Audiobooks discussion

Anyone can receive free today Their Eyes Were Watching God, the wonderful version read by Ruby Dee. You do have to set up a free account with libro.fm. You a can use their app to listen on a phone, tablet, etc. You can also download their books to a computer but it may take a couple of steps. While you are on the website, check out the Sale books section, as there are always books under 5.00 which can be purchased by anyone, not just members. Libro.fm is an alternative to audible, where the sale goes to independent bookstores.

I love Libro! In addition to my monthly subscription I make a point to browse the sale section as well. (I'm such a sucker for sales, although I do try to check reviews on GR before I buy these days.)

I may not ever leave Audible, but I figure libro serves like a "carbon offset" by giving money each month to my local bookstore. Of course, it's an excuse for me to get more audiobooks! I think libro has pretty much everything except Audible "originals". The app and quality with libro is excellent. I tried Scribd and audiobooks.com in the past and there were sometimes glitches with the playing or downloading.

I’m currently getting my reading material (primarily audio) from my local libraries (not much help if it’s current), then Scribd, then Libro.fm and finally Audible. I have monthly subscriptions to the last 3 services. I look to Scribd especially when I’m doubtful about whether i actually want to own a copy of a book. I haven’t had any replay glitches so far.

I actually own this audio book and it is a treasure! Ruby Dee is a beautiful reader for a beautiful, if painful story.

Robin P wrote: "I tried Scribd and audiobooks.com in the past and there were sometimes glitches with the playing or downloading."

I despise the Scribd app -- and yes, it gets very glitchy for me. But I've got a TON of Scribd books downloaded, so in my case I blame the glitches on problems with available app memory.

Contrarius wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I tried Scribd and audiobooks.com in the past and there were sometimes glitches with the playing or downloading."

I despise the Scribd app -- and yes, it gets very glitchy for me. ..."

I've been in a free trial on Scribd since Dec. 18. I noticed about a week ago a lot of my SAVED titles began showing as not available until Jan 17. I had listened to about 4 titles at that point (2 weeks). There is literally nothing available right now that is of any interest to me.

I am listening via the app on an iPad and not had any technical issues.

I'm not sure I will continue with the subscription - I knew 9.99/mo was too good to be true. I will try Libro and if I absolutely must I will return to Audible. And there's always my local library but titles there are limited.

I listen to about 5 or 6 titles per month - sometimes more as about half ended up DNFed (bad reader, story, etc.) so I need an economical solution.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Cindy wrote: "I'm not sure I will continue with the subscription - I knew 9.99/mo was too good to be true. "

If you listened to four books, and you pay $9.99 per month, that's only $2.50 per book even if you don't find any other books that appeal to you. That's still a good deal!

Right now I'm doing an on-again-off-again plan. I am only activating my Scribd account when I'm in the mood for a specific book they have, or when my library holds haven't been checked out to me yet and nothing in my Audible account appeals. That's one of the great things about Scribd -- it's very easy to do month by month. I also keep the Scribd app's cellular data access turned off except when I'm actually downloading books, which helps to avoid the reading limits.

There is a whole thread about Scribd somewhere on our site. Some people were only able to get 2 books a month of their choice, so if you were able to get 4, that's good. Most of us weren't happy that their restrictions aren't transparent, they claim you get unlimited, but only a few will be ones you really want.

Now that Audible has the "Plus" books, you can also listen to an unlimited number - if they happen to be books you want.

Cindy wrote: "I listen to about 5 or 6 titles per month - sometimes more as about half ended up DNFed (bad reader, story, etc.) so I need an economical solution.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!"

Cindy, I don't know if you are in the US or not but if you are...have you seen this thread? It's all about obtaining a library card from other libraries.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...