Review: Why Join Audible.com?

When I was younger, I loved to read. I read at home, at school, after I came home from school, and after I came home from work. If the book was a page turner, I carried it with me. I read before bed; sometimes way into the night.

I loved holding the book, turning the pages, and feeling the life come from the rich words the author had written. I even loved the smell of the book. I still do love everything about books.

I have spent hours in bookstores. One of my favorite things to do when I visit New York City is to go to The Strand Bookstore. I have spent hours slowly perusing the aisles trying to absorb the variety of beautiful, books. For each visit, I have literally taken an extra suitcase just to carry all the books back home to Missouri. I loved building my library.

Now that I am older, it seems life has gotten faster. I am trying to spend quality time with my family. I am working at keeping up with my career. I am inundated with the daily details most of us deal with.

I still have my library of beautiful, enthralling books, but I don't have time to read them.

By the time I go to bed, I am so tired that I only read a few pages and fall asleep. I hardly remembered what I read because I wasn't able to concentrate on the page.

One day as I was going through my junk mail, I saw an e-mail about listening to audiobooks from Audible.com (an Amazon Company).

It said the books could be downloaded to your account then downloaded to your MP3 player, iPod, or iPhone.

I wasn't sure what to think about this form of "reading." I used to be an avid reader, but too many things have taken my time so I do not get to read, and I miss it, but.... Listening was questionable. Could I really get anything out of listening to someone read the words from the page?

I hadn't read a book for pleasure in ages, and I did miss it. That being said, I decided to go to the site. What the heck!

I typed in a search for some of my favorite authors. They were all there.

If I didn't know the name of an author, I typed in a title others had discussed. They were there.

I was concerned about how the book would sound being read. Would the proper tone be there? I went to one of my favorite titles, one I have read over and over again, and clicked on the "Sample." It was a professional actor reading the words and bringing them alive. I could have even searched the readers.

"Hmmm..., " I said to myself, "I think I can get into this."

When you join Audible.com, you pay $7.49 for each of your first 3 months then $14.95 a month after that. With this membership, you get 1 credit which equals 1 audiobook. You can use your credit each month or you can let them accumulate.

When you are a member and you like to listen to several books like I do, you will receive alerts for the $4.95 sales, which I love because I get to add more books to my library for a very reasonable cost. Audible has a rich array of books: fiction, nonfiction, even instructional.

Once you are a member, you can receive a complimentary subscription to The New York Times or The Washington Journal, which comes in audio form to your device or computer.

If you compare the $14.95 monthly fee to the price of a new book or the price of an audiobook from another source, you will know you are getting a great deal. Audiobooks are expensive, and rarely do you see one under $20. I felt like I had struck gold!

You can download an audiobook for any device. Audible.com has great video tutorials to help you download to Android, iPhone, iPod, Kindle, Zune, PC, Mac, and/or CD's.

It keeps all your audiobooks in your account under "My Library," so you can download them whenever you want to your devices.

There is also an Audible.com app you can use on your smart phone, so you can listen from your library any time you choose. It is very convenient and easy to use. I love streaming audiobooks through my phone because I can listen to them any time I want.

You can listen to your books anytime, anywhere. Most books are read by talented actors or readers, giving you hours of enjoyment and the feeling of actually being a part of the book.

I love this about audiobooks because I can plug my ear-buds or earphones into my iPhone and start listening as I am loading the dishwasher, folding laundry, working in the garden, exercising, or even while taking a bath. Not to mention plugging my phone into my auxiliary jack in my car and listening while I am driving. My husband and I have even listened to books together on long trips.

I will warn that I do not recommend listening while in the shower unless you have an outside device that has a decent volume. Just sayin'.

I am 100% satisfied with my membership. For the low monthly fee, I must say it is money well-spent. I have saved money and have regained the entertainment and knowledge books once provided when I did have time to actually read.

I now have a digital library with just as diverse selection as I have with my traditional books. The only difference is that I don't have to stop what I am doing to pick up a book. My audiobooks go with me.