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ShoogaSlim posted:An Audible question for this thread, and my apologies if it's been brought up: how come Amazon offers me dirt-cheap prices to upgrade my already-purchased Kindle books to add Whispersync voice technology or whatever, but Audible requires that I buy the Kindle book at full price after already using my credit on the audio version? Shouldn't there be a discount both ways? Why pay $15/month for Audible and then buy a Kindle book for ~$15 to get both when I can just buy a Kindle book for ~$15 and then upgrade to add voice for like ~$5? Also you won't get credit deals until you've had an active membership for 3 consecutive months - even if you're a longtime member.
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Aug 28, 2016 03:53
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Audiobook sales are a drop in the bucket by comparison to even e-book sales. Amazon probably figured it would be a good value add-on for their larger book buying audience, and introduce their customers to another avenue for sales.
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Aug 28, 2016 04:03
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Thanks for the responses. It doesn't make much sense to me that, if audiobook sales aren't great, they wouldn't incentivize them a bit by giving offers for cheap text versions of books you've already bought an audio version of (whether it be with actual money or credits). I contacted Audible support after posting in this thread, and the suggestion was to check for Whispersync availability on an Audible book, buy the Kindle version first then add audio for a few bucks more. Just feels pretty backwards to me. Ah well, they did wind up refunding the 15 bucks I wound up spending because the weird discount signup code link I followed from Kurzgesagt's YouTube channel didn't work.
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Aug 28, 2016 04:36
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It IS super backward however as I said, the support folks are super accomodating - and once you get used to it, hitting the "add audio version fro 3 bucks" box is easy to roll with.Mister Macys posted:Audiobook sales are a drop in the bucket by comparison to even e-book sales. Amazon probably figured it would be a good value add-on for their larger book buying audience, and introduce their customers to another avenue for sales. 
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Aug 28, 2016 05:23
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I've moved 7 times in the last 6 years. Every single time I end up in a new place I ask myself why the gently caress I still have so many physical books (the majority of which I've actually never opened)?
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Aug 28, 2016 13:16
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Got Audible so I could trudge my way through A Song of Ice and Fire on my commute, after 150 odd hours of Roy Dotrice its come as a bit of a shock to me that other narrators exist. My initial post-ASOIAF plan was to be all productive and listen to non-fiction, philosophy and science texts. However, I've had horrible luck with the narrators so far, listening to Audible's own 'Therefore I am' series and Nick Bostrom's recent book on super-intelligence, the narration for both managing the pretty amazing feat of sounding at once robotically bland AND smugly superior - Not sure if anyone has any suggestions for books in this field with a more engaging narration? Took someone else's advice and grabbed 1Q84 which has a wonderful narration, and seems like it'll be a compelling read.
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Aug 28, 2016 13:47
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Simiain posted:Got Audible so I could trudge my way through A Song of Ice and Fire on my commute, after 150 odd hours of Roy Dotrice its come as a bit of a shock to me that other narrators exist. Michael Kramer is my favorite audiobook guy, find anything done by him as he is fantastic.
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Aug 28, 2016 19:08
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I lost my copy of George Guidall narrating Dune to a hard drive dying. gently caress
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Aug 28, 2016 19:43
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I'm a big fan of James Marsden, but he hasn't done much other than The Dresden Files. Neil Gaiman is another one of my favorite narrators. There are a couple celebrities with good voices that have done some audiobooks, such as Brian Cranston, Stephen Fry, etc. most of The Great Courses usually have a decent lecturer, or someone that cares about the material, at least. I usually know if I'm interested or not by the end of the sample. If you're still not sold on audiobooks, Audible's having a sale right now with a bunch of titles marked down to two or three bucks. Not all of them have the best audio ( some of it is noticeably dated ), but the price is right. I picked up The Road, All Quiet On The Western Front, and a lecture by Neil deGrasse Tyson. What's the free audiobook selection like on Kindle Unlimited? Is it lovely? I bet it's lovely.
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Aug 28, 2016 19:55
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ShoogaSlim posted:I've moved 7 times in the last 6 years. Every single time I end up in a new place I ask myself why the gently caress I still have so many physical books (the majority of which I've actually never opened)? I've finally convinced myself this year to really start downsizing my bookshelves. There are a lot of books that I had that I enjoyed reading, but realistically I was never going to read them again. There were also a lot of books that I had hauled around for nearly a decade because I was totally going to read them someday... Making use of my local library and audiobooks a lot more now, and it's pretty freeing.
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Aug 28, 2016 21:12
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NerdyMcNerdNerd posted:
How do you find the sale books? I just had a browse around the home page but can't find any link to them. Edit: nevermind, think I found it - the anniversary sale.
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Aug 28, 2016 21:29
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The third book in the Please Don't Tell My Parents series is excellent. Full focus on The Inscrutable Machine's school and personal lives, the coming out of other kids with powers, and the expansion of the 'Supers Club' established in book one as cover for Penny's actions. Missions and hijinks ensue. Romance is in the air. Villains will become heroes.  5/5
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Aug 28, 2016 21:36
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ShoogaSlim posted:I've moved 7 times in the last 6 years. Every single time I end up in a new place I ask myself why the gently caress I still have so many physical books (the majority of which I've actually never opened)?
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Aug 29, 2016 01:36
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Woke up early this morning and threw about 2/3 of all my books into boxes, wrote "I have too many books, take what you like" on one of the boxes, and left them on the curb outside my apartment. About an hour and a half later, half the books were gone and someone wrote "thanks!" on the box. Later that day all the books were gone, including some pretty zany self help books I've accumulated, two video editing text books, and some children books I had lying around. People will take anything I guess. There's a Thesaurus that's still out there. Poor guy. As for narration, I find Derek Perkins pleasant to listen to as I'm going through Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Once I get around to fiction again, I want to tackle Paul Giamatti's take on A Scanner Darkly.
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Aug 29, 2016 06:17
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My physical books are mostly memories of times before I listened to digital copies. Cracking open my old tattered copy of Stars My Destination or my rare illustrated edition of Dune is very satisfying, even if I probably won't actually read the physical copy and more since I am so used to multitasking with audiobooks.
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Aug 29, 2016 18:09
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Same. I collect those big-rear end DK/Smithsonian reference books for my shelf whenever I spot then in secondhand shops, but between the internet and audiobooks, I haven't read one in forever.
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Aug 29, 2016 18:25
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I get a lot of books on kindle/audio but now I tend to go with whatever I can get cheaper. Other than that, there are certain paperbacks I will collect. For instance I have most of the Hard Case Crime collection, because all of those covers are fantastic and it would lose something if I got them on kindle.
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Aug 29, 2016 23:21
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The Whispersynch stuff is loving great. If you're liek me and rabidly consume written media but also have poo poo to do, it's really tough to read as much or as often as you may desire to. Audiobooks are awesome for when I'm driving or doing chores or sometimes even working out or at work. Books I like when it's quiet and I'm chilling with some music up and a tasty beverage or meal at hand when I'm by myself. I can sneak my audiobooks in when I'm in crowded environments but it's kind of weird-looking to be reading a book when you're pushing a load of groceries in line at the store. The fact that I can usually buy the kindle and audio version for likely cheaper than a hardcover version is awesome, and I also have the ability to whip out my phone or kindle or a new browser tab at a whim when I do wanna read words on a page.. But since I'm going back to school right now, it ends up hard to want to read anything when you've got hundreds of pages of assigned reading each week, from eyestrain alone. 
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Aug 30, 2016 02:23
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Simiain posted:Took someone else's advice and grabbed 1Q84 which has a wonderful narration, and seems like it'll be a compelling read. Any and all Murakami is worth your while.
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Aug 30, 2016 04:24
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New Audible bennies if you're an Amazon Prime member: http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/14/audible-offers-free-channels-audio-books-amazon-prime-members/ quote:Audible offers free Channels and audiobooks to Amazon Prime members
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Sep 14, 2016 21:23
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This is very cool and I will def use it.
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Sep 15, 2016 00:45
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I didn't really use this when my Audible sub was still active. I guess it's another nice bonus for Primers though. Maybe the content will get better.
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Sep 15, 2016 03:21
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I've listened to both of Patton Oswalt's memoirs twice each now (they're pretty drat short). I very very much recommend them if you're a fan of his whiny nasally voice (which I am). There's some annoying filler in both but the stories about his beginnings in comedy and his digressions on film are pretty drat good. Also listened to Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up" which I can't decide if I like or not. He tells the story of how he became The Most Famous Comedian In America as if he were telling you about a trip to the laundromat, with about as much in the way of intrigue. That said, his dry laconic delivery is good and it still manages to be pretty interesting, just don't go in expecting him to tell a lot of wild and crazy stories. About as wild as it gets is "I used to smoke a lot of weed, then I had a panic attack so I stopped".
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Sep 15, 2016 23:37
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Being the straight guy is the best part of his comedy. Like in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with John Candy. Or Nice Guys Don't Wear Plaid.
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Sep 15, 2016 23:44
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Yeah, I get that that was pretty much the point, but I still expected some juicy insider Hollywood drama or some stories about the cast of SNL or whatever. I think the part about SNL lasts maybe 10 or 15 minutes and all I remember is him saying that he loved Bill Murray, which came as a bit of a surprise to me.
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Sep 16, 2016 00:11
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Does everybody hating Chevy Chase count as juicy? It's not exactly a secret.
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Sep 16, 2016 00:24
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Mister Macys posted:New Audible bennies if you're an Amazon Prime member: This sounds pretty great, but I cannot figure out how to access the free audiobooks. I'm not too interested in the short readings on the channels, but I'd like to see what books are offered.
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Sep 16, 2016 17:12
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I'm Canadian, so I have no idea, because Prime isn't worth getting here. v v( )
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Sep 16, 2016 17:32
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Mister Macys posted:I'm Canadian, so I have no idea, because Prime isn't worth getting here. v Stop taking your health care for granted, ingrate.
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Sep 18, 2016 21:01
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Audible's having a sale on best-rated audiobooks for $4.95 a pop. Included is a fantastic Great Courses overview of medieval history that I've recommended before ITT if that's your thing. Edit: also, I discovered what a difference narration can make. I usually listen to history books, and I love the subject matter so much that I can almost always pay attention and stay engaged. I grabbed The Poison King, a history of Mithradates VI, and oh my GOD is the narrator a snoozer. He sounds like a mindfulness meditation leader. Not what you need when you're getting into super-crazy detail about some potentially boring stuff. Peas and Rice fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2016 00:33
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How do I hold all these audiobooks http://www.audible.com/mt/micro-home
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Sep 20, 2016 01:04
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Kraps posted:How do I hold all these audiobooks http://www.audible.com/mt/micro-home  Hockey Romance...    Seriously though; anyone know if any of the Kevin J. Anderson Dune books worth listening to? Credits are in, and I'm kinda interested in the new one about the creation of the Bene Gesserit, Mentats, and Navigators. Mister Facetious fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Sep 21, 2016 |
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Sep 21, 2016 05:39
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Are there other places to pick up audiobooks besides Audible? I'm really getting into listening to them now and picked up a bunch in the last sale, but I'm not a big fan of subscription services.
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Sep 23, 2016 12:02
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Enfys posted:Are there other places to pick up audiobooks besides Audible? I'm really getting into listening to them now and picked up a bunch in the last sale, but I'm not a big fan of subscription services. Check to see if your local library offers Overdrive, that would be the cheapest way to do it. There are a couple other retailers for audiobooks, but the retail prices are sky high, so you are better off looking for sale prices on audible or digging through local thrift stores. Honestly, Audible isn't really a subscription service, you own everything you buy and they don't go away when you cancel. If you are listening with any frequency, the service will save you a lot of money over retail.
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Sep 23, 2016 15:10
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Also if you look at the Whispersync for Voice deals, you can get a kindle book and then the same book on audible for cheap. I've gotten $30 Audiobooks for $7 that way.
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Sep 23, 2016 15:34
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Fun fact: if you check out a Kindle book through Overdrive, it counts as owning the book for the Whispersync audiobook discount! I've gotten a lot of $3-4 audiobooks with this method.
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Sep 23, 2016 20:31
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Enfys posted:Are there other places to pick up audiobooks besides Audible? I'm really getting into listening to them now and picked up a bunch in the last sale, but I'm not a big fan of subscription services. Hoopla, on the other hand, seems to have an app that was coded by retarded interns. I'd stay well away from their audiobooks.
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Sep 23, 2016 20:49
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Mister Macys posted:
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Sep 24, 2016 01:28
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Mister Macys posted:Seriously though; anyone know if any of the Kevin J. Anderson Dune books worth listening to?
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Sep 25, 2016 19:44
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Mister Macys posted:
See but look where it says "Epistolary Novels". I've been looking all over for books like that, and asking people for suggestions "in the style of WWZ" returns poo poo results.
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Sep 25, 2016 19:49
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