Discovering Audiobooks

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Audiobooks are nothing new. They have been around since the 1980s when book retailers started to display them on bookshelves. As a kid I use to have the Cassette tapes to books and listened to them all the time. Then CD’s came along and well by that time I wasn’t much into reading any books anymore. It wasn’t until I meet my hubby and his family that I got back into reading, but I still wasn’t an audio person. 

Their’s something scary about audiobooks or it felt that way. I follow several bloggers who listen to audiobooks. They love them and share how great they are. I see the posts by these bloggers on audiobooks and I say to myself one day I’m going to give audio a try. I will, yes, I will.

But, I kept putting them off. Why you might be asking? Well I was nervous, afraid, and unsure on how it would feel to take that leap. You don’t know if you are going to like the narrator and the voices they use on the characters. It’s kinda scary jumping into audiobooks. And, then you have the sex scenes. Well only if you like the genre they are in. For me I’m a Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy lover, but I do enjoy a good Erotic Romance and Contemporary Romance now and then. With PNR and UF, you are usually safe and the scenes are nicely done, not over the top, but questions pop up in your head. Like; Do you want to listen to the sexy scene, wither it’s tame or not or do you prefer to read them?

Library Love/Audio Downloads

This year has been a year of many changes and new experience in real life and on the blog. I finally picked up my first audiobook this year, 2017. I deiced to play it safe and listen to my favorites that I’ve reread over and over. I’ve been using my library to try this new experience and totally have saved lots of $$ money.

Which series/books did I pick up in Audio?

Mercy Thompson

  • Moon Called – $23.95
  • Blood Bound – $23.95
  • Iron Kissed – $23.95
  • Bone Crossed – $23.95
  • Silver Borne – $23.95
  • River Marked – $23.95
  • Frost Burned – $20.95

They don’t have book 8 in audio… I h8 that they are missing this one.

Alpha & Omega

  • Cry Wolf – $23.95
  • Hunting Ground – $23.95
  • Fair Game – $20.95

They don’t have book 4 in audio and I requested, but they won’t get it. 

Kate Daniels

  • Magic Bites – $17.95
  • Magic Burns – $17.95

 

Hidden Legacy

  • Burn For Me – $12.99
  • Major wait list on the next two in the series.. I h8 waiting!

 

Charley Davidson – This last series is new to me. Everyone loves the audio version, so I deiced to audio it instead of read.

  • First Grave on the Right – $23.95
  • Second Grave on the Left – $23.95

 

Total Savings by using my library; instead of purchasing outright: $330.29

What I like about Audiobooks:

  • You can save your spot easily. 
  • I can get through a book quicker by listening then reading.
  • You can change the speed.
  • The verity of narrators.
  • I can multi-task. Get more done either on the blog, work, or home stuff.

 

The only downside and trouble I have run into with my library is that I’m finding they don’t have all the books in a series available in audio download. They may have books 1-3 and skip 4 then have 5-7 or something like that. Why? Oh Why? I just don’t know! I can suggest a title for request from my library, but it doesn’t guarantee they will get it. I h8 waiting. And, then if they don’t get it I can’t listen too it unless I buy it in that formate. What can I do? What are my other options?

Audio Subscriptions 

I’ve been thinking about picking up an Audio subscription.

I do all my shopping on Amazon, so I’ve been looking at Audible which is an Amazon company. You can try the service for 30 days free and then pay $14.95 monthly subscription. 

But WAIT, Kobo just introduced Audiobooks on their site. You can try the service for 30 days free and then pay $9.99 monthly subscription.

What’s the upside and downside? Well Kobo doesn’t have as big a selection yet, as Amazon. They are missing titles in a series too, just like my library, but I like that it’s under $10. I wish Audible was under ten instead of under $15. I just don’t know which to go with or if their are other options out their? 

 

Rakuten Kobo U.S
 

 

Audio Lovers. I’m asking you for help!!!

What Audio site do you use? How much does it cost? Do you subscribe or just purchase the audiobook outright? I love my library, but missing books in a series doesn’t help me. And, having to wait on that waiting list is so hard.

 

I'm an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, animal & book lover. I'm the owner, reviewer & mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy & my favorite shifters are dragons.

17 comments on “Discovering Audiobooks

  1. […] been my thing lately, but audios have grabbed me. I did a post on the blog here in October about Discovering Audiobooks. I asked for some audio advice on subscriptions. Thank you to everyone who commented. Since that […]

  2. I agree that it’s really frustrating when the library is missing books from a series—that happens often with Overdrive and Hoopla. My mom’s library used to use Axis 360, which had an amazing selection and I never ran into that problem—but they just switched to Overdrive. So frustrating! I agree that audible seems to be the way to go for selection.
    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…My Unpopular Opinion About Banned Books Week: Let’s Discuss!My Profile

    • My library uses Overdrive and Hoopla. I’ve asked them to order some of the downloadable audiobooks, but for some reason they can’t saying that “The publisher of this downloadable audiobook has not made it available for libraries to purchase.” This makes no scenes to me why it’s not available to the library. =/ It’s so frustrating..

      I broke down and did the Audible Subscription. We get 30% off audiobooks and 1 credit a month to use towards any audiobook we want. Since it cost $14.95 I’m making sure to use the credit for the more expensive audiobooks and the ones my library doesn’t have and can’t or won’t get.

  3. I use Audible, like you I shop at Amazon, have Prime and can often get upgrades to audio for a fraction of the price. For example, I got Stillhouse Lake for free as a Prime member and added audio for less than $3.oo. Have you tried Overdrive for Audiobooks?
    kimbacaffeinate recently posted…HoHoHo Readathon Sign-up PostMy Profile

    • My library using the overdrive app for it’s downloadable books and audiobooks, so do have and use it for my library. I’ve noticed that I can get the audio for sale deal if I own the eBook. I haven’t bought an audio yet, but it’s a consideration on the ones I do own. I use Amazon for all my shopping and my main book purchases and ebooks. I looks like I’ll have to give the Audible service a try and maybe consider buying one of the books I already have in eBook for the deal the offer in Audio. Will see. Thank’s for stopping in and sharing with me.

  4. The only subscription service that I’ve used is Audible. They do have the largest selection and they produce a lot of series that I love, and you can really only get them there. I get a lot of books from my library on CD (more than digital). I copy the files to my iPod to listen to them.

    I also get a large number from publishers for review. Between that and the library and my Audible membership, I have more than I can listen to. This year, I did buy the annual membership. You have to pay up front, but it is less per credit.
    Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…#SultryListeners Awards Finals – Fantasy Oct 6 – 7 @thegeekybloggerMy Profile

    • Thank you for your feed back. For the most part I want to use my library, but I’m running into missing titles in a series or very long waits on some books, so I’d like another option available and signing up for a membership sounds like it’s what I might need. I have noticed that Audible has the largest selection when it comes to Audios. I’m going to have give the 30day free trial a try. ^_^

  5. Audio books are not my thing,but I agree in checking out your local library!!! I love my library its awesome!! Great article Angela!! Shared on all my socials!!

    • Thank’s Kathy for stopping in and checking our my article. I do get that audios aren’t for everyone. I’m glad I gave them a try. I can actually listen when I get a migraine and unfortunately I’ve had one for 3 days now, so reading has been out of the question =/

      I do so LOVE my library as well. It’s my go to for books; before I deiced to buy or not. I get to try them free and if I love them and know I’m going to read again then I’ll most probably buy the book.

      As for Audios I like being able to try them out from my library too, though I dislike that they don’t have all the titles, so I’m probably going to break down and give the 30day free trial a try on one of the sites. Kobo just started audios, but they are like my library in that they are missing titles in a series. Audible has the biggest selection at the moment.

  6. I get most of mine via my library, then use my Audible subscription to pick up the ones I can’t get via the library. I also review audiobooks for a couple audio publishers so that helps 🙂
    Samantha recently posted…Beard Mode by Lani Lynn Vale: Audio ReviewMy Profile

    • That is kinda the direction I’m leaning in. Grab from the library and then the ones they don’t have pick up in the Audio Subscription. I’m thinking I’m going to have to the 30day free trial. I’d like to get a good deal for the subscription. $14.95 isn’t bad. It’s a decent price, but we all love deals. ^_^ Thank’s Samantha for weighting in.

  7. I do love audiobooks, I normally just do whispersync for voice, its way cheaper than a subscription.
    Lover Of Romance recently posted…Book Review-Act Like It by Lucy ParkerMy Profile

    • Having audios is different, nice, and I’m getting through books faster. I didn’t know about whispersync. Thank you for pointing it out. I’ll be checking it out.

  8. I listen to audiobooks via my library, too. I just started to get into them last year when we were packing for our move. I needed something to take my mind off the boring task of wrapping, packing, and taping boxes for hours on end. I’ve also found that it calms me down while I’m driving and I tend to get less stressed by crazy drivers because I’m so wrapped up in the story that I really don’t mind sitting in traffic or people cutting me off in a rush because I’m in the middle of a good part. However, my listening goes as far as baking, cleaning, walking the dog, and driving. Anything else that needs me to focus on words or counting (like blogging or reading web posts) is a no-go because I tune out the audiobook to focus on what I’m typing/reading. I tried Audible, and while they have a huge selection and you can borrow audiobooks from your friend’s collection for free, audible isn’t compatible with my devices. I could listen to it on my desktop or listen to it on my husbands chunky tablet. Needless to say, I got rid of my subscription after just one book. As for the sexy scenes, I totally skip over them. It’s so awkward to be listening to someone moaning in your ear when you’re trying to drive or take your dog for a walk. It’s one thing to read them but it’s just plain weird listening to it. LoL
    Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous) recently posted…Review: Nyxia by Scott ReintgenMy Profile

    • I don’t have a long drive anymore. Maybe 15-20min in the car and so I don’t listen much in the car because I get to a good spot and I don’t want to stop and get out. ^_^ I do LOVE my library. It’s a great way to read, listen, or watch TV/Movies for free.

      Sometimes with audios I can’t focus and do the blog, but when I’m going through emails or copy/pasting a tour I don’t need to focus much on that. I didn’t mention, but anther great thing about Audios is that when I have a migraine I can listen. I can’t read when I’ve got a migraine. It hurts and is to hard, but being able to listen is relaxing and doesn’t use my eyes ^_^.

      It was a bit odd to listen to a sex scene. For the most part the books I’ve picked up have been tame, but still it’s odd. Much different then reading. ^_^ Thank’s Kristin for stopping in and sharing your experiences with Audiobooks. It helps!

  9. Like you, it drives me absolutely bananas when the library or audio service does not have ALL the books in a series. I’m not sure about the Kobo offerings, but I do know the site audiobooks.com is pretty much the same way. There will be books missing from series. Their plan is just under $15 too, so I not sure that is a very good deal. I’m very impatient. If I come up to a certain point in a series, I want that book available now. So if my library doesn’t have it, I will turn to Audible. IMO, the price is worth the selection. I can find really hard to find audios, like some of the Shifters Unbound novellas I wanted, at Audible. The hard part with Audible is that if I am getting most of the books from the library and only the occasional from Audible, my credits start to rack up and I have to put my subscription on hold for a few months until I get my credits below 12, as that is as high as they will let me keep. I end up getting a lot of new books when I have to keep those credits under 12, but I also have a hard time getting to listen to them when I’m listening to my library books.

    Anyway, after all that, I really suggest Audible. And not just because I’m an affiliate (and if you go to the site from one of my book links on the blog, I may get a commission). They are the best selection for your money.
    Tanya @ Rantings of a Reading Addict recently posted…Review ~ White Trash Zombie Unchained by Diana Rowland @dianarowlandMy Profile

    • What I can tell is that Audible Amazon has the biggest selection on audiobooks. Kobo just started, but I noticed they are missing books in a series and that’s the same issue I’m having with my library. I’ve not herd of audiobooks.com, but I’ll check it out. Thank’s for that. I’m going to have to give the free trail a try. It sounds like a lot of people use Audible and like it.

      Thank’s for the information. It helps!