Audible...and other audiobook delivery mechanisms that may or may not be available

[ZOK]

I've called this thread Audible because I honestly don't know if there are any other ways of getting audiobooks. I'm sure that there are, I just don't know any.

 

Anyhoo, I listen to quite a few audiobooks, with an Audible account that I think is £8 a month and I get 1 audiobook credit a month. I find it very good value for money, particularly when you come across something like this:

 

 

http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Complete-Short-Stories-Audiobook/B00LZGQR4Q/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1431613245&sr=1-1

 

This little beauty is 65 hours of beautifully read short stories by the master of beautifully told short stories. Apparently it is £26, and it would be cheap at that price, but for the monthly £8 it is an incredible bargain. It's worth signing up to get that as your free book, it is just lovely.

 

If people are interested I'll recommend more that I have listened to, and please feel free to recommend others in here too! I'm sure I'm not the only rllmuk audiobook addict.

[Sabreman]

iTunes also does audiobooks, but I've not used them. I've used Audible for years, again purely using the credit system. I can highly recommend their unabridged Master and Commander series read by Ric Jerrom, and Peter Kenny reading the Culture books. They also do no-quibble refunds if you really aren't getting on with something (I assume within reasonable limits).

[Graham S]

If people are interested I'll recommend more that I have listened to,

Do go on...

[ZOK]

Yes, Peter Kenny is great. I loved his reading of Hydrogen Sonata, and on the strength of that listened to him doing Use of Weapons, that is also spot on.

 

I know you can return stuff, but I only found out recently. Mind you, I've got 36 books and the only one I've been tempted to return is Steven Crossley reading Tom Holland's Rubicon. Not because of his voice, but the way they have presented it makes it sound like they have recorded the whole thing sentence by sentence and then pieced it together, it really got on my wick.

[ZOK]

On 14 May 2015 at 15:49, Graham_S said:

Do go on...

 

I really loved Jeff Harding's readings of Matterhorn and What It Is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes, both essential 'reads' if you are interested in the psychology of war, and/or Vietnam.

 

I think my all time favourite narrator is Robertson Dean. There's something about the way he pronounces 'Milgram' in the latest William Gibson novels that tickles the pleasure centre of my lizard brain.

[Wickedkitten]

I rarely ever pay £8 a month because not long after I cancel, I end up getting this offer

Their daily deal today is Neuromancer for 99p which is pretty good.

[ZOK]

Ooh that's interesting...I've got 4 credits in the bank though, I guess I need to use those first!

[Danster]

I rarely ever pay £8 a month because not long after I cancel, I end up getting this offer

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Their daily deal today is Neuromancer for 99p which is pretty good.

Ooh didn't realise they did a daily deal. I've been using my credits to get all the Pratchett books. The Nigel planer unabridged versions are all very good thus far (I may have listened to a couple on YouTube) and so I'll keep my sub going for the time being.

[hebejebe]

Please do recommend. Without Audible I'd hardly get any 'reading' done as I end up falling asleep very quickly.

[Sirloin]

I quite liked the Rubicon audiobook, but I tend to listen in very short bursts anyway, so didn't really notice if it was cut up a lot.

Just finished the Roberts' Napoleon The Great audiobook, that was very good. It's a long one though. Also listening to Anthony Beevor's latest Second World War one is very good, can't remember what the title is offhand, will look when I get home. Got quite a lot of history ones on there, Ken Burns American Civil War book is great, but again, very long.

Of the fiction I've listened to via audible, The Passage audiobook was good, although again it's long as shit. Master and Commander I can second the approval for. I also liked the Ben Aaronovitch Rivers of London book that I listened to, and of the others I've got through, I Claudius and Wolf Hall were probably the best.

I've also downloaded but not listened to a couple of their original audioplay things, anyone tried them?

[ZOK]

I would say that 80% of the stuff I listen to is SF, so I've got loads of reccos on that front if it's what people are after.

One of my favourites so far has been the Morrissey autobiography. David Morrissey is the narrator, and he really inhabits the role. I'm no real fan of either Moz or The Smiths but it's a wonderful listen, even if half of it is him moaning about a court case.

Also, anyone who doesn't mind laughing while listening in public should listen to the Alan Partridge one, it's probably the funniest thing you'll ever hear (if you like Partridge, of course).

[ZOK]

I quite liked the Rubicon audiobook, but I tend to listen in very short bursts anyway, so didn't really notice if it was cut up a lot.

I don't think it is cut up, it's just that the pauses he puts in are very slightly too long to sound natural to my ears, which for me ruins the flow of it, it made me really conscious of his style. Perhaps he was doing that to let the words sink in, I don't know, but I listened to 45 minutes before giving up on it. I kept thinking 'come on!' every time, and then I wasn't listening to what he was saying, but thinking about how he was saying it...and at that point an audiobook is dead for you!

[Sirloin]

Shame, as it's a good book but I can see how that would bring you straight out of it all the time. I've got a couple more of Tom Holland's to listen to that I haven't got round to yet, so if its the same guy reading it I'll probably notice it straight away now.

And yes, everyone should have the Alan Partridge book, amazing performance.

[Wiper]

Ooh didn't realise they did a daily deal. I've been using my credits to get all the Pratchett books. The Nigel planer unabridged versions are all very good thus far (I may have listened to a couple on YouTube) and so I'll keep my sub going for the time being.

I do like the unabridged Pratchett audiobooks, though I think I favour Imrie-narrated books - i.e. the Witches books (and other female-led ones) - over Planer's; Planer sometimes seems to miss puns and so not emphasise quite right, and I find Imrie's accents a little less jarring. Even so, both are lovely, and have been making up most of my commute listening over the past couple of months.

However, the Discworld stories are also near-unique for me in that I really like the abridged versions; a somewhat different experience of course, but they're very well cut, and Tony Robinson is an excellent narrator. Worth a try, if you've not yet experienced them.

[Danster]

The only abridged version I remember listening to was on double cassette tape back in the nineties. It was Men at Arms and at the time I didn't know what abridged meant, so was quite surprised and annoyed that things were missing. Put me right off audio books for a long time that did.

Although Tony Robinson is a very good narrator.

[davidcotton]

'Normal' audio book narrations tend to bore me rigid. I just can't take more than half an hour or so of listening to one person's voice doing the reading.

For full cast audio drama's there's also Bigfinish.com. Mainly focusing on Doctor Who, they also have lots (and that's an understatement) of other ranges. Mainly sci-fi (understandably) but some classics as well. For the superhero stuff there's also graphicaudio.net.

[deerokus]

Catch 22 works brilliantly in audio book format. So much of that novel is built around word play and the 'sound' and rhythm of the writing that it veers almost into poetry rather than prose, and the guy who reads the book does it very well.

Not so good if you are listening somewhere where you can't laugh out loud, mind you.

[Danster]

50% off sale on audible currently for members only.

[Sabreman]

Does anyone actually buy anything from Audible? I assumed everyone just uses credits

[Danster]

I've been tempted with some of the cheaper ones, but a full price Pratchett is £22, which is a bit rich for my blood.

[deerokus]

Does anyone actually buy anything from Audible? I assumed everyone just uses credits

I can't imagine many people do, although I have once bought a cheap audiobook add-on to an ebook. I usually sign up for a few months a year which provides more than enough listening material to go on for ages. Currently on a deal of 99p a month for three months, not to be sneezed at.

[Vimster]

I work in the middle of nowhere and tend to take a long walk at lunchtimes. In the market for some audiobooks to listen to for 40-ish minutes every lunchtime. Will be having a look at Audible but hopefully they have some competition.

[Banjaxed]

The Audible daily deals have been brilliant.

Anytime I have gotten down to my last credit I've been able to buy 3 more for £18, I've built up quite a pile of shame!!

I've yet to try the Culture series (I know, but it's always been on my get round to reading list). Knowing that it's read by Peter Kenny gives me the extra push I need, he was brilliant reading the Witcher series, which I would thoroughly recommend. Also David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks was a brilliant listen, I'm saving The Thousand Lives of Jacob de Zoet for my two week break in July.

Love to hear some more recommendations.

[ZOK]

Seriously, anyone with any Audible credits should get the JG Ballard collection in the first post. I am awestruck by it. Obviously Ballard is a genius of the form, but the readings are quite wonderful.

[Banjaxed]

Seriously, anyone with any Audible credits should get the JG Ballard collection in the first post. I am awestruck by it. Obviously Ballard is a genius of the form, but the readings are quite wonderful.

Oh don't worry, that's where my next credit it's going. Have High-Rise to listen to next, read by Tom Hiddleston.

[ZOK]

You will love it. 65 hours mind you, so clear the decks!

[Danster]

Yeah I bought it the other day, well used a credit. The first story is great, looking forward to the rest.

[Wiper]

Today's daily deal is Ancillary Justice for £2.99, absolutely essential at that price.

[Wickedkitten]

Just like clockwork, came off one offer and get this one through

[Timmo]

I just went to cancel and it offered me £3.99 for 3 months straight away. Bit of kick for loyal customers but I'll take it. Then cancel again until they give it me cheap again.