Free audiobooks?
April 4, 2004 12:10 PM Subscribe
Anyone know a website where i can download Audiobooks in MP3 (or comparable) format for free or excruciatingly cheap? I've got a long trip coming up and my eyes have been hurting for a while.
Audible.com has a special for new members: $7.50 for two books. (You can just cancel after you get your two books and not get charged again.) I don't think they're MP3 but you can put them on an iPod or burn to CD. They're generally excellent quality.
posted by dobbs at 12:33 PM on April 4, 2004
posted by dobbs at 12:33 PM on April 4, 2004
also, although not quite what you asked, you might be pleasantly surprised at what your local library may have to offer in Audiobooks.
And, of course, any p2p network will have books/speeches/radio programs. Whether ripping library CDs or downloading, you can use much smaller file sizes for spoken word than music, but I don't recommend going below 32kbps for adequate listenability.
posted by obloquy at 1:35 PM on April 4, 2004
And, of course, any p2p network will have books/speeches/radio programs. Whether ripping library CDs or downloading, you can use much smaller file sizes for spoken word than music, but I don't recommend going below 32kbps for adequate listenability.
posted by obloquy at 1:35 PM on April 4, 2004
Try this. Lots of Tom Clancy and the like, but some good stuff too.
posted by gottabefunky at 3:39 PM on April 4, 2004
posted by gottabefunky at 3:39 PM on April 4, 2004
I'll second the library suggestion. I'm listening to Bill Bryson's excellent A Short History of Nearly Everything, 15 CD discs VBR MP3 compression onto one disc. Use the mono setting too, I believe that saves space.
I'm not positive about the ethics of this, tho, it probably resides some between D/L'ing from a P2P network and buying it from Audible, but since I bought the [ralph] abridged version my conscience isn't bothering me.
posted by mojohand at 3:49 PM on April 4, 2004
I'm not positive about the ethics of this, tho, it probably resides some between D/L'ing from a P2P network and buying it from Audible, but since I bought the [ralph] abridged version my conscience isn't bothering me.
posted by mojohand at 3:49 PM on April 4, 2004
AudioBooksForFree.Com - loads of classic titles, lots of A.C.Doyle for instance. Yes, downloads are free...if you can put up with 8kbps MP3s! These are listenable, to my lo-fi loving ears, but higher quality MP3s are available at a very reasonable price, though.
posted by Jimbob at 5:30 PM on April 4, 2004
posted by Jimbob at 5:30 PM on April 4, 2004
Library library library. We in the wired generation forget about this, but you live in Seattle, which means you have a huge public library system at your fingertips. The money you save will far exceed the hassle of ripping the CDs. And if you like sci-fi comedy with a Brit Lit bent, let me recommend Elizabeth Sastre's rendition of Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair.
posted by blueshammer at 5:31 PM on April 4, 2004
posted by blueshammer at 5:31 PM on April 4, 2004
The iTunes Music Store has audible.com books, and iTunes and the iPod support leaving the story midway and coming back where you left off.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:08 PM on April 4, 2004
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 6:08 PM on April 4, 2004
BT + suprnova/misc.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:37 AM on April 5, 2004
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:37 AM on April 5, 2004
There are several audio book newsgroups out there in newsgroup land if you want to bother to pay for a service. I'd highly recommend giganews.
posted by woil at 2:46 AM on April 5, 2004
posted by woil at 2:46 AM on April 5, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fvw at 12:13 PM on April 4, 2004