Audio Books

[buckland]

I searched in a number of threads and could not see where to start this topic so I thought here might do. On the long drives across the country I have wanted to use audio books as a way to pass the long flat land drives.... straight and boring. I have a new truck with "audiobooks" in the infotainment center but I also use an iPad in a holder. My off line maps and an attached GPS allow me to map where I am etc. The iPad can also host a number of book readers. My question to folks is which is the better of these? And best source for books .

 

[Bosque Bill]

I used to get audiobook CDs from my local library when I traveled in my passenger car. The road/wind noise is so loud in my truck cab, that it drowns out enough of the audio as to make the venture unsatisfying. I can still enjoy music (radio, iTunes or XM Satellite Radio), but with a book you need to hear all the words clearly in order to follow the story. Also note: you should exercise extreme caution in heavy traffic as an audiobook takes more of your attention than music.

That said, most public libraries now use the Overdrive Library system for eBooks and audiobooks. You can check them out and download them to the free Overdrive App on your iPad or phone. Check your local library.

 

[Bad Habit]

Audible.com. We listen to books on all of our trips. Very wide selection (they're part of Amazon), and of course not the cheapest source. I have found if I buy the Kindle version of a book, the Audible version is greatly reduced, ends up being noticeably cheaper overall, and you do have a written version too..

As Bill, said, it can grab more of your attention than it should at times. It's also amazing how many hours some of these books are. We only listen to them in the truck or Jeep when we're out for a drive of some consequence, not conducive to starting and stopping listening for short periods of time. We have gone out on meandering Sunday drives just to finish a book, wheich ends up being enjoyable for both aspects of it.

 

[buckland]

Absolutely... being a new official geezer I find attention to driving essential... that said if you are on I-90 in South Dakota with 70 mile flat straight road it could keep you awake! I have one free book on the iPad from Audiobook.com .... but I think the library download makes sense as it will be read in a weeks time easy. (And being "frugal"...) . I will have to travel to the library to download... we live in the boonies with no internet or cable or.... but lots of quiet. The new truck has CarPlay (Apple) and it allows certain apps on it. I would still prefer to download the whole book and play it back on the iPad (which also bluetooth to the CarPlay stereo)... as it is offline.
Thanks for the info/opinions. I hadn't heard of the app Overdrive but will get it.

 

[MarkBC]

I (mostly) check out audiobook CDs from the local public library and rip them to iTunes then into my iPod (even though, I think, that violates copyright). I have also downloaded audiobooks from the library website, via Overdrive.

My car and my truck audio systems are both compatible with iPod/IPhone output (via the smart connector, not the audio jack), and that works fine for me. Plenty loud and listenable and controllable from the audio system.

It's true that listening could be distracting from driving...but for me the situation is more that when I have to do something "important" while driving -- like turn off to a side road -- I'm more likely that I'll be distracted from the book and have to "rewind" to hear what I missed.

I have thousands of songs in my iPod, but for long driving -- hours a day -- I find it MUCH more satisfying, time-passing, to listen to a book.

 

[buckland]

That's interesting... I use the public library a lot. So you are saying iTunes will take in a library CD audiobook and the I transfer to iPad. Hmmm that would be best so I can put 5-6 books on before the trip. I will try it out ...thanks for the heads up.

 

[MarkBC]

That's interesting... I use the public library a lot. So you are saying iTunes will take in a library CD audiobook and the I transfer to iPad. Hmmm that would be best so I can put 5-6 books on before the trip. I will try it out ...thanks for the heads up.

Yep, an audiobook CD is just like any music CD (those shiny disks from the last millennium). My iPod is old -- iOS 6 -- and in mine the audiobook is treated like any music files. But a friend with a modern iOS device says that when he syncs audiobooks from iTunes to his iPhone that the books get put somewhere other than in the music app...but they're there and playable.

 

[Frstnflt]

Audible!! The price is fair for what you get, which is generally a reputable narrator and high quality recording. This will have a better time coping with road noise. I admit I use over the ear headphones sometimes too which is not as safe. If you join each credit works out to about $13, not bad for 9-30 hours of entertainment. Start with Travels with Charlie.

 

[buckland]

Thanks... my truck is incredibly quiet as long as they windows are up. I have read Travels with Charlie.... and I also should say (and I hope it won't break your heart) he was sort of a jerk. Charlie died while he was kept in a kennel... while he wrote the last third of the book while staying in a hotel as his publisher was all over him... kind of made up the last part of the book.

But on a better note... "Blue Highways" or something such would be a good reread.

 

[97grandby]

Audible.com for sure for me. I drive around a lot and go though 3-4 books a month. Check the reviews and sample the person Narrating the book. I've enjoyed some
Books but can't stand the "performance"


1990 Ford F-250
1997 fwc grandby

 

[buckland]

I (mostly) check out audiobook CDs from the local public library and rip them to iTunes then into my iPod (even though, I think, that violates copyright). I have also downloaded audiobooks from the library website, via Overdrive.

My car and my truck audio systems are both compatible with iPod/IPhone output (via the smart connector, not the audio jack), and that works fine for me. Plenty loud and listenable and controllable from the audio system.

It's true that listening could be distracting from driving...but for me the situation is more that when I have to do something "important" while driving -- like turn off to a side road -- I'm more likely that I'll be distracted from the book and have to "rewind" to hear what I missed.

I have thousands of songs in my iPod, but for long driving -- hours a day -- I find it MUCH more satisfying, time-passing, to listen to a book.

Hey Mark,
Well I have been a Mac owner for 30 years... I feel comfortable in most programs and usage. There iTunes program gets changed nearly every update and things get moved or process steps change. I have 12.5.1.21 iTunes. close to being the latest. I got a 14 CD audio book from the library and popped it in the computer (MacBook Pro).. I altered in the preferences under 'general' how it handles the voice etc.... Now then.... it imports the CD into iTunes but as a music file playlist and for the life of me I cannot see how to move it to my audio books section. I was also sure to give it a name and also "1" in the author box so I could see all sections in disk '1". So if you have any links to simple current iTunes steps... please let me know.

 

[MarkBC]

Hey Mark,
Well I have been a Mac owner for 30 years... I feel comfortable in most programs and usage. There iTunes program gets changed nearly every update and things get moved or process steps change. I have 12.5.1.21 iTunes. close to being the latest. I got a 14 CD audio book from the library and popped it in the computer (MacBook Pro).. I altered in the preferences under 'general' how it handles the voice etc.... Now then.... it imports the CD into iTunes but as a music file playlist and for the life of me I cannot see how to move it to my audio books section. I was also sure to give it a name and also "1" in the author box so I could see all sections in disk '1". So if you have any links to simple current iTunes steps... please let me know.

Well, I've always been a Windows PC guy...but we can still be friends, right?
That settled...

When I import an audiobook CD into iTunes it treats it as a music file -- no way it can know any better. But I don't see that as a problem -- not for how i use it, anyway. iiTunes is clever enough to figure out the title of the CD and based on that it reaches out to the Internet to download "track information" -- chapter names, etc., though depending on the source there are sometimes errors.
After I get all the disks of the "book" imported I select all those tracks and edit the "info" of all to set the Genre to Audiobook. This doesn't affect how iTunes or my iPod treats the file, but it allows me to select Genre/ Audiobook in my iPod so I have only a few titles to choose from. In some cases I edit other fields of the Info for each track -- to fix errors in track information retrieved from the Internet by iTunes. That sounds like a lot of work/trouble...but it's not a big deal to me.

For sure, if you have the option of downloading an audiobook file from your library (via Overdrive, where appropriate), rather than borrowing CDs, that is slicker/easier. And it eliminates any nagging ethical copyright considerations, since the downloaded book automatically "expires" at the end of the checkout period. You don't have to delete it manually from your files if you want to clear your conscience.

As I said in another post, my iPod is a couple/few generations old and runs on iOS 6, so its behavior may be different than yours. My version of iTunes (for Windows) is 12.5.4.42.

I could go into more detail of what I do, but know that I don't try to move it into an audio books section -- I let iTunes and iPod treat it as music, which works fine for me.

 

[buckland]

My Lord ... PC! I will try not to hold it against you...really .... Just that iTunes being mac... I assumed ... I have bridged that divide in work and home.( PC work..Mac home......... tho now all Mac)........ it does seem to be a lot of work for a book ... a few hours put in with ripping the CD's. for 15 hours of reading .
I really appreciate your response as it varies so much with each update.....
I hope I can make it a smooth transfer to usage...
Otherwise I will certainly go with the $14 book download from store to Audiobooks. I have a lot of job work I have to do.... so have little time to $ for the prep.

 

[MarkBC]

It shouldn't take a few hours of ripping the CDs... An optical drive should be able to read a CD at 25 - 30x or so -- mine does, and fixing the track info takes a couple of minutes.

But if ripping CDs and fixing the track info is too much...I still recommend folks consider downloads of audio books from their public library -- mine does it via OverDrive. Hassle-free and free.
The only reason I don't use it more is that my library, at least, has a lot more audio books as CDs than they have as downloadable files. But they're expanding their "digital" library all the time.

 

[buckland]

Thanks Mark... I will indeed be doing the library thing. We live in a remote area ...1/3 of our State does not have access to high speed internet... where I live we are on the eastern side of a mountain so even satellite is not a great option as we'd have to cut an acre of trees to get a signal. So we are of the "digitally deprived" folks of which in rural areas there are many. I have to drive a 1/2 hour to get to a place with slow wifi. So ... not to bellyache ... we try our best to maximize time for that stuff. Right now I am using a weak cell signal to send emails...works if I go out on the porch... it is 6 degrees here now!!

 

[doublebanzai]

i do it the old fashioned way - books on cd's from the library - i think they're check-out-able for 3 weeks.... that's ok for my trips so far... i do use ear buds --- i know that's not the wisest thing. but,... some cars and stereo systems are so wonderful that they seem like the equivalent of ear buds, in terms of not being aware of your surroundings...

 

[Esus]

Thanks... my truck is incredibly quiet as long as they windows are up.

Gotta love that sweet Colorado!

 

[buckland]

Well I have finished putting on the iPad seven books. Not a big job and it allows me to have books on audio as the new trucks/cars don't come with CD players any more (nor a gramophone!) It's plug and play these days. If the windows are closed I too do fine with the speakers. Yes so far I am very happy with the mini-max diesel...great power and mileage. My first Chevy!

 

[allanb]

books on tape=indespensible to keep me awake on long drives or commuting to work.
Ripping, copying, mac, pc,,,,ba-humbug.
Good old cds from the library!!
Rare to find the "perfect " book. Books I read, tend to be more informative or educational. Books for me to listen to need to move a little faster to keep interest up. Have to go into "thriller" or "drama" territory.
This last 2000 mile trip, which still need to do a trip report on, listened to Dan Browns Deception point. Great book, kept me going to within 200 miles of the house!