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Are You Using Audible Yet?

Wallace Yovetich

Staff Writer

Wallace Yovetich grew up in a home where reading was preferred to TV, playing outside was actually fun, and she was thrilled when her older brothers weren’t home so she could have a turn on the Atari. Now-a-days she watches a bit more TV, and considers sitting on the porch swing (with her laptop) “playing outside”. She still thinks reading is preferable to most things, though she’d really like to find out where her mom put that old Atari (Frogger addicts die hard). She runs a series of Read-a-Longs throughout the year (as well as posting fun bookish tidbits throughout the week) on her blog, Unputdownables. After teaching for seven years, Wallace is now an aspiring writer. Blog: Unputdownables Twitter: @WallaceYovetich

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Have you started using Audible yet? Although I have been an avid audio listener for years, I just recently got an account with Audible. I was hesitant at first (I don’t like signing up for things, with my credit card, that I may forget about later), but I was convinced by a fellow book lover that it was a good purchase and that I would use it every month. Not only will I get audio books for significantly cheaper than hardcopy audios, but I’ve already gotten great reading ideas from the site. AND, I get a free digital audio edition of a newspaper to boot (great for those of you who commute to work, but still want to get the headlines)!

Let’s start at the very beginning. Because… it’s a very good place to start (feel free to continue singing the rest of the song as you look through this post).

Monthly Plans: Audible offers the three plans that you can see above. Depending on how much you read,  you can choose the one that’s best for you. Keep in mind that your membership correlates to the amount of credits you get each month (one credit almost always equals one book… but even after you’ve used that, you get significant discounts on any books purchased in a month just for being a member). They also offer gift memberships, so if you have something special coming up – you can get a membership for someone else (or ask for one yourself).

Along with your membership, you get a daily digital audio newspaper. It’s about 45 minutes worth of highlights from either the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal (your choice, and you can switch which one you receive at any time):

Along with all of the typical ways of organizing recommendations (by genre, most popular, etc)., Audible also offers suggestions in categories such as Top Downloaded Books, Audible Award Winners, Breakout Books, Most Wished For, and more…

If all else fails, or you know the exact title you want already, there’s a search box AND a help center to get you started. You can easily chat with an Audible expert over your computer (or on the phone, if you’re more comfortable with that).

So, are you ready to use Audible? Do you already use Audible? If so — have any tips, or great narrator recommendations? (Please note: You must have a phone or device — including computer — that is able to play digital audio books in order to use Audible.)

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Wallace Yovetich reviews an eclectic mix of literature spanning from graphic novels to classic literature on her book blog, Unputdownables. Follow her on Twitter: @BookishWallace