• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Free audiobooks?

Squeegee Beckenheim

Penultimate Amazing
Squeegee Beckenheim
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
32,124
I run quite a lot and I've exhausted all the music in the whole world and am finding it hard to find new stuff. I'm also getting quite bored of Doctor Who audio dramas. So I'm looking for suggestions of other audio works that I can listen to, and which won't cost me a fortune.

Since I've not read as many classic books as I ought to I've just started in on the Sherlock Holmes canon (somewhat ironically starting off with one of the ones I have read), which I got from archive.org, which has led me to https://librivox.org/

Does anyone else know of any good sources of free audio books? I'm sure it'll mostly be restricted to classic books, as they're more likely to be in the public domain than more modern works (although there may be some modern works, I'm sure). I'm more looking for suggestions of archives which have a selection of free works (and they don't have to be restricted to books - plays, etc. can be good, too), but if there are any suggestions of individual works I can get from somewhere that would be appreciated, too.

The only thing I'm not really interested in is stuff like the first chapter of something free as an enticement to buy the rest of the book. A first chapter wouldn't last the length of a run (I did all three parts of "A Scandal In Bohemia" and most of the first part of the next story today), and if I were to spend money on a work I'd be much more likely to get the ebook version as I'm starting to get into a position where my "upcoming books to read" pile is getting a little small.

Oh, and as I want to practice my German, simple German-language stuff is a good idea. I've listened to the German language version of Harry Potter and enjoyed that although, again, at the moment I'd rather find things which are free than things I need to pay for.
 
Local public library should have a nice selection..... Although I do not use them , Orlando Public certainly does have a good stock so hopefully your location does too!!!
 
German: WDR has rebroadcasted their 12 part rendition of Karl May's "Orient Zyklus" (travels to the Middle East, based on six books if I recall correctly). It's here, hilarious. I'm at episode 9 of 12 atm.
 
Childlike Empress said:
German: WDR has rebroadcasted their 12 part rendition of Karl May's "Orient Zyklus" (travels to the Middle East, based on six books if I recall correctly). It's here, hilarious. I'm at episode 9 of 12 atm.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll definitely give it a go, although I'm not sure my German will be advanced enough - part of the advantage of Harry Potter for me was that I already knew the books, which helped to fill in the blanks for me.

Still, I'm of the opinion that even listening to things that you don't understand any of is beneficial because, if nothing else, it allows you to internalise the cadence of the language.
 
I get them from the library, big advantage is if you don't like it, you aren't out $60 if you put it down without finishing it.

Our library has online ordering so I sort through them, find some that sound good, put a hold and my library page tells me when they are in and I can pick them up.
 
As others have said, your local library should have a decent collection, although not much in German. Some school library systems will loan books (allow online access) to the community, so if your local library is lacking, you may try approaching a school librarian and see if they are able to help out. A community college library may take the same view, but I don't know.
 
I have been listening to audiobooks while commuting now since the early 1990s. I used to check them out of the local library on cassette. Then they began to come out on CDs. Electronic versions are available - here in the Boston area through the library consortiums like NOBLE or OCLN. These use the OverDrive software as their DRM tool so it is hit and miss whether a book can be burned to CD or loaded onto a mobile device. I eventually came to rely on Audible. As a member, audiobooks are $15 or so and occasionally go on sale for $10 and the copy you buy stays available on the website in your library, saving drive space on your local computer. I usually listen to books which are 10 to 20 hours long and am happy to pay for that.

Currently listening to the Medicus series by Ruth Downie. I recommend the Aubrey-Maturin series (read by Patrick Tull), the Amanda Peabody series, the Mary Russell (Sherlock Holmes) series, anything by Dick Francis.
 
Squeegee Beckenheim said:
I run quite a lot and I've exhausted all the music in the whole world and am finding it hard to find new stuff. I'm also getting quite bored of Doctor Who audio dramas. So I'm looking for suggestions of other audio works that I can listen to, and which won't cost me a fortune.

Since I've not read as many classic books as I ought to I've just started in on the Sherlock Holmes canon (somewhat ironically starting off with one of the ones I have read), which I got from archive.org, which has led me to https://librivox.org/

Does anyone else know of any good sources of free audio books? I'm sure it'll mostly be restricted to classic books, as they're more likely to be in the public domain than more modern works (although there may be some modern works, I'm sure). I'm more looking for suggestions of archives which have a selection of free works (and they don't have to be restricted to books - plays, etc. can be good, too), but if there are any suggestions of individual works I can get from somewhere that would be appreciated, too.

The only thing I'm not really interested in is stuff like the first chapter of something free as an enticement to buy the rest of the book. A first chapter wouldn't last the length of a run (I did all three parts of "A Scandal In Bohemia" and most of the first part of the next story today), and if I were to spend money on a work I'd be much more likely to get the ebook version as I'm starting to get into a position where my "upcoming books to read" pile is getting a little small.

Oh, and as I want to practice my German, simple German-language stuff is a good idea. I've listened to the German language version of Harry Potter and enjoyed that although, again, at the moment I'd rather find things which are free than things I need to pay for.
Click to expand...

Go to librivox.org

Has thousands and thousands of books from the public domain in audio, read by volunteers

Reader quality is variable
 
LSSBB said:
Listened to a few good ones there - the Moby Dick was very good IMO, and I thought Walden was acceptable. Trying to recall a couple of others...
Click to expand...

I've listened to Robinson Crusoe and Tarzan, I know, along with a lot of L Frank Baum books.

Reader quality is variable, but there are a lot of books there.
 
Squeegee,

Look for Erskine Childers' Riddle of the Sands at Librivox. Classic, and as a bonus, the reader is German, but her English is native quality.( Maybe she's totally bilingual?)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom