Audio Books

placeholder · 21 May 2020 at 07:36

Andybtsn said:
I have an absolute load of audiobooks on Scribd waiting to be read, it's £11 a month but you get unlimited audio books. The library isn't as extensive as Audible but I'm only interested in thriller/crime and there's loads on there.

Thanks, I'll have a look.

placeholder · 21 May 2020 at 07:39

Angilion said:
Audiobooks are very expensive. You have to hire a professional voice actor for an extended period of time and the size of the market isn't very high. Costs are high and competition is low and volume of sales is low, so price is high. Far higher than printed books. Far higher even than high end films, which cost a fortune to make but have a far larger market.

The cheapest route to audiobooks is the library system, if your local library system does audiobooks. Either physical visits and borrowing physical copies on CDs or (usually far more convenient) online. Almost all of the audiobooks I download from the library system are default unprotected mp3s, which is just the job for me. Download, copy to a basic media player I bought for ~£10, listen, delete. No fuss, no drama. I break it? I lose it? It's stolen? Oh well, never mind, just buy another one.

Very good point on costs, hadn't really thought of that. I would counter that however by saying that if you are pricing at that level its only ever going to be a small market because you are pricing most people out. Im also not having it for the BBC Radio shows and comedy sound-tracks which a pre-existing could be sold relatively cheaply - certainly cheaper than the Blu Ray vision of the show. It can't be right that I can buy a boxed set of Only Fools and Horses on DVD for the same money as getting the audio for 10-15 episodes.

Angilion · 21 May 2020 at 15:48

placeholder said:
Very good point on costs, hadn't really thought of that. I would counter that however by saying that if you are pricing at that level its only ever going to be a small market because you are pricing most people out.

True - cause and effect can be reinforcing. I think it's very unlikely to change. Change would require a large company that is willing to take make a loss on sales and spend a very large amount of advertising in exchange for the possibility of increasing the market for audiobooks and the possibility of increasing their market share enough to outweigh those costs. Audible has shown that isn't necessary in order to profit, so who's going to do it and why?

Im also not having it for the BBC Radio shows and comedy sound-tracks which a pre-existing could be sold relatively cheaply - certainly cheaper than the Blu Ray vision of the show. It can't be right that I can buy a boxed set of Only Fools and Horses on DVD for the same money as getting the audio for 10-15 episodes.

The actual costs to the distributing company are probably very similar. Licensing, manufacturing, distribution, etc.

Dirk Diggler · 21 Oct 2020 at 16:11

I've been unable to listen to audio books for a while as I am preferring to read instead, and now have 4 unused Audible credits. Prior to cancelling my Audible membership, I would be happy to send some books as a gift to anyone who has posted in the thread previously.

Simply quote your previous post and tell me what book you'd like and I'll sort it with you.

Limit one book per person.

Andybtsn · 21 Oct 2020 at 16:13

Andybtsn said:
Hi guys,

I started a 30 day audible trial and nearly finished the book I chose. I was under the assumption that £7.99 a month allowed me to pick and choose whatever book I wanted but it sounds like this isn't the case. If I get one credit a month, how do I pay for another book?

Hey @Dirk Diggler this is mightily kind of you. I'd love one of the books

Dirk Diggler · 21 Oct 2020 at 16:25

Andybtsn said:
Hey @Dirk Diggler this is mightily kind of you. I'd love one of the books

No worries, send me a Trust with the book you want and the email address you use for Audible.

Andybtsn · 21 Oct 2020 at 17:10

Dirk Diggler said:
No worries, send me a Trust with the book you want and the email address you use for Audible.

Thank you! I’ll have a look

Dirk Diggler · 21 Oct 2020 at 20:23

Andybtsn said:
Thank you! I’ll have a look

Received your request and have sent the gift to your email, please reply and confirm receipt.

Andybtsn · 21 Oct 2020 at 20:45

Dirk Diggler said:
Received your request and have sent the gift to your email, please reply and confirm receipt.

Yep all received. Thanks again!

Dirk Diggler · 21 Oct 2020 at 20:52

Andybtsn said:
Yep all received. Thanks again!

No worries mate, enjoy.

3 tokens still available.

Ripper · 21 Oct 2020 at 22:12

Dirk Diggler said:
I've been unable to listen to audio books for a while as I am preferring to read instead, and now have 4 unused Audible credits. Prior to cancelling my Audible membership, I would be happy to send some books as a gift to anyone who has posted in the thread previously.

Simply quote your previous post and tell me what book you'd like and I'll sort it with you.

Limit one book per person.

Hi Dirk. I haven’t posted previously (but have read/lurked!) but if theres a token going spare I’d appreciate it as I’d been looking to purchase ‘Teach like a champion 2.0’ for some personal development at work.

No worries if not mate, completely understand if you’d rather allow others in first who have posted. Cheers, Steve.

Irish_Tom · 21 Oct 2020 at 22:16

Irish_Tom said:
I like Audible for non-fiction/pop-sci books as well as fiction.

In September we drove to Germany and listened to Mythos, written and narrated by Stephen Fry, which was an interesting mix of the two.

I also listen to a lot of podcasts and Malcolm Gladwell's new book 'Talking to Strangers' blurs the lines between the two.

Gladwell is famous for popularising the '10,000 hours rule' and he gets a fair amount of flack for being less than scientific in the way he presents his research. However, if you read his books for entertainment rather than as objective non-fiction, he does have some interesting theories and anecdotes.

He has a podcast series called 'Revisionist History' where he "goes back and reinterprets something from the past: an event, a person, an idea. Something overlooked. Something misunderstood." It's well worth a listen because it's interesting, it's free and it will let you decide whether you like his voice/style before buying anything.

Most of the non-fiction audiobooks I've listened to are narrated by the author (with varying degrees of success) but they are just reading the text as it's written. In 'Talking to Strangers', Gladwell approaches the audio more like his podcast. When he refers to a historical moment (like a televised speech), he will get the audio from that moment, rather than him just reading out the words. If he has interviewed someone, he will use clips of the interview rather than reading out 'their parts'. He also uses music and sound effects — it makes the whole experience more engaging.

I'd like to think that this could be a new approach to audiobooks but it obviously requires a lot of planning up-front, with the intention of doing it this way from the outset. I think the next Freakonomics book could be done this way, given how good they are on the podcast side of things.

Dear @Dirk Diggler, please may I take you up on your very kind offer.

Dirk Diggler · 22 Oct 2020 at 00:25

Irish_Tom said:
Dear @Dirk Diggler, please may I take you up on your very kind offer.

Send me a Trust with your book choice and email address that you use for Audible.

I'm nightshift so may not get round to processing until tomorrow.

Irish_Tom · 22 Oct 2020 at 08:49

Dirk Diggler said:
Send me a Trust with your book choice and email address that you use for Audible.

I'm nightshift so may not get round to processing until tomorrow.

Trust sent.

Dirk Diggler · 22 Oct 2020 at 12:14

Irish_Tom said:
Trust sent.

Book sent, please confirm receipt when you get the chance.

Irish_Tom · 22 Oct 2020 at 12:16

Dirk Diggler said:
Book sent, please confirm receipt when you get the chance.

Received and redeemed.

Thanks again DD, such a kind gesture.

Dirk Diggler · 22 Oct 2020 at 12:19

Irish_Tom said:
Received and redeemed.

Thanks again DD, such a kind gesture.

No worries mate, enjoy the book.

1 credit left for anyone who wants a book and can quote their previous post in this thread.

roccles · 22 Oct 2020 at 13:36

If the credit is still available I would like to take you up on the offer. Many thanks

roccles said:
Roy Dotrice does over 200 different characters voices when he narrated the Game of Throne Audiobooks. I am half way though the 2nd book and really enjoying the story and the narration.

Dirk Diggler · 22 Oct 2020 at 15:08

roccles said:
If the credit is still available I would like to take you up on the offer. Many thanks

No problem, could you send me a Trust with book choice and email address you use for Audible.

roccles · 22 Oct 2020 at 15:15

Dirk Diggler said:
No problem, could you send me a Trust with book choice and email address you use for Audible.

Thank you, i have sent you a trust message