How it works: Scribd offers an unlimited subscription to both books and audiobooks for $9.99 a month, spanning categories like Science & Tech, Lifestyle and Fiction.
And if you’re wondering, you can also gift an Audible subscription. If you’re a fan of romance and love stories, Audible’s Escape membership is slightly more affordable at $12.95 a month ($6.95 if you’re an Audible member) and gives you unlimited access to favorites in the genre. Subsequently, you get those three options each month.
BEST NONFICTION AUDIOBOOK S FOR FREE
During those 30 days, you get an audiobook and two Audible Originals audiobooks for free - which is one way to listen to books online for free before settling into the medium.
BEST NONFICTION AUDIOBOOK S TRIAL
Getting started: An Audible trial membership gives you 30 days free to try it out, after which the subscription costs $14.95 each month.
In 2008, the Library of Congress credited that recording with “launching the audiobook industry in the United States.” Related Their first release - a collection of poems by Dylan Thomas - was narrated by the author. In 1952, Caedmon Records became the first company dedicated to selling spoken word records to the public, according to NPR. Talking books first emerged in 1932 when the American Foundation for the Blind began creating books on vinyl records for war-blinded soldiers and blind civilians who couldn’t read braille. “Such books would be listened to where now none are read.” Edison likely couldn’t have predicted how popular the medium would become: Deloitte predicts the global audiobook market will grow to $3.5 billion in 2020 (a 25 percent increase) - that’s on top of APA’s record growth claims. “The advantages of such books over those printed are too readily seen to need mention,” he wrote in the North American View. And who knows? You just might come across your new favorite, life-changing book.Shopping The most purchased books we covered this holiday season How do audiobooks work: a brief historyĪfter Thomas Edison created the first spoken word phonograph record in 1877, he predicted technology might one day allow books to be listened to “with great profit and amusement by the lady or gentleman whose eyes and hands may be otherwise employed.” From riveting romances to moving memoirs, there's a compelling story to get lost in for every type of reader. Even though the internet is flooded with all sorts of audiobooks, we cut through the noise (pun intended) to find the absolute best audiobooks of 2021.
If you're not sure where to get started on your audiobook journey, fear not: we've got you covered. And with an e-reader or tablet, it's easy to create a virtual library within one handy device rather than trying to keep track of tons of physical books. Ideal for listening during your commute or while cooking dinner, incorporating audiobooks into your everyday routine is sometimes easier than carving out time to sit down and read. The secret to keeping up and saving some space on your preciously decorated bookshelves? Audiobooks.Īudiobooks are a super helpful alternative to physical books-they don't take up nearly as much space, and listening can be less intensive than actively reading. Before you know it, you've got a stack of new unread books on your nightstand, and you've barely made progress on the novel you've been "passively reading" for weeks.
Yes, reading all the latest bestsellers and buzzy releases is fun and delightful, but sometimes it's just not doable.