Get Active Listening with Audible.com
Make better use of your commute time or even the time it takes to mow your lawn when you download audio books to from Audible.com. Genres ranging from classics to thrillers, self development to mysteries, and business to fiction will put you on a route to more effortless reading while keeping your busy lifestyle on course. And, because Audible follows a subscription model, you’ll stay more committed to “reading” more often.
What it is and How it Works
Audible.com is a service of Amazon.com offering more than 75,000 well-mastered, professionally narrated audio books, magazines and newspapers as well as radio shows, speeches and podcasts that you can play on PCs, MACs or more than 500 compatible mp3 players. Sign up for a subscription online, check to see if you need to download Audible.com software, then choose titles to read via download or audio stream.
Getting Started
To decide if the audio route is right for you, browse through Audible’s large selection of listenable publications before you create an account.
Ready to download a title? You’ll need to choose a monthly or annual subscription plan. Plans vary by how many audio program “credits” you receive and how much you pay for each credit. The more you buy, the more you save. Supply your credit card payment information on Audible’s secure site as well as your name, username and password to complete your purchase. You can cancel any plan at any time.
Next, you’ll need to download audible.com software to your primary listening device. Audible Software (found under the Software link) helps transfer audio content to PCs and most mobile devices, and it includes an option for burning content to CDs. MAC users who use iTunes won’t need to download any additional software. Audible files will download directly to your iTunes account where you can sync audio files with any iTunes-connected devices.
Choices, Choices
Choose your listening content by browsing categories or conducting a search. Audible.com makes recommendations to satisfy almost any reader and non-reader. In addition to all the usual book genres, Audible offers audio entertainment like comedy skits and narrated newspapers and magazines. If you’re a fan of original programming on YouTube, check out Audible Originals—content produced exclusively for Audible and, in some cases, exclusively for audio download. And, if you can’t decide what to try first, check out special features on Audible.com like “Great First Listens” or “Oprah’s Book Club Selections.”
Membership Benefits
Can’t pick just one? Manage the books you’d like to read by adding them to your Wish List. Want to listen again? All your current and past purchases get stored My Library and can be downloaded unlimited times to any number of devices. It’s only fair, considering you’d have those options if you’d bought a CD at the book store.
Members also enjoy benefits like fresh previews, free offerings and short listens, monthly specials, and discounted book purchases (for when you run out of credits). And, you can get your kids in on the fun with AudibleKids, a sister site using your same membership information, that encourages adults and children to listen and learn together.
Best of all, your Audible membership can help you keep your commitment to reading — for business, pleasure or personal enrichment.
Good to Know
Almost every Audible offering requires only one credit. Occasionally, you may find something that requires two or more credits, which means you’ll need to save up credits or purchase an annual plan. Depending on the type of monthly plan you choose, you can bank up to 12 credits for later use. Annual plans also allow you to rollover a limited number of credits from year to year as long as you keep your account active.
Purchased content stays in your Audible library and may be accessed for download or streaming at any time. It’s like free, automatic backup that will save your selections your hard drive crash.
If Audible.com sounds like the perfect solution for someone else, consider a gift membership for three or six months. Looking to rally coworkers around your favorite business read or use a motivational book to enhance company performance? Buy a minimum of 250 corporate claim codes and distribute them as gifts or rewards. In most cases, one corporate claim code = one credit = one book.