Audiobooks! Who listens to them?

MrWalsh · 13-07-2015 09:57PM

Deleted User wrote: »

The library is brilliant, especially now that we can renew online. I'm not sure if all libraries are following Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown but, while they still have audiobook cds, they have a superb new feature on their website this year where you can download audiobooks (and books) at any time. A fantastic service:

DLR: Downloadable Books & Audiobooks

How does this work? Do the files expire after a period of time or something? What's to stop you making a copy of the downloads?

Is it free to join the library?

thomur · 13-07-2015 10:07PM

Have a load on my Kindle. Particularly like medieval/Victorian murder mystery such as Cadfael/Sherlock Holmes etc. Love the Cadfael read by Derek Jacobi, very atmospheric. As someone said previously the monthly payments to Audible are good, giving you credits which you can use to buy books later on.

Aongus Von Bismarck · 13-07-2015 10:20PM

I love listening to podcasts when in the Beamer - The Economist, RTE Documentary on One, This American Life. So I thought I'd give audiobooks a go.

Signed up with Audible for their one month trial. Downloaded Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty. I really couldn't get into the concept of listening to a book. I'd listen to the reader come out with some piece of terrible deluded economic claptrap and there is nothing you could do only listen to it. It doesn't allow you to read back on a section, refer to the footnotes, underline a sentence that you believe is particularly erroneous, or stop to do some further research.

I gave up after two hours and bought the book instead. The book was as boring and fundamentally incorrect in the written form as in the spoken. At least I could enjoy a glass of wine though as I snorted at some of the more obvious rhetorical devices used to appeal to the sympathetic reader.

mzungu · 13-07-2015 10:44PM

Listen a lot to various lecture series that are available online. They are fantastic to listen to, and you can choose from a wide array of topics. All the speakers so far have easy to listen to voices. Audiobooks get the thumbs up from me.

13-07-2015 10:57PM

MrWalsh wrote: »

How does this work? Do the files expire after a period of time or something? What's to stop you making a copy of the downloads?

Is it free to join the library?

Yes, you do need to join your local library and it is completely free. If you join, say, Dún Laoghaire library you can borrow books from every library in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (8 of them), and also return them to any library within the county. This is exactly the same for Dublin City (21 libraries), and it's really useful because if you need a book urgently you can drive over to one, pick up the book (you know which branch has it because of the online catalogue) and drop the book back to your local library. If the book is nowhere in your county, they order it in from another county and they charge 50 cent for that service. If it's in another branch in your county that you can't travel to they'll order it in for you and charge the same 50 cent fee.

Regarding how the downloadable books and audiobooks work. When you join the library, they give you a username and password for their online website. The DLR system is called Overdrive, and here's an explanation of it. I just download the audiobooks from it to my laptop, and listen to them via iTunes/iPod. They do not leave my harddrive even though that Overdrive explanation above says each audiobook is checked out for only 21 days. It seems to be a bit of a fudge; only one person can check the ebook/audiobook out and it's unavailable to others during those 21 days, but unlike physical books, more than 1 person could in reality download that book but they don't allow it presumably for copyright reasons. Either way, there is a fantastic selection available now and it will only get bigger as Overdrive gets established.

13-07-2015 11:09PM

MrWalsh wrote: »

The joy of having an ipad FULL of books to bring on holidays and NO extra weight in the suitcase! The joy of having literally a library of hundreds of e-books that I can choose whatever I like from at any time - ooooh

You might know the answer to this, then. I tend to still highlight with a pen important parts of books I read, and type up brief summaries at the end. If I were to switch to ebooks would the iPad (or some other ebook reader) allow me to highlight important parts of a book and then easily transfer all the highlighted parts into a document which I could put aside in a digital library of summaries of all my books? It would save me a lot of time, and might finally move me away from physical books.

What would be the best ebook reader to do this?

Posy · 14-07-2015 12:49AM

I listened to a few audiobooks on Audible after eye surgery and found them great. Like Preusse, I'm a big fan of physical books and I couldn't picture enjoying a book like that but I loved listening.
Must get back into it again- I find I don't have a lot of time to read these days so it'd be good to utilise the time spend on the bus/walking the dog etc.

Sonics2k wrote: »

Only thing I know for sure will help me sleep is a good audiobook, regular books just keep me awake all night.

I used to fall asleep listening to an audiobook and wake up with the book having finished playing and no recollection of where I'd listened to and spend ages rewinding and fast-forwarding until I found myself back in familiar territory!

MrWalsh · 14-07-2015 07:43AM

Deleted User wrote: »

You might know the answer to this, then. I tend to still highlight with a pen important parts of books I read, and type up brief summaries at the end. If I were to switch to ebooks would the iPad (or some other ebook reader) allow me to highlight important parts of a book and then easily transfer all the highlighted parts into a document which I could put aside in a digital library of summaries of all my books? It would save me a lot of time, and might finally move me away from physical books.

What would be the best ebook reader to do this?

Good question. I use iBooks and I certainly highlight sections,and I know you can type notes in. I'll have a look at it today and see is there a way to transfer the highlighted parts out to a single document. There are fancier book reading apps, but iBooks is free so it may not go as far as that.

Thanks so much for the detailed explanation re the library system.

_Brian · 14-07-2015 07:55AM

I tried Audiobook on Audible and loved it. But between the monthly sub and book prices I thought it was expensive enough.

I listened to The Martian by Andy Weir on YouTube and was enthralled for every second and was delighted to see that the movie is ongoing.

I must revisit Audiobox again and look at the cost.

Tried Audiovox free service and the narration is awful

MrWalsh · 14-07-2015 09:16AM

Deleted User wrote: »

What would be the best ebook reader to do this?

I checked this out on iBooks. Its definitely possible, and quite easy too.

You simply highlight the bits you want, making notes as well as highlights if you wish, then you use the menu icon in the book and select Notes, this brings up all the highlighted bits of text and the notes you have made as one set of data - then you can select "Edit Notes" (top right) - select the ones you want or select all and then Share - so you can email them to yourself and put them into whatever document you want (or into another app).

I used this link for the instructions:
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/export-ibooks-notes/

Balmed Out · 14-07-2015 09:38AM

Deleted User wrote: »

The library is brilliant, especially now that we can renew online. I'm not sure if all libraries are following Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown but, while they still have audiobook cds, they have a superb new feature on their website this year where you can download audiobooks (and books) at any time. A fantastic service:

DLR: Downloadable Books & Audiobooks

Cork county council do something similar but judging from the last time I used it it doesnt have as wide a selection.

kowloon · 14-07-2015 11:16AM

I get periods where I can't see well enough to read or see anything on a screen. I've tried audiobooks, but if it's anything factual I get lost after a few minutes. I just can't take in information as easily if I'm not looking at it.

_Whimsical_ · 14-07-2015 06:50PM

kowloon wrote: »

I get periods where I can't see well enough to read or see anything on a screen. I've tried audiobooks, but if it's anything factual I get lost after a few minutes. I just can't take in information as easily if I'm not looking at it.

I'm a bit like that too, if it's factual I just prefer read and absorb much less info than if I were reading. Lecture series designed to be listened to can be good though.

There are 630 free audio books here, they are mostly classics, might interest someone though.
http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks

Poochie05 · 14-07-2015 07:15PM

Big fan of audiobooks.
Game of Thrones as mentioned before is particularly excellent.
I'm currently going through a 'lighter' phase of celebrity bios, really enjoyed Tina Fey's Bossypants, much funnier to listen to than read the book and Amy Poeler's Yes Please.
I really enjoyed Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe, and read by him too. Listened to it over a few days I was doing lots of travelling and was really sad when I finished it, it felt like a friend I wasn't going to see again.
Also Graham Norton's book is really easy listening, also read by him. Currently struggling through Jack Dee's Thanks for Nothing. It sounds as if it would be a better read as there's his usual snarky one liners and observations but he is just reading it straight, rather than like he does his stand up, so I find myself thinking that would be much funnier if I was reading the text.
I keep on having to cancel my Audible subscription though as I can't keep up and it's expensive enough if you aren't getting a deal.

Fistycuffs · 14-07-2015 07:18PM

Poochie05 wrote: »

Big fan of audiobooks.
Game of Thrones as mentioned before is particularly excellent.
I'm currently going through a 'lighter' phase of celebrity bios, really enjoyed Tina Fey's Bossypants, much funnier to listen to than read the book and Amy Poeler's Yes Please.
I really enjoyed Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe, and read by him too. Listened to it over a few days I was doing lots of travelling and was really sad when I finished it, it felt like a friend I wasn't going to see again.
Also Graham Norton's book is really easy listening, also read by him. Currently struggling through Jack Dee's Thanks for Nothing. It sounds as if it would be a better read as there's his usual snarky one liners and observations but he is just reading it straight, rather than like he does his stand up, so I find myself thinking that would be much funnier if I was reading the text.
I keep on having to cancel my Audible subscription though as I can't keep up and it's expensive enough if you aren't getting a deal.

Sounds like we are on the same track at the moment! David Mitchell's is also very enjoyable after the first chapter where he talks a little too fast.

Poochie05 · 14-07-2015 08:04PM

Fistycuffs wrote: »

Sounds like we are on the same track at the moment! David Mitchell's is also very enjoyable after the first chapter where he talks a little too fast.

Oh yes, I listened to that too! unlike Jack Dee, he put a lot more in to the reading so all his funny comments and observations were still funny. I thought the end of his book where he was talking about meeting and Marrying Victoria were particularly nice as it showed a side of him you don't see in his comedy persona.

_Whimsical_ · 15-07-2015 12:43AM

Poochie05 wrote: »

Oh yes, I listened to that too! unlike Jack Dee, he put a lot more in to the reading so all his funny comments and observations were still funny. I thought the end of his book where he was talking about meeting and Marrying Victoria were particularly nice as it showed a side of him you don't see in his comedy persona.

Yes! That was so sweet, I thought that was one of the most romantic things I've come across in a book, it was so heartfelt, you could hear in his voice that he meant it.

Samsgirl · 15-07-2015 01:14AM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Yes, you do need to join your local library and it is completely free. If you join, say, Dún Laoghaire library you can borrow books from every library in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (8 of them), and also return them to any library within the county. This is exactly the same for Dublin City (21 libraries), and it's really useful because if you need a book urgently you can drive over to one, pick up the book (you know which branch has it because of the online catalogue) and drop the book back to your local library. If the book is nowhere in your county, they order it in from another county and they charge 50 cent for that service. If it's in another branch in your county that you can't travel to they'll order it in for you and charge the same 50 cent fee.

Regarding how the downloadable books and audiobooks work. When you join the library, they give you a username and password for their online website. The DLR system is called Overdrive, and here's an explanation of it. I just download the audiobooks from it to my laptop, and listen to them via iTunes/iPod. They do not leave my harddrive even though that Overdrive explanation above says each audiobook is checked out for only 21 days. It seems to be a bit of a fudge; only one person can check the ebook/audiobook out and it's unavailable to others during those 21 days, but unlike physical books, more than 1 person could in reality download that book but they don't allow it presumably for copyright reasons. Either way, there is a fantastic selection available now and it will only get bigger as Overdrive gets established.

Also available in Waterford City & County Library Services.

gormdubhgorm · 15-07-2015 03:18AM

Tom Jones and Morgan Freeman should do audio books they would make Baa Baa Black Sheep sound dramatic....three bags...I didn't expect that one!

18-07-2015 11:35AM

Well, whoops, what's your opinion? :pac:

Got Ernst Cline (author of Ready Player One)'s new novel, Armada. It's equally as nerdy as the previous one, with Will Wheaton narrating it once more. Later on in the month the new The Remaining book comes out - very excited about that.

Are there any upcoming audiobooks that people are getting? Ones already released that they're thinking about?

18-07-2015 11:43AM

I generally don't like being read to as I feel I can grasp stuff better when I read it myself, and I read more quickly than someone would ever read to me, so I'm not big on audiobooks
That said, Uwe Friedrichson is a brilliant voice actor and I love my copy of an agatha christie book he reads. I also got a version of the journey to the centre of the earth with him and some other actors doing the characters, there was atmospheric music in parts and a few sound effects, it was really well done.
I also got a copy of a stephen king audiobook but whoever was narrating it really grated on me so I gave that up fairly quickly

18-07-2015 12:55PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Well, whoops, what's your opinion? :pac:

It was removed from YouTube!!!

Went to get it on iTunes but there were a couple of them so wasn't sure which one to get

18-07-2015 01:00PM

Deleted User wrote: »

It was removed from YouTube!!!

Went to get it on iTunes but there were a couple of them so wasn't sure which one to get

Ah pooperscooper.

On iTunes I believe this is the one. Then there's also this, which is called the Lost Files and is essentially all the stories that Max Brooks wanted to include in the original copy of the book, but couldn't for various reasons.

There's the Complete Edition, which seems to be the two together, but the reviews make me think that it produces a shortened version of the original book.

HorseSea · 18-07-2015 01:11PM

Definitely, best invention since sliced bread! I love music, but not while walking, driving or sleeping - perfect times for an audiobook. Apart for regular novels there are tons of plays and documentaries from RTE and BBC to listen to too. Favourites? Lord of The Rings - dramatisation, Smiley's People (whole series), P G Wodehouse and loads more. What could be more luxurious that having having an excellent narrator read your favourite book as you fall asleep.

Audiobooks! Who listens to them?

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