Audible Review – Free Audio Book Inside

I started using Audible in March 2006. Since then I have listened to over 90 audiobooks ranging from self development classics such as “Rich Dad Poor Dad” to fiction novels from the “Enders Game” series.

Much like Amazon changed the way people purchased books, Audible is changing the way people “read” books.

Over the years I have thoroughly enjoyed Audible and after recommending it to everyone from my business partner to my doctors, I realized it was time to write a through review of Audible.

Audiobooks are the Cure for the Boring Commute:

I first stumbled on Audible when a family friend recommend that I start listening to audiobooks in the car. At the time I was spending 7-10 hours driving a week. While this is fairly standard for the average American, I get bored with music pretty quick, so listening to audiobooks instead seemed like a wise move.

After some cursory research I decided Audible seemed like a logical choice. I noticed that I could put the audiobooks on my ipod shuffle and listen to it in the car.

At the time I was fortunate because my Honda Element had an auxiliary input so I could directly connect my ipod to listen to music. At the time, this was a pretty new feature but now this fairly standard and your car probably has one too.

Audible is my Mobile Mentor:

When I first started listening to audio books I was really into business and personal development books because my first business was just getting started.

Before using Audible I dreaded my commute, as I began to listen to more and more audiobooks about topics relevant to my business my commute surprisingly became one of my favorite parts of the day.

At the time I had no clue what a profound impact of listening to books such as “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and later “The Four Hour Work Week” would have on my fledgling business.

Before Audible I never saw the value in reading a ton of books, I was your standard college student who hated to read.

Several years removed I can say that the time spent on my once mundane commute, fundamentally changed how I thought and who I would become.

Few people are lucky enough to get mentored by great authors such as Robert Kiyosaki or Keith Ferrazzi, but during my commute time I felt like I was being mentored by them because I was “reading” their books.

While even to this day, I am not a huge book worm but Audible allows me to maximize my learning time when I am in the car or doing chores around the house.

In the average year I now read or listen to 12-20 books up from reading 1-2 before Audible.

Audible Pricing Plans & Features

Audible has two membership types: Gold and Platinum

• Gold plans start at $7.49/mo and go up to $14.95/mo after three months. This is a pretty good deal. That is basically a book a month for $14.95.
• Platinum plans are $22.95/mo and you get two books a month. This is great for commuters because 2 books is roughly 16 hours on average. This is often a good start and will keep you entertained for at least a week hopefully.

Right now Audible is running a free trial to let you try their service out. I’d definitely suggest you give them a try.

Audible Pros and Cons

Here is a quick list of pros and cons from my experience with Audible.

Is Audible.com Right for You?

After years of using Audible I would like to say it is right for everyone but it really isn’t. I would say if you like actually reading books by fireplace then Audible isn’t going to have the same pull for you. The other major complaint I’ve heard is some of the reader’s voices are monotone and can be boring luckily you can listen to the reader’s voice before you buy.

If you are someone who spends much time doing boring dull tasks such as commuting or even basic household upkeep then I think there is an opportunity for you to get a lot of of audible.

I find my mind enjoys learning more than just listening to music, if you feel the same then you will probably enjoy audible as well.

Audible Tips – After Years of Use:

• Find out if you like the reader’s voice before you buy. Audible allows you to listen to a sample of all of their audiobooks. Take advantage of this and make sure the person reading the book isn’t too boring for your liking.
• If you find the author’s voice very monotone, then change the play speed on your iPod or MP3. Often you can increase the speed at which they speak and this will help keep your mind active. I find that 1.3x normal speed is still easy to understand in most cases.
• New books often come to Audible once they have been published for a while. If you don’t see it on Audible, sometimes it just takes a few weeks to get there.
• Realize that Audible uses credits to download books. That said don’t buy books under $15 with your credits because in reality your credits are worth more than the cost of just buying the book outright from audible.

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