So You Want To Try Audiobooks

I've used three different services and here is how they stack up

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I’ve listened to over 50 audiobooks over the previous year. That gave me the opportunity to try out various audiobook services (yes, Audible is not the only game in town), and I’ve got the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Why audiobooks? 📚

Why not? What did people do before they had television? In addition to reading physical books, they often listened to the radio, which featured programming similar to that heard when listening to audiobooks. It is merely another way to consume books. And do not listen to snobs who say, “That’s really not the same as reading.” They’re right in the sense the two provide different cognitive and sensory inputs. Reading words is not the same as listening to them. However, to say it is “cheating” to listen to a book is nonsense. You’re still consuming the content, only in a different way.

Audible 🎧

The king of audiobook services. It has over 600,000 titles for your listening pleasure. Launched in 1997 with a physical player with two hours’ worth of content, Audible became the big boy on the block when Amazon bought it in 2008 for $300 million.

How much does it cost?💰

Audible’s Premium Plus membership costs $14.95 a month. It provides one credit for books and thousands of other audiobooks for which a credit is unnecessary. It also gives members-only deals, such as getting two books for one credit and other discounts.

They have a standard $9.99 plan, which is a good option if you want only one book credit and don’t want to listen to the other available content.

They have a two-credit membership for $22.95 if you consume more than one book a month.

They also offer a plan at the premium plus level, where you get one credit every other month for $17.00.

The Good 😇

There are so many titles that I can’t imagine anyone saying, “It doesn’t offer enough variety for me.” Audible also has exclusive content. The actor Richard Armitage wrote a book called Geneva that was exclusive to Audible before a publisher picked it up and offered it in print format. There are also podcasts and Audible originals that consist of documentaries, spatial audio, and meditation sounds.

The Bad 😈

Don’t cancel your plan if you have unused credits. They will go away.

“But I paid for them!” you would say. Yes, you paid for the credits you are leasing as part of your membership. It is not a standalone purchase. They compare it to a streaming service wherein when one cancels, you’re cut off. I think that’s nonsense. I can see cutting off someone from a book they’re listening to that is part of the premium membership and unavailable to non-members. But removing the paid-for credits? Booooooo.

The In-Between 📖

The app is terrific. You can use credits to download books and purchase books for cash (this is a great option at times, as newer titles will be marked down to $5 or $6). Its bookmarking feature works very well, allowing you to play a clip you have bookmarked or add notes. The app syncs across devices, so if you start on your iPhone and move to the iPad or desktop computer, it will pick up where you left off.

Audiobooks 📚

Launched in 2012, Audiobooks was the first cloud-based audiobook provider and is the most significant competitor Audible has in the marketplace. It is straightforward: you buy a monthly membership and listen to audiobooks, and that’s it. It does offer some perks, but no originals, no podcasts, etc.

The Good 😇

It likely has as many titles as Audible, including new releases. Unlike Audible, it offers only one membership for $14.95 a month, which includes one credit (I tried to cancel once, and they offered me the option to stay for $9.95 a month). Audiobooks also provides access to the VIP Member Benefit, which allows you to select one title from a curated list of free books. From time to time, Audiobooks also offers promotions and two-for-one deals.

The Bad 😈

The mobile app is not very good. It works just fine for the most part, but their technology seems way behind, and as such, the app looks dated with clunky graphics. Also, the bookmark feature is so annoying that I actually reported it to them. Bookmarks will sometimes “disappear.” They are there but will look like they’ve been deleted until you add another bookmark. Then they will show up. Adding a bookmark to see previous bookmarks is absurd, and I’ve seen reviewers mention it, but there seems to be no fix so far. The VIP bonus is hit or miss. Many offered titles are seemingly low-rent books that might appeal to a small audience. That said, it is possible to find a diamond in the rough. That is how I found Allen Eskins's book The Life We Bury. That led me to read the sequel, The Shadows We Hide.

The In-Between 📖

There is really not much, except if you are willing to pay $14.95 a month to subscribe, you might as well spend that money on Audible, which offers more at that price point. Unless you don’t want to give your money to Jeff Bezos or something.

Chirp 📚

This one is different. There is no membership, and there are no credits. You purchase a book, and it’s yours to keep. There are caveats. Chirp doesn’t have an extensive collection of titles like Audible and Audiobooks. It has few new releases, and the books can sometimes be expensive. For example, Harlan Coben’s book I Will Find You is available for $41.99, which is yikes.

However, Chirp often has excellent deals (and you knew that was coming). If you want to start reading Harlen Coben, you can pick up The Stranger for $3.99 right now. Chirp is somewhat of a rebel in the audiobook space, providing a decent experience for people who don’t want to pay a monthly fee.

The Good 😇

There are a decent number of books. The discounted titles are often not the latest releases, but does that matter? Chirp also has a slew of classic and older books for $1.99, including books by C. Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice is currently available for 99 cents), and more.

There is Freebie Friday, where the service offers — you guessed it — free books. Honestly, I have not seen a title that I thought was worth downloading, even though it was free. But to each his own, I suspect some people find titles they like.

The Bad 😈

The app works very well. However, it operates only as a means of listening to and organizing your library. You must log on to the website to browse, purchase, and download titles, which will appear automatically in your library and sync to your device. I don't know why the app is so limited, but there it is.

The In-Between 📖

If you’re an occasional listener or not all that enamored with newer titles and like the classics, Chirp is a great option. I don’t think anyone is paying $42 for an audiobook, but the occasional listener might pay $18 (Gregg Hurwitz’s latest in the Orphan X series, Nemesis, is available for $18.99).

LibbyApp 📚

Do you want free, free, and free? Then this is the service for you. There is one requirement: a library card. It’s pretty simple. Use the website or the app, find your local library, and if they are part of the system (most are), enter your library card number, and that’s it.

There is a caveat. Like a regular library book, the audiobook you want to listen to could be “checked out,” and you’ll have to place a “hold” on it when it is “returned.” You also have a time limit to listen, though you won’t have to pay late fees.

Another nice feature is that you have access to thousands of magazines. They are served in digital format, similar to the print edition; therefore, reading on a tablet or laptop/desktop is better than reading on a smartphone, as you’ll have to zoom in and out to read.

There you have it! Let me know if I missed anything if there are features you know about, or if there is another way to listen to audio digitally that I missed.

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Reader recommendation 📕

Benjamin Page said he is currently reading The Evolution of Small Things: How Everyday Artifacts--From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers--Came to be as They Are. He also recommended Demon Copperhead, a work of fiction by Barbara Kingsolver.