Audible

[Isgrimnur]

Originals

For more than 20 years, we’ve been creating rich, audio-only experiences—stories so powerful we believe they must be heard. Audible Originals bring together celebrated writers and performers from worlds as diverse as theater, literature, journalism, and more, and we are excited to share some of our favorites with you. Each month, choose two of six unique Originals to enjoy, included as part of your Audible membership—no credits needed. Come back every month for fresh voices, new stories, and even more star power. We hope you love what you hear.
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Look for the star to find the Originals section within your Audible app. If you don’t see the star, you may need to update. Pick two Audible Originals from our selection of six every month. You can download your selections through this page, or right from your Audible app–no credits needed­. All Audible Originals you download are yours to keep forever.

[LawBeefaroni]

I did the Xfiles one a few weeks ago. It was fun but not great. Considering that I'm at my credit limit, I should probably just buy something.

[Isgrimnur]

I did the Xfiles one a few weeks ago. It was fun but not great. Considering that I'm at my credit limit, I should probably just buy something.

October Originals just dropped, so you have two more of the six titles on offer.

I was going to cancel when I hot credit limit. The website offered me a step-down every other month option, which I'm currently on. And I've been using credits on Great Courses stuff. I'm about to finish my third.

[Lorini]

We've really enjoyed our listens of favorite books. Finishing up the Belgariad, moving on to Song of Fire and Ice. Already did Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. $15 for each book is pretty good pricing.

[LawBeefaroni]

We've really enjoyed our listens of favorite books. Finishing up the Belgariad, moving on to Song of Fire and Ice. Already did Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. $15 for each book is pretty good pricing.

Yeah, my other problem is that I min/max. If the book is under $15 I buy it and only use credits for more expensive books. Fortunately all the non-fiction and Drew Hayes stuff that I read is like $20+.

[Isgrimnur]

Just released: Terry Pratchett: BBC Radio Drama Collection

Collected together for the first time are seven full-cast BBC Radio dramatisations of Terry Pratchett’s novels, with star-studded casts including Martin Jarvis, Sheila Hancock, Anton Lesser, Philip Jackson, Alex Jennings and Mark Heap.

• Mort
• Wyrd Sisters
• Guards! Guards!
• Eric
• Small Gods
• Night Watch
• Only You Can Save Mankind, from the Johnny Maxwell series

[xenocide]

Yeah, my other problem is that I min/max. If the book is under $15 I buy it and only use credits for more expensive books.

I do this all the time too. The big one I've found is on a good number of books, especially older ones, you can buy the kindle edition for under $10 and then "add audible narration" for $2.99 when the audible edition alone is $15 or more. It's always seemed strange that I can buy two formats cheaper then one.

[LawBeefaroni]

Yeah, my other problem is that I min/max. If the book is under $15 I buy it and only use credits for more expensive books.

I do this all the time too. The big one I've found is on a good number of books, especially older ones, you can buy the kindle edition for under $10 and then "add audible narration" for $2.99 when the audible edition alone is $15 or more. It's always seemed strange that I can buy two formats cheaper then one.

That's how I got started. I had a book and figured, what the heck, I'll add audio for a few bucks. I always check now before the straight up Audible purchase.

[Jeff V]

I haven't subscribed to Audible because currently I have 2 library systems of free audiobooks to choose from. That might change when I lose access to one of them...the one my library belongs to seems to have half the titles as the one I still belong to from Bolingbrook (which in turn was half the titles available at Naperville...)

I have added narration to Kindle books from time to time, a no-brainer when the books are bought on the cheap in the first place (I did it with the last two Saxon tales novels by Cornwell). There's a few series books that have been out for a while that the libraries haven't picked up...I might go this route before memories of the other books fade too much.

[noxiousdog]

I just finished The Martian and it's the best audio book i've ever heard. The story is really good and the narrator is fantastic.

[YellowKing]

Pro tip - if (like me) you are a slow audiobook consumer and have accumulated a backlog, you can access a secret(ish) Silver plan which only charges you bi-monthly for a credit every 2 months. It's not listed under new account setups, but you can get it by going through the cancellation process and then choosing your reason as "don't use it enough" or whatever the similar option is.

I'm about 13 books behind right now, so I moved to that plan until I catch up. I chose that instead of canceling completely because I still wanted to be in the loop on all their daily deals, sales, and 2-for1-credit deals.

[Isgrimnur]

November Originals

Patti Smith: Words and Music
Have a Nice Day (Billy Crystal, Annette Bening, Kevin Kline)
Twain’s Feast (Nick Offerman)
Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets
Strong Ending (Mary-Louise Parker)
Laurie Berkner’s Song and Story Kitchen

[Isgrimnur]

December originals

Christmas Eve 1914
Out of my Mind - Alan Arkin
Zero G (Home Alone in space)
New Family Values
The Diary of a Hounslow Girl
Alien: Out of the Shadows
Jingle Bell Pop: How to Make a Holiday Hit

[Isgrimnur]

Bueller...?

January Originals

Atomic Marriage - narrated by Diane Lane
Power Moves: Lessons from Davos (economic forum, not Seaworth).
The Last Days of August
The Man on the Mountaintop - narrated by Stanley Tucci and others
The Spies That Bind: A Gallagher Girls Prequel
Harry Clarke: With Bonus Performance: Lillian - narrated by Billy Crudup

[$iljanus]

Power Moves: Lessons from Davos (economic forum, not Seaworth).

That’s too bad. I would have liked to have heard the wisdom of the Onion Knight.

[Isgrimnur]

February Originals

• Folsom Untold: The Strange True Story of Johnny Cash's Greatest Album
• Lucky Suit (Romance)
• Mala (One-woman play)
• Dodge & Twist (Oliver Twist + 12 years)
• Sovereign (Sci-fi)
• Killer by Nature (Psychological thriller)

[Isgrimnur]

February March Originals

• Sakina's Restaurant - one-man play
• A Mind of Her Own - Marie Curie fiction
• Junk - sci-fi read by John Waters
• Remembering Roth - Philip Roth bio
• The Demon Next Door - true crime
• Wishes and Wellingtons - children

[MonkeyFinger]

Psssttt... March.

[Isgrimnur]

I have to find some way to get people to reply.

[MonkeyFinger]

Haven't really seen anything on these "originals" list that I've bitten on yet. Well, perhaps until now with "Trash" and it being narrated by THAT John Waters.

[Blackhawk]

I finally tried this. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with it. It's just too much. I picked my free book (11 hours) and listened to it on my drive each day to pick up the kids and during my workout. It took two weeks to finish. At that rate, I'd be spending $30-$35 every month just for two novels - more than I pay for three video streaming services combined. Yes, I get to keep the books, but I'm unlikely to listen to a novel more than once during a five-year window.

[gbasden]

I finally tried this. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with it. It's just too much. I picked my free book (11 hours) and listened to it on my drive each day to pick up the kids and during my workout. It took two weeks to finish. At that rate, I'd be spending $30-$35 every month just for two novels - more than I pay for three video streaming services combined. Yes, I get to keep the books, but I'm unlikely to listen to a novel more than once during a five-year window.

Many of the books are upwards of 40 hours in length. 11 is actually fairly short.

[Jaddison]

I downloaded 2 of the Originals but haven't listened. Listening to Rocket Men right now......and also 23 Things They Didn't Tell you about Capitalism.

With Kindle offering such huge discounts on Audible to go with many books i have quite a backlog of audio books though not quite as big as my Steam backlog or Kindle backlog....which I will never get through in this life even if I stopped buying anything today.

[McNutt]

When I buy a book I get longer ones. I'll buy the two book plan and keep it for a few months. In between books I'll catch up on podcasts. Works for me.

[Jeff V]

Yes, I get to keep the books, but I'm unlikely to listen to a novel more than once during a five-year window.

This is why I borrow them from the library instead. At a price of approximately $0 per book, you can read a lot and not worry about the price.

A couple of times I have availed myself of the cheap Audible add-ons if the library is slow to get an audiobook I really want to hear.

[Isgrimnur]

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany
Length: 57 hrs and 11 mins

Elantris
By: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Volume I: Visions of Glory 1874-1932
Length: 41h 19m

[Blackhawk]

There are books that I want to listen to (mostly novels, as I prefer easily referenced paper or digital for non-fiction.)

There are also books that are 40+ hours.

I can't see spending the money to listen to things that only vaguely interest me because the stuff I actually want to hear is too short. That would be spending the money on stuff I don't actually want, and that isn't a good investment. I'm actually looking at Scribd now, too. It seems to be unlimited listening for nine bucks, but without being able to keep the book afterward. Given that I would be unlikely to regularly re-listen, it might be a better deal.

[Hyena]

Not sure if mentioned already, but I have found myself reading several LitRPG books recently. It is a bit cheesy, but it's basically a genre when the main character somehow (sometimes magically, sometimes technologically, etc.) gets sucked into a video game world and has to grow and advance. It's like reading a video game, including gaining new skills, leveling up, mastering new weapons, and building a village/community to hold off monsters of various levels and danger. Currently reading one by Aleron Kong (The Land series), but the one that got me started was the Apocalypse Series. Listening to those really scratches a gaming itch when I can't actually game.

[Jeff V]

Not sure if mentioned already, but I have found myself reading several LitRPG books recently. It is a bit cheesy, but it's basically a genre when the main character somehow (sometimes magically, sometimes technologically, etc.) gets sucked into a video game world and has to grow and advance. It's like reading a video game, including gaining new skills, leveling up, mastering new weapons, and building a village/community to hold off monsters of various levels and danger. Currently reading one by Aleron Kong (The Land series), but the one that got me started was the Apocalypse Series. Listening to those really scratches a gaming itch when I can't actually game.

Max Brooks did one of these on Minecraft. I got it from the library a few months ago so my son could have something he was interested in to listen to instead of a constant diet of my books - I thought it was pretty well done for what it was, though.

[Blackhawk]

Yes, I get to keep the books, but I'm unlikely to listen to a novel more than once during a five-year window.

This is why I borrow them from the library instead. At a price of approximately $0 per book, you can read a lot and not worry about the price.

A couple of times I have availed myself of the cheap Audible add-ons if the library is slow to get an audiobook I really want to hear.

Last time I was at my local library, they were still transitioning from VHS to DVD. This was last year. I should be able to get audiobooks by 2030, 2040 at the latest.

[Jeff V]

Yes, I get to keep the books, but I'm unlikely to listen to a novel more than once during a five-year window.

This is why I borrow them from the library instead. At a price of approximately $0 per book, you can read a lot and not worry about the price.

A couple of times I have availed myself of the cheap Audible add-ons if the library is slow to get an audiobook I really want to hear.

Last time I was at my local library, they were still transitioning from VHS to DVD. This was last year. I should be able to get audiobooks by 2030, 2040 at the latest.

You might want to check again. The only times I've ever set foot in a library in the past 10 years was to apply for a library card. All of the audiobooks are accessed via an app; and the last two libraries I've been a member are each part of a group of libraries that pool their resources to offer digital content to all of their content.

[Isgrimnur]

Sullivan, IN doesn't pull up on the Overdrive site.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, there is one library on the system a county north of me, and one library a county east of me.

[Isgrimnur]

Yeah, there is one library on the system a county north of me, and one library a county east of me.

[Blackhawk]

I went to cancel. They offered me three months at $7.50 to stay and 'give them a chance.'

I'll cancel in three months.

[Isgrimnur]

April Originals

• True West - Sam Shepard play read by Kit Harington and Johnny Flynn
• The Beautiful Brain - concussion investigation
• Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers - chidren's
• Elizabeth II: Life of a Monarch
• The Dispatcher - by John Scalzi, narrated by: Zachary Quinto
• The Darkwater Bride - Horror

[Isgrimnur]

May Originals

• Black Crow, White Snow - fiction
• More Bedtime Stories for Cynics- - Nick Offerman
• Evil Eye - audio play
• The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks
• The Mystery of Alice - thriller
• The 3-Day Effect - science

[msteelers]

I’m in the process of recording my first audiobook right now. Well, technically it’s my 2nd. The first one is terrible though. It’s a self help book that I’m fairly certain was written by a robot. I used a fake name for it, so hopefully it never sees the light of day. I did learn a lot about workflow and how to efficiently go through the process of recording an audiobook tjougj.

This second book is much better. I should be done recording it in early June, unless something goes horribly wrong. It then would be up on Audible shortly after that.

[Unagi]

I’m in the process of recording my first audiobook right now. Well, technically it’s my 2nd. The first one is terrible though. It’s a self help book that I’m fairly certain was written by a robot. I used a fake name for it, so hopefully it never sees the light of day. I did learn a lot about workflow and how to efficiently go through the process of recording an audiobook tjougj.

This second book is much better. I should be done recording it in early June, unless something goes horribly wrong. It then would be up on Audible shortly after that.

So, I'm curious from what you wrote....
Is this correct: You are creating content for Audible, narrating a book (written by someone else)?

Is this lucrative? Is it a job?
How does one get a job doing that?


edit: is it through Amazon’s Audiobook Creative Exchange (ACX) (which connects audiobook narrators with books to narrate)

I'm fascinated by this idea.

[msteelers]

I’m in the process of recording my first audiobook right now. Well, technically it’s my 2nd. The first one is terrible though. It’s a self help book that I’m fairly certain was written by a robot. I used a fake name for it, so hopefully it never sees the light of day. I did learn a lot about workflow and how to efficiently go through the process of recording an audiobook tjougj.

This second book is much better. I should be done recording it in early June, unless something goes horribly wrong. It then would be up on Audible shortly after that.

So, I'm curious from what you wrote....
Is this correct: You are creating content for Audible, narrating a book (written by someone else)?

Is this lucrative? Is it a job?
How does one get a job doing that?

That’s it! I built a recording space at home to do various voice work. Audible set up a website where narrators and authors can connect.

It is most definitely not lucrative, at least to start. These two books are on a Royalty Sharing plan, where I split the royalties with the author. More established narrators can make an hourly rate, upwards of $200 per finished hour. The book I’m working on now will be about 10 hours when it’s all said and done, but since I’m still learning how to do it this might take upwards of 60 hours to complete it. I have to record it, edit it, and upload it.