Free Audio Books
The popularity of portable music players such as the iPod and p3 players have made audio books more accessible to people for portable listening. This has led to a boom in the creation of free audio books from Librivox and similar projects that take works from the public domain and enlist volunteers to read them.
Public libraries account for about 40% of all audio books consumed, with the remaining being served through book stores. Many libraries offer free downloadable audio books. Check your local library to see if they are offering this free service.
Exactly What Is Meant By Free?
There are 2 types of free audio books.
1) An audio book that is free of charge i.e. got this for free.
Free - really free audio books are available online from a number of book clubs. But usually they are free with a monthly subscription. They can be downloaded and then burned onto a CD or loaded onto a mp3 player. Which is OK because you are receiving something of value that is free.
The National Library of Congress in the U.S. and the CNIB Library in Canada both provide free audiobook library services to the visually impaired; requested books are mailed out (at no cost) to clients.
2) A book that you are free to listen to, is usually in the public domain. This type of free book is also free, but if you want to download it or have a hard copy to add to your library then you need to purchase it. This is also OK as long as you don't mind reading or listening while sitting at you computer.
Good To Know Facts
You need to be aware that some audio books are human narrated recordings and others are narrated using the latest high quality text-to-speech voices.
Books that are no longer copyrighted are considered to be in the public domain. These titles will include the classics as well as jokes, poetry and non-fiction.
Librivox has the most comprehensive collection of free audio books online. They offer podcasts as well as books to read on line. For free audio books try Librivox.
The Gutenberg Project - Is the first producer of free electronic books or ebooks. Now producing audio books, these books are available to be downloaded and listened to on mp3s or computers.
Literal Systems - Offers audio books to listened to while online.
LearnOutLoud - Over 500 free audio and video titles. Features free audio books, lectures, speeches, sermons, interviews, and many other great free audio and video resources. Most audio titles can be downloaded in digital formats such as MP3 and most video titles are available to stream online.
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