Audible

Jackle25

As a truck driver I listen to a lot of music and recently more audiobooks. I tend to go for the longer books, so I might only get through one book a month.
I've been looking at the Audible Premium Plus membership, where you can listen to whatever you like, and also get one credit per month to buy any book. Once you've bought a book I understand it is available to listen to whether you have an active membership or not.
So, I've been thinking about this, and it seems too simple..... 
If I listen to one book per month, and get to buy one book per month - is there any reason I can't keep my membership for a year and then cancel. At which point I will have bought 12 books that I haven't listened to yet which will then keep me going for another year?? Effectively 2 years for the price of 1?
Can I do this, or is there a catch I haven't picked up on yet?

Devongardener

I left Audible recently and yes the books I bought stay in my library.   An alternative audiobook source is to borrow them through your local library, free.
You need to register then download one of the apps (I use  Borrowbox). There’s a good range of audiobooks although you sometimes have to reserve ahead for some, but I can always find something to listen to.

Cairnpapple

Premium plus annual (£69.99 per year for 12 books or £109.99 per year for 24 books) is a good deal if you read a lot. On the annual plan all the credits arrive at once, you don't have to wait for one per month.  You have to use up all your credits before your membership runs out but then you can keep the books. I don't have a membership at the moment but I do have ~250 books. 

You'd want to be strategic about finding books for your first year that are free with premium plus so you can save the paid ones for after you unsubscribe. 

It's also worth looking out for sales because if you can get a book for £1.99 it's cheaper than using a credit.

I definitely also recommend a library card as suggested above for free audiobooks.

flaneurs_lobster

Another vote for your local library - free is almost always better than paid-for.

And a lot of libraries will allow you to join if you "work" in the local area. I reckon a truck driver might work in a lot of locations.

uknick

Or, you could take advantage of the Audible free membership offers that keep on coming up.

They vary from free membership for 3 months or 99p for three months.  These memberships give you all the benefits of full paid for membership.  

cannugec5

I listen to a lot of Audiobooks and belong to my local library in addition to a basic Audible subscription. 

The subscription allows me one (paid by credit) book a month, but in addition they have a ‘plus’ feature which has a vast array of ‘free’ books. Sometimes I had a free Audible book and then listened to subsequent books in the series from the library. Free Audible books are time limited and vanish from your library if they are removed from the Plus feature. 

Previously when I was busy studying I paused my Audible subscription for a month or two at a time. This retained my membership but reduced costs. 

I have learned that I can download Audible content on to my phone to listen to anywhere - eg on my walks into the forest. However my library audiobooks require a Wi-Fi connection ( might work with data, don’t know as I live in an area with very poor mobile signal) . 

wishus

I used up my Audible deals, then as I was a Spotify premium listener, I got 15 hours free listening there per month, so that was great for brand new books.
I am now trying to save money, but I need something in my ears to help me focus, and I love a story! Borrowbox is the biz! You may have a random choice for a while until your chosen book becomes available from your reserve list, but there are hundreds of books, so there's always something good to listen to.

Currently on part 4 of Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go. It's so well done!

flaneurs_lobster

cannugec5 said:

. However my library audiobooks require a Wi-Fi connection ( might work with data, don’t know as I live in an area with very poor mobile signal) . 

What app are you using to access your library audiobooks? Both Borrowbox and Libby (which are used by the vast majority) allow the books to be downloaded and listened to offline.

wishus

flaneurs_lobster said:

cannugec5 said:

. However my library audiobooks require a Wi-Fi connection ( might work with data, don’t know as I live in an area with very poor mobile signal) . 

What app are you using to access your library audiobooks? Both Borrowbox and Libby (which are used by the vast majority) allow the books to be downloaded and listened to offline.

Yep, I have an old Fire which is Wifi only, so I tend to download ebooks on Borrowbox for that. I have quite a good data package on my mobile, so I also have the app on my phone, and I tend to use that to listen to audiobooks because it's more convenient, I'm out and need to start a new one, for example. The app will warn you that you will use data if you are not on a WiFi network, but it's KB, not much at all. My phone gives me the option to download the whole book. The Fire would do it slowly over WiFi, a chapter at a time. If I was downloading a book on the train I would be crossing fingers that I'd downloaded enough to listen to during the day, and often I hadn't.

Spikeygran

I do yearly subscription which I dont think is too bad. I dont smoke or drink and we dont go out much so its my treat.  I do all housework etc with my earphones on.

I think its pretty good value all in, it didn't go up this year either.  They have a massive free plus catalogue, plus some made for audible and found a few authors I liked.  A lot of the book series have at least one book or a 3 book omnibus free to listen.  Its also easy to return a book if you find you cant stand the narrator or the book, I think theres a limit (3 a year).

Theres a bonus credit offer on at the moment if you use 3 credits you get one back. I think its running until June??

MrsCatz

Thanks for the tip about borrow box, there is a lot on there from my local library