If you have been following my articles for a while, it is no surprise that I am a huge proponent of audiobooks. I started my audiobook journey with Audible. A friend shared a coupon for three months of free Audible subscription, I decided to give it a try, and the rest was history. There was this book that I desperately wanted to read, but I needed access to an affordable copy of the book. As luck would have it, I found that the audiobook version of this book was available on Audible, and I could access it with my free credit and did just that. I let go of my skepticism towards audiobooks and embraced it wholeheartedly from that moment onwards. I started my audiobook journey in January 2021 and have listened to over 100 audiobooks.
Audible Review
Audiobooks have changed my reading habits (or listening habits for the better). Earlier, I used to have to take time away from my books to do mundane everyday stuff like work, cook, clean, etc., but now I can work around that stuff while listening to my favorite book of the moment, thereby making a boring task seem not so tedious. Since I am a fervent advocate for all things audiobooks, I would be looking for apps that will help me access audiobooks – enter Audible. Audible was my first introduction to the world of audiobooks and so allow me to convince you to become users of this app as I list down the reasons why by way of this article. You can start using Audible for free here! 🎧 (Get Free Audiobooks!)
Start Your Audible Journey
Download the Audible app onto your chosen device, sign up for the free trial, and log in using your Amazon account (or create a new one if you don’t have an existing account). By default, you’ll get a single audiobook for free and if you have Amazon Prime membership you’ll get two audiobooks for free with this trial. If you need clarification on committing to any membership, you can use it to listen to the numerous free audiobooks and podcasts that do not require membership for access. Apart from that, if you’re interested in starting a membership, Audible offers an array of memberships that will leave you spoilt for choices. Beginning with the Audible Plus Plan, which allows you to listen to thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals, and also get access to the Audible Plus Catalog. Then there is the Audible Premium Plus Plan, with which you get 1 credit every month. You can use this credit to buy any title; the best thing is this title will be yours forever, even if you cancel the membership. Along with this, you get access to everything under the Audible Plus Catalog.
Apart from this, Audible also offers Premium Plus Memberships for a premium experience. Starting with the Audible Premium Plus Plan – 2 Credits is a monthly plan that will give you 2 credits. Along with access to the Audible Plus Catalog, you get access to exclusive sales and 30% off on all additional premium selection purchases. If you’re looking for an annual plan, fret not. Audible offers two annual plans: The Audible Premium Plus Annual Plan – 12 Credits and the Audible Premium Plus Annual Plan – 24 credits. These plans provide everything mentioned above and the respective number of credits mentioned in their titles. All of these plans offer a 30-day trial membership, and after the trial period, you can cancel your membership if you want to stop with the app. This does not remove the books you purchased using credit or money from your Library. They are yours to keep forever but make sure to use up all your credits before you cancel; otherwise, they will be gone, and you cannot get them back even if you restart your membership.
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Find Your Next Listen
Now that you have become an Audible member, you must kickstart your journey by finding your first audiobook. You can directly browse through the Home page, which has a lot of recommendations across different genres. There are numerous popular and trending listens, and you can also explore other formats, such as Podcasts and Audible Originals. You can also try the Discover page, as it has a list of categories that will help narrow the search for your subsequent listen. Such as Self-help, Spirituality, Biographies, Business, Fiction, Teen & Young Adult, Classics, History, Politics, and Thriller. They are also sorted according to lengths, such as Bitesize, Short, Long, and Epic. I am very picky when it comes to finding out my next listen.
I like to window shop a lot before I select the one. And Audible allows its users to be as fussy as they want. Select the Browse by genre option, and a list containing 24 genres opens up. The genres are Arts & Entertainment, Biographies & Memoirs, Business & Careers, Children’s Audiobooks, Comedy & Humor, Computers & Technology, Education & Learning, Health & Wellness, History, Home & Garden, LGBTQ+, Literature & Fiction, Mature Content, Money & Finance, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Parenting & Relationships, Politics & Social Sciences, Religion & Spirituality, Romance, Science & Engineering, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sports & Outdoors, Teen & Young Adult, and Travel & Tourism. With such an endless list, one is bound to be spoilt for choices indeed!
Here’s something I found out recently, you can search for categories within a category, mini inception of sorts. For example, I have selected the Literature & Fiction option. There are more than 60,000 titles under this category alone. Obviously, I can’t go through all these titles, so I click on the View all sub-categories option—more categories dropdown with the number of titles available under each sub-category mentioned next to it. I select World Literature next, and there are more sub-categories to sift through here too. And so you can continue until you have found your next listen or want to get an idea of all the titles present under each category.
Get Extra With Audible Plus Catalogue
The Audible Plus Catalogue has numerous audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals that you can listen to, and they do not require credit or money. These titles can be identified by the INCLUDED tag placed under them. Specific titles in the Plus Catalogue are only available for free for a short period, and you must finish listening to this book within that period. You can quickly identify these books by the Included until xxx option written below the title. Some titles are only available on Audible, and they are identified by a yellow tag diagonally placed on the bottom right-hand corner with the wording Only From Audible. These are exclusive to the app, and you can avail them using a credit or buy them at a discounted rate.
Audible Originals
Speaking of categories, Audible has a range of titles exclusive to it that are called the Audible Originals. There are over a hundred of these titles across different genres. They are included with your membership; you do not need to use credit or cash to buy them to listen to them. You can add them to your Library and listen. And you can add as many as you want; they are unlimited. There is a fantastic selection of original titles available by new as well as famous authors that you should take advantage of.
Binge Listen To Podcasts
One of the best things about getting an Audible membership is unlimited access to great podcasts. Their podcasts game is spot on, and there are innumerable ones available for you to listen to as you do your daily chores. The podcasts are split into categories such as Popular Podcasts, Trending Podcasts, Editor’s picks of podcasts, Fiction, Health & Wellness, Educational & Self Help, Arts & Entertainment, Sci-fi & Fantasy, and True Crime. Select the podcast that seems interesting to you and follow it to get updated when new episodes are released. My favorite podcast of the moment is The One With Friends Podcast, about the popular 90’s sitcom. I have been binge-listening to the episodes, and you can do it, too, once you have found your favorite podcast.
What’s In Your Library?
Once you have bought a book, it is immediately added to your Library. Like a physical library, you can sort and categorize the titles in your Audible Library using the available options. The titles in the Library can be accessed under Audiobooks or Podcasts separately or as a whole. To help you keep track of your listening, you can segregate the Library into titles that you haven’t started yet, titles that you are listening to at the moment, titles that you have downloaded, and titles that you have finished using the Not Started, In Progress, Downloaded, and Finished options, respectively. If you’re someone who likes to keep their Library in a particular order, you can use the Filter option to arrange the titles according to Release Date, Length, Title, Author, Narrator, and Recent. You can start using Audible free trial here! 🎧
Create A Collection
Another thing you can do is sort the titles in your Library into different collections. I listen to many memoirs, so I created a collection called My Favorite Memoirs for the ones I loved. Likewise, you can create as many collections as you want for audiobooks. To add the audiobooks to the Collections, select the audiobook and click on the three dots next to it. A list opens up, and then you select Add to and add it to an existing collection or create a new one. Type the name you want the collection to be called, and add a description if you like.
Now you have a way to easily access books without having to sift through your whole Library. You can also browse through collections created by other users and save them to your Library. There’s also an option to save the audiobooks that you liked to the Favourites collection. Just click on Add to Favourites, and it will get saved to Favourites. Similarly, to curb the clutter in your Library, you can use the Archive option to archive the titles that you find irrelevant. I use this option a lot as I crave order, especially with my books. You can access the archived titles under Collections.
Authors & Genres
Under the Authors option, the authors of the audiobooks in your Library are listed. By clicking on any author’s name, you can explore all the author’s books available on Audible. If you like an author’s book, you can directly check out their other works without having to type out their name on the search box every time, and it’s a time saver. What’s more, you can also separate it according to the Bestselling and Release Date so that you have an idea of what you want to listen to next.
Using the Genres options in your Library, you can check out the genres you have listened to and find the ones you favor the most. I have preferred Literature & Fiction and Biographies & Memoirs the most, which is reflected in my Library.
Make a Wish….List
And the final option available in your Library is the Wishlist. While browsing Audible, you may find a few titles that seem intriguing or ones you’ve heard about. You are not sure of these audiobooks or do not have the credit to buy them at the moment but want to save them for future use. You can add the book to your Wishlist to take advantage of it so that the next time you get a new credit, you know what to spend it on! Just click on the title, and there is an option called More options; under it, select Add to Wishlist, and the book gets added to your Wishlist. You can access these audiobooks from both your Library and your Home page.
Title Display
When you are checking out an audiobook, it displays the title’s ratings, the reviews left by previous listeners, the author and the narrator, the book’s time length, its purchase and discount rate, and other options like a wishlist. The display also includes a summary of the audiobook and genre tags that people associate with it. There is also a list of audiobook suggestions you may enjoy for you to peruse through to your heart’s content.
Customized Listening Experience
The Audible audiobook/podcast listening experience is excellent, as you can customize it according to your preference. You can pick and choose the narration speed for the audiobook to make it palatable to your auditory senses. The narration speed ranges from 0.50x to 3.50x. You can select the Speed button and set and reset it accordingly. You can choose if you want the audiobook to appear chapter-wise or full-length using Player Settings. When you’re listening to an audiobook and last paid attention to the story a while ago, you can restart the chapter by clicking the left arrow option or jump forward a chapter using the right arrow option. You can also customize the timings for the jump forward and back options.
If you love to write your thoughts on the pages of your book and feel like you are missing out on them when you’re listening to audiobooks, there’s a feature to help you do just that; the Bookmark feature. You can click on Bookmark at any point in the audiobook where you wish to express your thoughts and feelings and write a Note. You can then access these notes by clicking on the top right-hand corner of the player and selecting Bookmarks. Fall asleep listening to your favorite stories using Audible’s Sleep Timer feature. Select the book of your choice and set the Sleep Timer according to your preferred time limit (there’s a choice between 5 minutes to an hour or till the end of the chapter. You can also custom set the time limit) and doze off as the narrator serenades you to sleep.
Rate, Review & Share
Once you finish listening to an audiobook, you can Rate and Review it. The rating is threefold- according to the Performance, according to the Story, and an Overall rating. You can also write a book review and a headline for your review. Rating and reviewing will help the subsequent listeners to make a choice. If you want to change your rating and reviews for a title, you can also edit it. Just click on the title you wish to edit, go to Rate & Review and select Edit review.
On that note, if you like the audiobook that you’re listening to at the moment, you can share it with your friends or family, who may also like it. You can help them start their audiobook journey or find their next listen. Just click on the title, select the Share option, copy the link, and send it to the person in question. Your link will help them get a free 30-day trial if they do not have an Audible membership. Now that’s what is called being a true friend!
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Track Your Stats
If you like to keep track of your stats, head over to Profile, and under Achievements, you will find everything you seek. First up is Listening to Time. Keep track of how much time you have spent on the app. The data is split into four categories- Today, Daily, Monthly, and Total. I have spent 6 Days and 16 Minutes on this app to date (almost a week’s worth of listening!). You can also find where you rank as a listener using Listening Level. There are five levels- Newbie, Novice, Pro, Scholar, and Master. They all have different criteria to be fulfilled before reaching that level. I’m at Pro level at the moment….. fingers are crossed for two more to go!
Collect Badges
Do you love badges? Yes! Then you’ll love this Audible feature Badge Collection. There are a total of 18 badges that are up for grabs. All you have to do to collect those badges are to complete the tasks that are assigned under each. I am the proud collector of 15 badges and am looking to have the last three badges under my belt by the year’s end. All these badges come with a cool limerick that explains what you need to do to achieve them. Once you have received the badges, you can Brag about it…or not totally up to you.
Get The Best User Experience
You can play around with the settings and tailor them to suit your interests. You can change the Download Quality, making it Wi-Fi or mobile data friendly. If you like to save storage space on your device, select the Auto-remove option, which will immediately remove the downloaded file once you listen to the audiobook. You can download the book as a whole or part by part using the Single part or Multi-part options. You can play around with the Player setting. Get undisrupted listening when you connect to the headset using the Resume Playback option. Suppose you’re using Audible across different devices. In that case, you can Sync the Device Position so that you can seamlessly listen to the audiobook when using multiple devices without bringing it to the point you left off manually. Once you have finished listening to an audiobook, you can automatically listen to the next one in your Library using the Continuous playback option. You can play around with the Theme making the display light or dark according to your taste. If you hate having Notifications pop up on the screen every time, you can choose to disable them or enable the ones you want. You can start using Audible for free here! 🎧 You will get two free audiobooks if you are an Amazon Prime user as well.
Listen To Books While Driving
If you like listening to books while driving or traveling, you have to switch the Automatic Car Mode option on, and your device will instantly connect to the car via Bluetooth. Using this method, you can save valuable time that would have been spent trying to get everything set up. You can concentrate on enjoying your ride while listening to your favorite audiobook.
Manage Your Membership
Using your Profile, you can track how long you have been on this platform and how many titles and badges are to your name. It also reminds you when your following credit and membership payment is due so that you can decide to cancel or continue your membership accordingly. When you click on Your Account, it opens a page with various options to manage your membership. You can manage your Payment Method directly by using the Change or Edit Payment Method option to pay for your membership using your preferred payment mode.
Listening History & How To Return Your Audiobooks
If you like to note the audiobooks you have listened to throughout your Audible usage, you can go to Listening History. The audiobooks you have heard will be arranged from past to recent. This list also includes the audiobooks that are not there in your Library anymore. The Purchase History option lists all the titles you purchased on the Audible app with or without using credit. If you are interested in a book that you have bought using credit, you have the option to Return it.
The credit will be refunded, and you can use it to buy another book you’re interested in. But make a note to limit the number of books you return. Please do not abuse this feature, or else Audible will note it and restrict or cancel your return privileges. I speak from experience as it has happened to me. I returned a bunch of books within a short span of each other and used those credits to buy other books. My access to the Return policy was revoked; it took a long time before it was restored to me. Now, I take reasonable care to hold onto my Return privilege so I don’t lose it again.
Queries And Solutions
Audible ensures that their customers get all their queries answered with the help of the Help & Support feature available in Profile or Settings. Once you select the option, a host of topics appear, such as Plus Catalogue, Returns, Cancel, and Library. Moreover, there is a list of frequently asked questions under the heading Find More Solutions, sorted into Recommended and Popular. If any of those questions match the ones you want to ask, you can click on them, showing the required answer to your query. The same goes for the four topics. Each topic has several articles under them pertaining to that topic. You can go through these articles to sort out your queries. If none of these articles offer the solution you are looking for, you can directly contact Support using Contact Us, and they can help you with the issues you are facing.
Canceling Your Audible Membership
Cancellation services are the only part of Audible that I do not care for. I joined Audible last year, used it for half a year, and decided to pause my membership for a while before restarting it at a later date. But I found it very difficult to cancel my membership. Though there are a lot of FAQs and articles regarding it, I found out that Audible does not yet offer cancellation services on the app. I tried for a long time to cancel the membership without any luck before contacting Customer Support. I told them I wished to cancel my membership, and they helped me do that. The Audible membership cancellation is not hassle-free and straightforward. That is one of the only things I wish could be better about the app. Here’s to hoping this issue will be sorted out soon and provide users with a hassle-free experience from beginning to end!
These days Audiobooks are one of the only ways I can satisfy my love for books. It has made reading/listening to books an effortless experience that I can include in my day-to-day life amidst the monotonous chores. Apps like Audible are why I can continue being the bookworm I am. It also helps that Audible has thousands of audiobooks across different genres and keeps up to date on new releases, bestsellers, and everything that a bookish heart could ask for, along with podcasts. This is one app that you should not miss out on, and it has the potential to be the one-stop app for all your listening/audio requirements. So start your Audible free trial today, and let the listening begin!
Audible
Audible is a part of Amazon and it's one of the best platforms for getting quality audiobooks.
Application Category: Audiobooks
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