that if they can’t charge libraries more for a feature, they won’t add it. To my mind, the definition of accessibility is making decisions that make a product more accessible even if doing so does not make more money.
Given that OverDrive has 90% market share in the US, it’s a pity that this is their attitude toward accessibility.
Well, you are free to not do it In fact I can't stand podcasts or similars for the most part as I can't do some things while listening to it. Maybe driving but that's it. As much as it's nice to learn stuff, at some point it is just shallow edutainment (as much as I like some of the science yt channels)
I like podcasts because it turns things that I used to absolutely hate doing like dishes or gardening into somewhat enjoyable for me.
I just wish Audible had adopted a Netflix-style distribution system rather than an Amazon.com style one. Watching all the Netflix I want costs me fifteen dollars a month. Listening to all the Audible content I want would cost me hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month because I'd have to purchase each piece of media individually.
Until you want to read a book that isn’t currently available. Maybe it’s different on the American Netflix (and similar), but currently none of the streaming services in Denmark have all seasons of x-files. I prefer buying things to renting them, but of course with modern digital distribution you often end up renting them even when you “buy” because of DRMs. Maybe I’m old, but I just don’t get modern media consumptio…
Instead of Audible, I recommend downloading audiobooks for free from your local library. The San Francisco Public Library uses an app called "Libby." (I think most major US libraries support it.) It's free and convenient. No complaints.
FYI, Libby is an app made by OverDrive, (which is in turn owned by Rakuten). Although OverDrive has published multiple open letters proclaiming their dedication to accessibility, they have done relatively little in this space. In one disappointing conversation with a senior executive, I was told that if they can’t charge libraries more for a feature, they won’t add it. To my mind, the definition of accessibility is m…