By Cameron Philips, Kathryn Alley, Rose Cook, and Nathasya G
We want to talk you through some of our favourite alternative platforms to the mainstream options used to listen to audiobooks.
Everand
Described as a “home for stories and knowledge,” for £10.99 per month Everand offers access to audiobooks, eBooks, podcasts, magazines and more. With unlimited access, you can listen or read as much as you want, with functionality across multiple devices and the ability to download books and listen online. The app offers a huge variety of titles across multiple genres, from adventure to classics, graphic novels to biography, or romance to sci-fi. The app learns what you like the more that you listen, and it will provide curated suggestions for new titles and listens.
Everand is part of the Scribd family, a digital document library with over 195 million documents available. With a single subscription, users can access both sites, making it perfect for students who want access to documents for academic use alongside their audiobook and eBook offerings!
Pros
30-day free trial available
Unlimited access
Good variety of audiobooks (and eBooks) available
Cons
£10.99/month – more expensive than competitors but includes eBooks, audiobooks, podcasts and more through Everand, as well as access to Scribd and Slideshare
Interface is sometimes slow
Titles are not always available immediately after publication
While I often use Audible to listen to my audiobooks, I have been exploring other alternatives including Libro.FM. Libro.FM works pretty similarly to Audible, where you can choose to purchase books “a la carte” or subscribe for credits. The difference? Your membership and purchases of audiobooks on Libro.FM supports independent bookshops. Libro.FM lets you choose which independent bookshop you want to support. I personally find this amazing as it allows brick and mortar bookshops to reap the benefits of audiobooks sales as well.
They have an amazing selection of audiobooks, and all of their books are DRM-free which means you can download the books themselves and listen using whatever app you want as opposed to Audible where you can only listen to their audiobooks on their app. Libro.FM also has curated playlists such as “Books Adapted for Television” or “Beach Reads,” which I find useful for finding my next read based on my mood. I think it’s great that we have an audiobook app that is easy to use with great selections and the chance to support your favourite independent bookshops!
LibriVox
Whenever I want to read works of historical, political or cultural significance, I find that LibriVox is an excellent platform that offers a wide range of genres. Closely linked to Project Gutenberg, the volunteers who transcribe and narrate the texts are part of the fabric of those whose mission is to preserve and promote works of cultural importance. Besides, there is something so special about being able to listen to an oral, performed version of Plato’s Dialogues, as they would’ve been discussed two and half thousand years ago!
There are more than eighty languages represented in the recordings, too. The only drawbacks to LibriVox are the quality of a certain selection of recordings and also that the titles available are restricted to those within the public domain of the United States, which, to be honest, isn’t that much of a drawback.
Bookshare
Bookshare is an innovative platform designed to provide audiobooks for individuals with reading disabilities, such as blindness, low vision, or dyslexia. As a non-profit organisation, Bookshare offers a vast collection of over one million titles, including books, textbooks, newspapers and magazines. This extensive library ensures that audiences have access to a wide variety of audiobooks tailored to their needs. This platform has been incredibly beneficial to one of my family members with reading disabilities, and I’m so thankful for its diverse formats. Bookshare really makes listening versatile and welcoming to everyone, which is so meaningful.
One of the key features of Bookshare is its ability to transform text into spoken words through its high-quality text-to-speech voices. This feature is particularly helpful for those who struggle with traditional reading methods. Additionally, the membership is either free or quite low cost, ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder access to audiobooks.
It’s truly a game-changer for anyone needing accessible reading materials and a wonderful way to consume your favourite stories.