Got a years subscription to audio books at Christmas so i was wandering if anyone else uses them and if there are any recommendations out there. Might be useful for long plane journeys etc?

I’ve basically given up ‘paper’ books for them, I love them, re-read (listened) loads of stuff I already owned & thoroughly enjoyed them again from a different perspective. I’ve listened to more books over the last year or so, than I probably read in 5-10 years (& I read a quite reasonable amount).
I’m more likely to finish listening to a book I’m not really enjoying, than I would if I was reading it, so I’ve used this to expand my normal reading content (eg: older pre 20th century authors). I find you can do stuff like house work/cooking/gardening and driving whilst listening to them, so there loads more convenient.

As for recommendations, what do you normally read? I love my Sci-fi, so all my recommendation would be along those lines… so basically anything I’d normally read

Not a audio book but engaging and absorbing listening. If you start from the beginning youl not take your headphones off for a week solid.

Were alive.

I’ve got through well over a hundred over the past four years or so! Up until a year ago I had a 90mile/day commute in the car and audiobooks were a saviour – still listen to them now in the car, albeit that I don’t get through them at the same pace.

It has really expanded my ‘reading’ repertoire and taste. The narrator can make or break a book and I’ve chosen books purely based upon who is reading it to me.

Sean Barrett and Steven Pacey, former ‘Blakes 7’ actor, among my favourites.

Yep, never managed any LeCarre until I could listen to them. Bill Hick biog is a good listen as was Peter Hooks book about the Hacienda.

I’ve found the Game of thrones series, read by Roy Dotrice to be very entertaining.

His accents DO wander around a bit though, i.e:- A major character started off sounding Lancastrian in book 1, but had become a full blown Welshman by book 2/3.

Good listen in spite of though.

Alan Partridge (auto)biography is excellent as it’s read by Mr Partridge (Coogan) himself with all the Partridge nuances you’d expect.

I read the actual book first then downloaded the audio version. Listening to it being read by him is much better.

I, Partridge +1

All the Ian M Banks ones I’ve listened to are good.

Jon Ronson’s are quite good if you can get over his slightly irritating voice.

I listen to quite a few at work, audible app is probably the most used on phone after twitter etc. Currently on Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. Worth listening to the previews as sometimes the narrators can ruin it if you aren’t keen on the accents etc.

Dickens unabridged is much more pleasurable to listen too than to read I have found!

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is a good call – like a bit of history and of the fiction historical novels (Conn Iggulden etc).
thanks all.

patridge +2, got a trial of Audible purely for this book.

Anybody know where I can get cheap downloads? Most of my books are from charity shops so moving to audible seems a bit expensive.

I can see the benefits of course.

All of the terry prachett books are available as audio books, the ones read by stephen briggs are ace and send me off to sleep in minutes, it takes a while to get through one book.
We’ve also just finished the game of thrones ones, all brilliant.

i am right into them, listen in work, out with the dogs, in the van, mushroom picking, basically anywhere i dont need to talk to someone. i recently enjoyed the ‘wool’ series of books by hugh howie. post apocalyptic style but im a fan of that. got a download of the best 100 sci-fi audiobooks, and its taking me a while to get through that

Anybody know where I can get cheap downloads?

Audible seems to me to be the cheapest option.. though far from being really cheap – but then a lot of work must go into creating the good ones. Librivox is free but quailty of the narrators varies and also it definitely ‘older stuff’ as the books have to be in the public domain (also the constant reminders that its been brought to you by librivox becomes grating).
Otherwise I’m unaware of many other ‘cheap’ legal sources…