Get a library card! No, really, get a library card - they’re free. Support your local library, pop in, borrow them, read them and bring them back! That saves you paying anything for them, which is pretty cool and the more that we can do to keep libraries open for everyone, the better.
I mentioned before how I’ve been trying to get reading again. There are some awesome apps that I have found to make it far easier. They might still require that library card though!
You can get started right now with the free, ad-supported app, which provides free and paid audiobooks. It’s a great place to find out of copyright classics. For example it let me go through Jane Austen’s back catalogue and Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy and get someone to read them to me for free! That’s pretty cool.
The downside is that the quality of the recordings can be wildly changeable with some being close to Audible quality whilst others can sound like they were recorded by 6 different people in different places with completely different mic settings. But it is free, so if you’re after an audiobook or audio play, and don’t want to pay for Audible, then this is a great place to start!
This will allow you to sync your library card to the app and give you access to all of the eBooks and audiobooks that your local chain of libraries has, to download onto your device. For free. It’s pretty awesome, and my current favourite way to get audiobooks and eBooks that normally I would have to pay for.
There are downsides, since it’s attached to your library card, it works just like a library. This means that it only has access to books that your local library system has access to. It has licences of a book, rather than unlimited sharing, meaning that if another user has withdrawn one and it is on their device, you’ll have to place a hold to get it once it has returned to the library’s collection, just like a real book. So if it’s a particularly popular book, you might find there is a hold list that’s several people long. But once you get to the top of the list, the book will be downloaded onto your device and will be ready for you. The best part of the system is that when the loan period is up, the book will be automatically removed from the device and sent to the next one. No late fees required!
This is how I’ve managed to get through so many books in the last few months - I’ve been using my library! I’m not slowed down by having to pay for them and I can listen to them on my commute or while doing the washing up. I really think audiobooks are a great option for people to consider. It has definitely helped me enjoy more books straight from my phone!
Librivox
Libby
