Audible...and other audiobook delivery mechanisms that may or may not be available

[SozzlyJoe]

12 hours ago, ZOK said:

That sounds crazy - I had an email about it and assumed they were going to be freebies.

 

Yeah, I really don't know why they are bothering. I can't load any of the books right now to even check the price, it says it can't find them. Successful launch then!

 

 

[Sidewaysbob]

I couldn't believe they wanted full price for a book on top of the subscription.  I thought it was some sort of misplaced April fool thing.

 

Have they not heard of Audible perhaps ?

[Halo]

Is it me, or has Audible quietly changed their return policy so you are unable to return any books bought outright? Sure this wasn’t the case before.

 

(I don’t want to return anything, just noticed it)

[Timmo]

14 hours ago, Halo said:

Is it me, or has Audible quietly changed their return policy so you are unable to return any books bought outright? Sure this wasn’t the case before.

 

(I don’t want to return anything, just noticed it)

I think they changed it to make it a bit less easy. If you speak to an advisor they can do it. 

[Stejay]

Please help a stupid person out.

 

Stupid as in, you know when you take up a free Audible trial just to get Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome and then forget to cancel your subscription before you get charged the full £7.99 for the next month? Yeah, that.

 

I happily listen to podcasts, but I've never really been an audio book fan, I much prefer to read on my Kindle.  However, can RLLMUK suggest some stand out titles that are worth getting even for the slightly audio book adverse so I can use my two free credits up and remember to cancel this time?

[Timmo]

2 hours ago, Stejay said:

Please help a stupid person out.

 

Stupid as in, you know when you take up a free Audible trial just to get Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome and then forget to cancel your subscription before you get charged the full £7.99 for the next month? Yeah, that.

 

I happily listen to podcasts, but I've never really been an audio book fan, I much prefer to read on my Kindle.  However, can RLLMUK suggest some stand out titles that are worth getting even for the slightly audio book adverse so I can use my two free credits up and remember to cancel this time?

 

What kind of stuff do you like?

 

My automatic suggestion is The Lies of Locke Lamora because it's my favourite audiobook, but there's massive amounts of great books.

 

There's The Stand, another favourite of mine and King's best book in my opinion.

 

You could go with Stephen Fry's reading of Sherlock Holmes if you want value for money, or J.G. Ballard's collection for the same reason.

 

Maybe pick an Iain. M. Banks Culture book, they're all read by Peter Kenny who is a great fit.

 

A Short History of Nearly Everything is a good non-fiction pick.

 

One book you have to listen to if you haven't already is Alan Partridge From the Oasthouse, which is also 'free' while you're a member as part of your membership.

 

You could also have a look through the 2 for 1 sale where you can get two books for one credit.

[ZOK]

2 hours ago, Stejay said:

Please help a stupid person out.

 

Stupid as in, you know when you take up a free Audible trial just to get Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome and then forget to cancel your subscription before you get charged the full £7.99 for the next month? Yeah, that.

 

I happily listen to podcasts, but I've never really been an audio book fan, I much prefer to read on my Kindle.  However, can RLLMUK suggest some stand out titles that are worth getting even for the slightly audio book adverse so I can use my two free credits up and remember to cancel this time?

Sure, what kind of thing do you want? The choice is endless. Comedy-wise, the first Alan Partridge is an essential, as is the first AP From the Oasthouse, which you might enjoy because it’s supposed to be a podcast.

 

If you want crazy value for money, I always recommend JG Ballard The Collected Short Stories, as they are mostly brilliant, the narrators are wonderful, and it’s over 63 hours of pure magic…but if you don’t like audiobooks, that may not be a plus!

[Stejay]

My most recent reads have been Station Eleven, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and I’m currently reading Project Hail Mary. I also ashamedly like throwaway stuff like the Alex Cross and Jack Reacher books. I’m guessing comedy or something non-fiction may be the way to go as more podcast like.

 

I’m currently tempted by Jerry Seinfeld’s Is This Anything? and @Timmo’s suggestion of A Short History of Nearly Everything.

[ZOK]

Well definitely listen to From the Oasthouse, as Timmo says you can listen to it without using up a credit while you are still on your plan. Unless you don’t like AP of course.

[Stopharage]

10 minutes ago, Stejay said:

My most recent reads have been Station Eleven, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and I’m currently reading Project Hail Mary. I also ashamedly like throwaway stuff like the Alex Cross and Jack Reacher books. I’m guessing comedy or something non-fiction may be the way to go as more podcast like.

 

I’m currently tempted by Jerry Seinfeld’s Is This Anything? and @Timmo’s suggestion of A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I bounced off the Seinfeld audible offering, so couldn’t recommend that unless you’re a real fan. 
 

I’d go for John Higgs’ Stranger Than We Can Imagine. Far superior than A Short History for my money and helps you to reappraise how you look back on the 20th Century. 

[Stejay]

12 hours ago, Stopharage said:

I bounced off the Seinfeld audible offering, so couldn’t recommend that unless you’re a real fan. 
 

I’d go for John Higgs’ Stranger Than We Can Imagine. Far superior than A Short History for my money and helps you to reappraise how you look back on the 20th Century. 

 

I am a big Seinfeld fan, but due to that I've probably heard most of the material on there already.

 

Is there any overlap between Stranger and Short History?  I bought the latter before I saw your reply.

[Stopharage]

5 hours ago, Stejay said:

 

I am a big Seinfeld fan, but due to that I've probably heard most of the material on there already.

 

Is there any overlap between Stranger and Short History?  I bought the latter before I saw your reply.

I'd say not really. Short History is (from memory) much more focused on the science behind creation and beyond. 

 

Stranger Than We Can Imagine is a far more enlightening tome as it's the writer's explanation behind the events of the 20th Century. The book covers the subjects of relativity, modernism, war, individualism, the id, uncertainty, Science fiction, realism, space, sex, teenagers, chaos, growth, post-modernism and networking. 

 

It's brilliant, thought-provoking and genuinely had me looking at events from a slightly different perspective as a result. His 'The Future Starts Here" is also well worth a purchase. 

[Stejay]

Cheers, I'll grab that too then.

[ZOK]

While listening to the Clarkesworld SF Best of Vol 4 I heard a load of stories being read by Luis Moreno, and found I was really digging his style so I had a look at what else he’s done.

 

It turns out he narrates the seminal collection of short stories by Harlan Ellison, Deathbird Stories, which I recommend to anyone as an essential read or listen, if you want to bathe in some weird tales of gods and men that are almost unparalleled in their strange, poetic and brutal beauty. As well as the originals from 1975 there are some new bits from the master as intros, and he’s lost none of his style.

[Fireproofradiator]

I'm fiercely bonding with Damien Le Bas's The Stopping Places. It's about his exploring his gypsy heritage and there's lots of grim layby's in it so it's catnip for me cos it's traveller-based and edgelands-ey. I think his reading is fantastic too. A review of the book here. 

[Danster]

On 11/01/2023 at 18:32, Stejay said:

Please help a stupid person out.

 

Stupid as in, you know when you take up a free Audible trial just to get Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome and then forget to cancel your subscription before you get charged the full £7.99 for the next month? Yeah, that.

 

I happily listen to podcasts, but I've never really been an audio book fan, I much prefer to read on my Kindle.  However, can RLLMUK suggest some stand out titles that are worth getting even for the slightly audio book adverse so I can use my two free credits up and remember to cancel this time?

 

The Blade Itself is a great book, Steven Pacey reading it makes it magnificent. And if you enjoy it, then lucky you there's hours and hours more to dig into.

 

[Stejay]

Tarrant? (Showing my age!) I’ll take a look later. Cheers.

[Miner Willy]

I just noticed that Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination is in the Audible included library. I usually prefer non-ficton for audiobooks, but will overlook that this time, as TSMD was one of my favourite books ever when I read it a few years back.

 

It's sort of like a sci-fi The Count of Monte Cristo, and every bit as amazing as that sounds.

[Padster]

This may be old news, and is certainly old school, but I just discovered this week there are spanking new audio books of The Hobbit and LotR read by Andy Serkis! 

 

A definite step up from the horrible Rob Inglis reading that made me want to kill myself. 

[jonathanhoey]

3 hours ago, Padster said:

This may be old news, and is certainly old school, but I just discovered this week there are spanking new audio books of The Hobbit and LotR read by Andy Serkis! 

 

A definite step up from the horrible Rob Inglis reading that made me want to kill myself. 

 

Warning: overall he's excellent but he really really can't do Scottish accents at all. 

[Padster]

1 hour ago, jonathanhoey said:

 

Warning: overall he's excellent but he really really can't do Scottish accents at all. 

 

Lucky there aren't any Scottish people in LotR then 😉

[sammy]

I’m coming to the end of a listen of the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie read by Steven Pacey.  It’s been utterly glorious and there’s a real alchemy between Joe’s writing and Steven’s narration (I’ve been with them for at least 200 hours, I feel I’m on first name terms with them). I had a similar experience with Michael Page reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, where the narration just utterly sucked me into the story.
 

Does anybody have a favourite author/narrator pairing?  I’ve got 3 credits burning a hole in my pocket! 

[ZOK]

2 hours ago, sammy said:

I’m coming to the end of a listen of the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie read by Steven Pacey.  It’s been utterly glorious and there’s a real alchemy between Joe’s writing and Steven’s narration (I’ve been with them for at least 200 hours, I feel I’m on first name terms with them). I had a similar experience with Michael Page reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, where the narration just utterly sucked me into the story.
 

Does anybody have a favourite author/narrator pairing?  I’ve got 3 credits burning a hole in my pocket! 

 

On 13/01/2023 at 10:56, ZOK said:

While listening to the Clarkesworld SF Best of Vol 4 I heard a load of stories being read by Luis Moreno, and found I was really digging his style so I had a look at what else he’s done.

 

It turns out he narrates the seminal collection of short stories by Harlan Ellison, Deathbird Stories, which I recommend to anyone as an essential read or listen, if you want to bathe in some weird tales of gods and men that are almost unparalleled in their strange, poetic and brutal beauty. As well as the originals from 1975 there are some new bits from the master as intros, and he’s lost none of his style.

 

[Silent Runner]

2 hours ago, sammy said:

Does anybody have a favourite author/narrator pairing?  I’ve got 3 credits burning a hole in my pocket! 

 

Roy Dotrice/Game of Thrones. 

[Delargey]

Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere

[Miner Willy]

Jon Ronson reading his own books is glorious. His delivery takes already brilliant books to another level. 

[sammy]

Brilliant, thanks all, I’ll check those out.  I haven’t read GoT for ages, so that’s definitely tempting if the narration is decent. @ZOK  I’ve taken a punt on Deathbird Stories, I loved “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”, but I don’t think I’ve read any of his other stories.

[ZOK]

3 minutes ago, sammy said:

Brilliant, thanks all, I’ll check those out.  I haven’t read GoT for ages, so that’s definitely tempting if the narration is decent. @ZOK  I’ve taken a punt on Deathbird Stories, I loved “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”, but I don’t think I’ve read any of his other stories.

He’s the master of unpleasant short stories. The original short that opened that collection is The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, and if you like that you’ll like all of them pretty much, but many of his greats are in there, Along the Scenic Route, Basilisk, Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes etc. 

 

[Danster]

When you like the sound of something and go to add it to your audible wishlist... Only to find it's already there! 

 

I'm currently listening to The world according to Garp, which I read when I was a wet behind the ears nineteen year old. It's great hearing it through my more wizened and worldly aware ears. The narrator definitely suits the text very well.

[Sidewaysbob]

My personal favourite combinations are

 

The rivers of london series read by Kobna Holdbrock-smith.  A police procedural with Magic on the streets of modern day London.

Anything written by Iain M banks read by Peter Kenny - Personal highlight is "surface detail"

Anything written by Ann Leckie read by Adjoa Andoh - Modern science fiction, The Ancillary series challenges the idea all heros have to be male.

Extracted series by R R Haywood read by Carl Prekopp - time travelling fun that makes sense, can they really save the future in the past ?

Red Rising series by Pierce Brown read by Tim Gerard Reynolds - How to start a revolution against the Romans in space.