Audio Books

Yes, audio books can be very expensive. The library is a good idea though you might be limited in selection. I use Audible, you can look it up, for $15/mo you get a book each month from their huge collection. I always look for the longest ones I can find, over 20 hours to last longer. Most of them are over $30 at regular price or if you bought it at a store.

Also if you do a search of podcasts you can find a lot of free content like short stories and such. You should look for a podcatcher that has a search option to find specific content.

 

If you have access only to your local library then selection will likely be limited to a couple hundred books. But I have a library card and can place a hold on any book in the system, which has libraries I've never even heard of. The selection is unbelievable. There's everything from "Lonesome Dove" and "The Bourne Identity" to "The Gospel According to Judas" and "The Pillars of the Earth." You might have to wait for new audio books since other people may have placed a hold ahead of you. And you might have a problem finding audio for modern books before the 90s. But I doubt you're going to find a better selection of audio books anywhere else. So you have access to possibly the best selection available... and it's free.

 

Libraries offer several audio book options:
1. Cassette
2. CD
3. MP3
4. Playalong
5. Downloads

 

i heartily recommend a confederacy of dunces.

the characters and the situations they get into will have you doubled over in laughter and hitting the berm.

 

audiobooksforfree.com is a great site. No best sellers, just the classics like Twain, Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc. All the books your high school English teacher wanted you to read. The free downloads sound pretty tinny. If you give them a few bucks through paypal, you can download higher quality. These are read by professional narrators, no computer generated voices. I'm a sucker for the Sherlock Holmes books.

 

I've been getting a lot of audio books from www.emusic.com. They have a pretty good audio book library.

Advantages:

* Big selection of audio books (They're actually more geared to music, but I'm not!)

* Books are already in MP3 format, so you can use them instantly in almost any audio player, including iPod

* No licensing restrictions I'm aware of, so you can burn a copy to keep as a backup.

* Books are clearly marked as to whether they're abridged or unabridged (I always buy the unabridged if I can find 'em)

* CHEAP! Audio books cost approximately $10 / $20 depending on size. (eMusic uses a "points" system, where an audio book will cost 1 or 2 points, depending on size) and a $20/month subscription gets you two "points" per month. You can buy more audio book credits monthly as an extra.

 

One of my favorites. Hilarious.

 

If you've never listened to an audio book before, here are some specific recommendations:
1. Any Prey series novel written by John Sandford and narrated by Richard Ferrone.
2. Any Spencer novel written by Robert Parker and performed by Joe Mantegna.
3. Any short story compilation written by Jeffrey Archer and performed by George Guidall or Simon Prebble.

A narrator can make or break an audio book. The best readers include:
George Guidall
Richard Ferrone
David Rintoul
Ron McLarty
Roger Allam
Gerard Doyle
Paul Giamatti.
Lee Horsley

Some bad ones are:
Burt Reynolds
George Wilson
Susan Denaker

Also, the publisher can affect the experience. I've found Recorded Books to be the clearest and loudest, important when you're riding in a noisy truck.

 

I can't remember the title of the book I had that Burt Reynolds read. You're right, he's awful. He mumbled all through the book like he was mixing vodka with vicodins that day.

 

Yes. Also, I don't know if it is the quality of the mic or his voice, but when pronouncing words with an "S" he makes an irritating whistling sound.

Richard Ferrone is my favorite narrator but I've read reviews by people who think he's the worst. Just goes to show that we all have different tastes.

Something that's good to be aware of is that an audio book can sometimes have more than one version released. You might not like the Burt Reynolds performance, but the same book narrated by someone else might blow you away.