Scribd just added something huge. Subscription audiobooks. Remember how I said in my two months with Kindle Unlimited post that the availability of audiobooks was a huge differentiator? Scribd just closed that gap with today’s announcement.
Scribd, the leading subscription book service, today announced that it is broadening its offering to give subscribers access to more than 30,000 audiobooks. Titles will include new releases, as well as smash hits and award winners like The Hunger Games trilogy, The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño, and Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, all for Scribd’s current price of $8.99 per month. The addition of this extensive audiobooks selection, which includes titles from Blackstone, HarperCollins, Scholastic and Naxos, to Scribd’s existing library of more than half a million e-books represents the largest unlimited-access offering of e-books and audiobooks available today.
30,000 is quite a bit more than Kindle Unlimited’s roughly 2,000, so I’m impressed and eager to try out the new offerings. I currently have my Audible subscription on hold until the end of next month, and, depending on Scribd’s selection, I might not take it off hold.
Audiobooks are available now in the Android, Nook and Kindle Fire apps. They are also available in the web browser. iOS availability is coming soon. (Right now I’m extra happy that I upgraded to an Android phone instead of an iPhone 6.)
I had a few questions not covered in the release, and the folks from Scribd were kind enough to answer them.
TeleRead: Will audiobooks be downloadable for offline listening, or will they be streaming only?
Scribd: Both. We think the majority of users will take advantage of streaming audiobooks since its instant and frictionless. However, if you’re hopping on a plane, train or anywhere else without wi-fi, you can download them to your device for offline listening. And there are no limits on how many audiobooks or eBooks you can store to your device – save as many as your device can hold. (Note that this is a change. Previously, the app was limited to 20 downloaded books. No longer.)
TeleRead: Will there be a “Whispersync-like” feature where we can listen to books and read them and have the locations synced when we switch back and forth?
Scribd: At launch, you’ll be able to switch back and forth between eBook and audiobooks (in cases where we have the title in both formats) but the exact place in the book won’t sync. We are working on that though and it will be ready in Q1.
I thoroughly enjoy the ability to switch back and forth between audio and ebook in Kindle Unlimited, and we won’t have that feature immediately, but it’s coming. Until it does, I think you’re better off considering this as more an Audible-like service. Still, they have an excellent selection, and they aren’t changing the price of the service. I’ve always thought that Scribd was a good value. This just makes it more so.
As I see it, the only other killer improvement would be availability on eInk devices. If they could crack that one, Kindle Unlimited might be left completely in the dust.
I’ll be testing the app over the weekend, and I’ll let you know what I think.
Glad to see Audible getting some healthy competition. Those whose budget won’t quite allow subscriptions might want to check out:
http://www.loyalbooks.com
What you’ll find are mostly public-domain books read by Librivox volunteers but repackaged to load more easily on smartphones. Many are classics that are well worth hearing. Almost all the readers are quite good, even if they’re not quite pros. They’re also broken down into categories, so it’s easy to find a book you like.
If you’re looking for a good place to start and love mysteries, you might try one of the pioneering classics, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins:
http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/the-moonstone-by-wilkie-collins
Note the various audio formats on the lower right. If you’ve got an iPhone either the podcast-like iTunes podcast version or the iPod/iPhone M4b audiobook version is the best. The latter is specifically designed for audiobooks and does a good job of keeping your place in the book. Just remember that for longer books such as The Moonstone it may come in two or more parts. You’ll need them all to listen to the entire book.
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Audiobooks are great for walking, jogging or making long trips more enjoyable. When I had to make a long, six-day 2900-mile move cross country pulling a trailer last year, I got a series of audiobooks done by a real pro at a reasonable price and that made the trip go far better. The professional reader, B. J. Harrison, has a free, Classic Tales podcast that’s well worth hearing. You can find it here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-tales-podcast/id258214995
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And if you’re a lover of language, you can’t get any better than Kevin Stroud’s History of English podcast:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/history-english-podcast/id538608536
Note that, out of 389 ratings, an amazing 371 are five star. It’s that good.
Ever wondered why the spelling in English is so inconsistent. He explains one reason why. Words came into our language from sources as varied as Anglo-Saxon, Viking (Danish), French and Latin. At different times and from different languages, the rules for spelling them out varied. From spelling differences such a “ch” versus “k” you can often tell a word’s long-ago origins. It’s a fascinating podcast and a labor of love for its creator. When each episode arrives, it and that from Classic Tales immediately go to the top of my podcast listening list.
–Michael W. Perry, co-author of Lily’s Ride and other books
I found Scribd by “winning” it on a game. Sure, it was a gimmick but one I love . The first 30 days were free. (just like Audible) but unlike Audible I’m still stuck on Scribd. When Scribd added audiobooks I knew I’d never give them up! I even introduced my adult daughter to this awesome app. (she swore she’d never enjoy reading on her phone….3 months later she’s still with them!) I’d like to see a larger selection of audios but for the low price I’m not going to complain. Scribd is an awesome little gem of an app and a very affordable one too. I liked Audible but felt the prices per month were too expensive for my limited budget. Want a big pile of books every month , for a small hill of money? Scribd is your answer.
@Dawn S. Give them time to build up the selection. Scribd has consistently added new books over the last year.