Audiobooks - hive mind help please

[cjsmith]

I'd like to listen to audiobooks on my commute. I have an ancient iPhone and a third-party car radio with CarPlay.

Q1: Can I use Audible even if I'm not paying a monthly fee? (I'm a Prime member, if that helps.)

Q2: Is there any other audio book app out there that works with CarPlay? (Already looked at Overdrive and Libby, because ideally I'd like to borrow from libraries sometimes, but those don't have CarPlay support. Kindle reputedly has audio as well, but it too lacks CarPlay support.)

Comments

[noelfigart]

Yes, you can buy books from audible without being a monthly member.

I don't know the answer to the other questions.

[cjsmith]

Thank you! I wonder what the monthly fee is for. (I feel like such a dinosaur sometimes.)

[britgeekgrrl]

I think I'm paying $12.99 per month, but they'll often do sales/specials for new users.

[cjsmith]

Wow. That is a ton of money. I like the concept of making use of those two hours a day, but I am really not up for a monthly fee of more than a couple of bucks.

[noelfigart]

It's a good deal if you buy a LOT of first-run audiobooks. They run around $25-30. The monthly membership gives you a credit a month. So you can buy new runs for much, much cheaper.

Thing is, they run deep sales to members a lot, too.

I... uh... have an embarrassingly large audiobook library.

If you're buying fewer than six a year, there's really no point.

[britgeekgrrl]

Fwiw, the "credit" system that Audible uses means that you can get, for example, all 58 hours of Stephen Fry reading the complete Sherlock Holmes for $12.99.

If you want cheaper than that, see if you library offers digital audio titles.

[cjsmith]

OK, gotcha. I keep thinking more-than-ten per month plus the Prime membership would mean I'd really have to evaluate what I was getting outta this.

When you say first-run, do you mean new or do you mean highly regarded? I'm okay waiting.

I have an embarrassingly large paper library, and that's after I've cut it in half when moving a few times over the past decade. It's time to start pushing some electrons. I'm on the alert for e-books and audio books both, any time I can get a good price.

[cjsmith]

I'm beginning to see why people pay for membership. It's not to use the app, it's to get deals on books?

Definitely want to check out the library, but both apps that I know are compatible with my local library will not play via my car. Woe is me.

[noelfigart]

I mean new ones. Depending, you can get old ones at fairly deep discounts sometimes.

[cjsmith]

Thanks! That's good to know. :)