by Jane Sheehan
I have become increasingly overwhelmed by the information age. There's so much to read and to keep up with that I'm perpetually falling farther and farther behind. I already have a database in my computer with over 6,000 recorded books from the NLS program. I'm going to order them and read them someday.
So, when a friend introduced me to www.audible.com, my first reaction was an emphatic, "I'm not interested." After all, I've never even been on the bookshare.org web site for fear that I'd be tempted into getting yet another bunch of books that I'll never have time to read.
But, as time went on, I got curious, and went on the Audible.com web site, and found it to be very speech-friendly. I saw a link where I could download a few free books (they do that to get you hooked).
Then, as I always do when I'm contemplating a new computer- learning experience, I went into ACB Radio's Main Menu archives to see if Jonathan Mosen could show me how to use this stuff. And, sure enough, there's a lovely two-hour tutorial, all about Audible.com, and how to get and read books from the site.
I still wasn't hooked. I read the couple of free books that I'd downloaded, and they were fun, but no way was I going to get into a situation where I had to pay to download books when I didn't have enough time to read the free ones available to me.
Well, one fateful day, I got this e-mail message from Audible, offering me a free book by John Saul if I would only sign up as a premium Audible listener. With this program, you pay $15.95 per month, and can download two books of any price from the Audible.com catalog. And to sweeten the deal, you get a free portable MP3 player to play your books on. (There's also a cheaper subscription plan where you can get one book and a magazine subscription.)
That message about the John Saul book pushed me over the edge, and I signed up for the premium plan there and then. After all, I told myself, this was the wave of the future, and digitally recorded books were the way things were going, so why not jump in now and get used to it.
Since I had listened to Jonathan Mosen's tutorial, I was somewhat familiar with the Audible Otis, the MP3 player that Audible sent me, but I was pleasantly surprised by its compactness and convenience, and its easy-to-use controls.
I did have a frustrating few weeks trying to get the Otis to talk to my computer, since neither of the two computers I tried it on would recognize my Otis through either of their USB ports. But throughout the ordeal, the customer service personnel at Audible were incredibly patient and supportive, and even sent me another Otis to try, and were prepared to send me another model of player, should the second Otis not work.
I finally solved the problem by purchasing an AC-powered USB hub. Now my computer and Otis are merrily chattering away back and forth, and I'm gleefully downloading my two books per month. (You aren't limited to the two books you get with your plan, but if you purchase more books during the month, you'll pay full price for them, and books seem to range from $5.99 to $32.99.)
The Otis has become a permanent fixture on my belt as I move around my house, or ride to and from work on the subway. Right now, I'm scaring myself to death with a collection of classic ghost stories. But the eighth day of the month is fast approaching, and that's the day my book balance goes back to two, and I can download two more digital books from Audible.com.
As for the narrators of the Audible books, they're quite good for the most part, and Barbara Caruso and Suzanne Toren (known to all of us through the NLS program) read for them too. If you've read other commercially recorded books before, you may have encountered the music and sound effects that some publishers add to the reading. Personally, I can't stand these "enhancements," but I've only encountered that annoying music on one of the Audible.com books Otis and I have read thus far.
As for the kinds of books available to choose from, Audible.com seems to have lots of current best-sellers. Many are abridged, but there are still hundreds of full-size books available in the catalog.
I just read "Fatal," a medical thriller by Michael Palmer, a "new title" that NLS is just now considering for production. I also read "The Summons" by John Grisham, and that title isn't mentioned anywhere on the NLS site. There are also language-learning tutorials, as well as subscriptions to quite a few magazines and shows from National Public Radio.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this, for me, new experience. I'm really glad I took that plunge and signed up for Audible.com.
If you have any questions concerning Audible.com or the Audible Otis, please feel free to contact me. My e-mail address is [email protected], and if you don't have e-mail, just call ACB's national office and the staff can help you get in touch with me.