Those of you who know me know that I'm usually a few steps (okay, miles) behind the current technology, but I'm catching up: I got an iPod for Christmas and I'm loving it.
So far I've used it mostly for music, but I've also downloaded a few short stories (from Escape Pod) and other podcasts. I've downloaded a few episodes from TV shows (the first episode of 24 Season Six and the refurbished "City on the Edge of Forever" from Star Trek TOS, but no movies. I just can't see spending ten bucks a pop for a movie when you can usually get the DVD for the same price or cheaper, as long as you don't have to have it the minute it comes out. Anyway, I haven't yet spent a lot of time looking for other sources for short stories compatible with the iPod, but anyone who knows of any, please let me know.
As for downloaded audiobooks, I just don't think I'd ever pay $24.95 (or more) for an audiobook unless I knew I'd listen to it more than once. If I'm gonna pay that much, I'll just buy the book. Maybe those prices will come down. I mean, the available music is pretty reasonable; it would be nice if the audiobooks were a little easier on the wallet.
Plus (at least on iTunes) the book selection is extremely limited. I don't even see that much that's tempting, so audiobooks haven't really been much of a financial factor. But if I see Lucius Shepard, Jeffrey Ford and a few others popping up on audiobooks, I might be in trouble.
But all in all, a great experience. Go ahead and plug in.
2 comments:
I've considered joining Audible a few dozen times since I started my commute to Milwaukee, which is a fairly affordable and painless way to get your book fix. But their catalog is surprisingly limited and leans heavily towards NYT best sellers which I have no interest in.
Another thing I can suggest is an intralibrary loan for books on CD. Most public libraries don't advertise this service and I don't know why. If your library is a member of WorldCat (and it probably is) you can search the database of thousands of libraries around the world. Generally speaking if a book has been recorded to audio, you can have it sent to your local library free of charge.
The downside is that you have to burn the CDs to iTunes which is a pain if you want something like Moby Dick that's 23 discs long. And the iPod doesn't recognize burned CDs as audiobooks so you have to remember your place as well.
And I've also been surprised at the limited number of audio books in the f/sf world. Very little even by heavyweights like Ursula LeGuin. I suspect that a lot of recent sci-fi may have skipped the CD phase and went directly to MP3 via Audible and others, which of course the library can't loan out.
Another source to check out is LibriVox where volunteers have read works in the public domain for no charge. The folks over at Project Gutenberg have done the same thing, and they've even used some text-to-speech editors to automate the process.
But yes, $25 for (an often abridged) audio book is too much. I always end up buying the hard copy if I like the book anyway because it's virtually impossible to go back to find good passages in an audio book.
Thanks for the info, Trent. I'm also considering Audible, but for the same reasons you mentioned, will probably pass.
Our ILL in Maryland is very good for books, but most libraries don't share other media with much generosity. I've helped a few patrons locate stuff through WorldCat at the library, but haven't used it myself yet. But you're right, that is a tremendous source.
Didn't know about LibriVox. Will definitely check it out. Thanks!
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