Three Best Places to Find Audiobooks

By Victoria Lambton

While the ebook industry might be in decline, audiobooks are thriving with an estimated revenue of $2 billion. The biggest benefit to listening rather than reading comes is its easy accessibility. From your morning commute to folding laundry, you can easily multi-task between listening to an audiobook and performing everyday tasks. Because audiobooks tend to be expensive, here are three of the best online places with a wide range of affordable audiobooks.

Audible

As one of the largest audiobook companies in the world, Audible has teamed up with Amazon to provide listeners with the ideal reading experience: a one month free trial including a free audiobook of your choosing plus all membership benefits. Benefits include 30 percent off all audiobooks, ad-free audio and the ability to keep your library even if you cancel your membership. Although $14.95 a month might not be in the budget for some college students, you can still check out their free trial now.

OverDrive

Own a library card? If so, you’re in luck! (If not, stop by your local library and get oneㅡthey’re typically free!) With the number on your library card, you can go online and check out an entire library of books for free. Similar to a regular library, you check them out for about two to three weeks and then the online system automatically returns them (so no late fees!). Not only can you listen to audiobooks, but you can also rent and download ebooks directly to your phone or computer. Click this link to check out some books!

Spotify

To most listeners, Spotify is used to stream or download songs directly from their phones or computers. However, if you scroll through their “Browse” section, they have an entire library filled with various literary playlists under the title, ‘Word.’ They’ve got everything from short stories to classic poetry to learning an entirely different language. If you want to mix up your daily commute, give these playlists a try.