3.18.2013

My Barely Audible Experience

Around Christmas, when we were travelling and in need of a good audio book for the trip, I decided to give Audible.com a try. We got the free trial started and downloaded Anne Hathaway's reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and enjoyed it tremendously (and I am NO fan of AH). Then, I got started with a non-fiction title a friend had highly recommended I read: The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan, and though the book was fine, it was a struggle to finish it. A real struggle. I didn't like the reader, and you audio book people out there know what a difficulty that can be. In fact, I disliked it so much that it took me forever and thus made me question my willingness to actually pay $14.95 a month for this service.  Those "free credits" aren't so free if you don't usually buy ANY audio books and then find yourself paying 2 months worth of service reading one 10-hour book. Not fiscally sound, my friends.

So, I decided I was finished. I had two credits waiting for me, so I got two books and decided to pull the plug. I even decided to make 11/22/63 one of my selections because I was interested, but at that length, I would probably not commit to actually reading it. And it seemed like payback to get the longest, most expensive book available for "free" after feeling fiscally unsound. You see my logic?

I hit the button to cancel, and Audible is all like "Hey, wait, you don't want to go yet, do you? How about we only charge you half price for the next three months?" And I'm like, "Well...ok. That sounds more sound, fiscally speaking. But if you can charge me this price, then WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU MAKE THIS THE SET PRICE?" Actually, I did not say that last part. I did not want them to get mad and take away my discounted three months.

Upon my return to audibleland, I launched the other title, one I knew next-to-nothing about, but it sounded entertaining, and I needed some good fiction to keep this audible train sounding its horn. Some of y'all will laugh when you learn that my mostly unheard of title is Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, but those who were laughing will not be surprised when I say how delightful and wonderful and SMART this book is. The audio was perfectly performed, and I highly recommend it to all. I already want to read it again.

And now, I'm over 1/4th of the way through 11/22/63 and loving it. I want to just stay in my car all day. Or do lots of ironing with my iPod. Or something that gets me through the approximately 31 hours of the thing faster. I just hope I'm finished before my 3-month grace period runs out. Then, I'll have to do some serious deciding. Oh, Audible. What a tangled web you weave. What a siren song you are singing.

6 comments:

  1. I have been tempted by the ads, but audio books for me are so hit or miss that I can't justify the money. I get my kicks well enough from the libraries.

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    1. Yes, that's what I've always done in the past, but it is SUCH a hassle to get digital audio books from the library, and I don't like uploading all the CDs to my iTunes. I know...I'm being picky. We'll see.

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  2. Narrator makes all the difference. You can also listen to samples, and that makes a big difference to me too. I'm not a member now (I don't have as much audio time as I used to), but one of my favorite parts of membership was their sales - $5 audiobooks! Heck yeah.

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    1. Yes, when I made my "final" two choices, I listened to samples and paid much more attention. There are a few I want to read but rejected because I didn't like the way the narrator sounded in the clip.

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  3. Ah the tribulations of finding new mediums. I'm a very reluctant web shopper, and even more reluctant to sign those privacy and rights agreements, so when it comes to choosing sites to join I get pretty fussy. I'm interested in audio books, but borrowing from the library I've had those issues with no being wow'd enough to keep going with things. while your, eventual luck with Audible is promising, I would agree with you - perhaps they need to rethink what their customers want - value for money and easy access. All the best with your Audible Journey!

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  4. Thanks for the encouragement. After walking out of our library with a huge stack of (FREE!) audio for the kids's upcoming car trip, I was again questioning the merit of such a decision. I will probably cancel for good after I get my next credit, but I love the ease of it. Convenience is such a temptress.

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