How to Get Your Favorite Audiobooks with Audible
By Kay FleuryUpdated on March 10, 2022
Do you love books but hate reading? Prefer to listen to narrations of books in your leisure time? Have long commutes you want to fill, but are bored with listening to music? Then Audiobooks, or the digital recording of a book that you can listen to, may be for you! And if you’re interested in buying a lot of audiobooks, then we think your best source for quality audiobooks is Audible.com.
In this article, we’ll explain:
What is Audible and how does it work?
Audible.com is a website and app that sells audiobooks, or narrated digital versions of books for a fee. It also has a subscription program, where users can join and become members to receive free audiobooks each month, as well as discounts on any purchases they make on the website or within the app.
Audible records the audiobooks and offers them for sale, allowing anyone to browse their catalogue. Because the website itself is free to use, and the app is free to download and use, so anyone can look through the library of available audiobooks. Audible is run through Internet giant Amazon.com.
They also often offer sale prices or discounts, so even if you aren’t a member of their program, you can use the site to buy specific audiobooks you want to purchase for use, and can listen to them through the website or app. However, once you’re a member, you simply sign in, collect your free book (the first is free), access one free book per month, and use your 30% off member discount for future purchases at any time.
To sign up for Audible, you must have a working Amazon account. Check out our free tutorial on how to sign up for Amazon with more detailed instructions (with step-by-step pictures), or follow these simple instructions.
How to sign up for Audible
- Go to Amazon.com in a web browser.
- Hover your cursor over Sign In in the top-right corner, and then click Start Here when it appears on the drop-down menu.
- Click into each box and fill out the form with your personal information.
- Enter a password, and then confirm it.
- Click Create Account.
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to visit Audible.com, and simply sign in using your Amazon account information.
Once you’ve got that sorted out, you’ll need to visit the website or download the app for your Android or iOS device in order to browse the catalogue to find books you want, and to listen to the audiobooks once you’ve purchased them.
How much does Audible cost?
The Audible website itself is free to use, and the app is free to download and use. Users must pay for audiobooks individually as they want to purchase them, or can pay for a monthly subscription to get significant discounts on audiobooks, free audiobooks, and offers and promotions for members only.
For an audible subscription:
If you love audiobooks and think you’re likely to purchase many of them, then paying for the monthly subscription may be worth it for you. Start with a 30-day free trial, then pay only $14.95/month. You will still have to pay for audiobooks, but receive one free book at the start of your membership, one free book per month, and a 30% discount on all audiobooks you purchase at cost.
To buy e-books:
You have to pay for e-books individually, and can buy them from Audible without a subscription. As we mentioned, you get a discount on audiobooks if you’re a member, but regardless, you will have to pay for the audiobooks, and the cost can vary significantly depending on the book. However, the cost of audiobooks on Audible is generally the same or cheaper than the cost of the same book in print.
Examples of popular audiobook titles available on Audible
If this sounds like your cup of tea, here are some examples of the great titles you can find on Audible, and their current standard prices (ignoring sales, promotions, and member discounts).
- The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins: $28.00
- The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood: $29.95
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil deGrasse Tyson: $17.47
- Private – James Patterson: $22.80
- 1984 – George Orwell: $20.97
- It – Stephen King: $37.79
- Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy: $39.95
- To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee: $30.79
- Brave New World – Aldous Huxley: $20.97
There are also your favorite book series available:
- Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling
- A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) – George R. R. Martin
- The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien
And much more. There is even an entire category of books for your children!
Benefits of an Audible membership
There are obvious benefits of audiobooks; you don’t have to read them, so those with visual impairments can still enjoy the same books everyone else is reading. They’re also great for commutes – as you can easily listen in a car, or on the train or bus. They’re also great for airplanes, or long car rides for vacationing.
Audiobooks are also very relaxing to listen to, and save many people who get motion sickness from reading in a moving vehicle. You can listen while falling asleep, while cooking dinner, in the shower, or just to unwind at the end of the day.
With Audible, you not only get all of these benefits, but the following added benefits if you’re a member:
1. Discounts on your favorite titles, and FREE BOOKS!
As a member, you get a minimum 30% off of book titles, so you’re always getting them for a price much cheaper than non-members. You also get access to special promotions and sales no open to everyone. But one of the best features is, of course, the free books.
Get one free book for signing up, and one free book per month you’re a member. That means that for the $14.95/month price, you’re getting at least a book out of it, so if you can get through at least one book each month, Audible is probably worth it for you.
2. You can exchange books you didn’t like.
As a member, if you really didn’t like a book, you can return or exchange it for another one. It’s called their Great Listen Guarantee, which allows you to return or exchange a book within 365 days of your original purchase. You will be credited with your money back, but must provide a reason for your return. Your returns will be monitored over time and must be approved, but if you have a genuine reason for making a return, you’re likely to get your money back.
3. Listen to your favorite books performed by celebrities!
Some of the books on Audible are recorded by famous personalities or celebrities. You can listen to some of your favorite classics performed by people such as:
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Anne Hathaway
- Susan Sarandon
- Colin Firth
- Nicole Kidman
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Dustin Hoffman
- Jennifer Connelly
- Kate Winslet
- Claire Danes
- Annette Bening
This can make the book-listening experience all the more fun, and Audible has the largest library of books performed by famous personalities. If you want to see what they have to offer, check out their A-List Collection.
4. Total synchronization, so you can listen anywhere.
Because the website and app is totally synchronized with your account, you can tune in to your book whenever you want, including on the go. Your place in the book will be kept, even if you’re switching to different devices to listen in different places.
5. You can cancel your membership at any time if you find you’re not getting enough out of it.
The membership with Audible has no contract or commitment, so you can cancel it at absolutely any time. Simply sign in and alter your membership and cancel, and you’ll still receive audible service and member discounts until the end of your billing period.
This includes if you don’t feel you like Audible after the 30-day free trial, you can cancel your subscription with absolutely no obligation. So, in essence, you can sign up, get your free book, listen to it within a month, and then move on if you don’t like it.
We hope we’ve given you enough reasons to consider trying out Audible. It has the largest online library of audiobooks, A-List celebs performing your favorite new hot books, great discounts, and amazing quality audiobooks. If you’re into listening to books, this is the place for you, so give Audible a try today.
If you think Audible might not be the perfect site for you, check out one of it’s top competitors, Audiobooks.com, or AudiobooksNow.com. If you are still looking for a good website to buy hard-copy books, but you want something different than Amazon, try out some of the sites on our list of the best websites like Amazon.