Audiobooks for Road Trips

[ZLoth]

So, in anticipation of my upcoming road trip, I just picked up World War Z, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and (through Audible) The Time Traveler's Wife. I figured... why not ask if anyone else listens to audiobooks during long road trips?

[NE2]

Does this come as an audiobook?

[SteveG1988]

For me, if i had a long road trip and didn't want to make a mix disc (i perfer cds to mp3 players, no battery to wear down) I would make a cd collection of either the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy audio book...or the radio version, preferably the radio version as it was meant to be heard and not read.

[ZLoth]

Just as a follow-up on this older topic...

Does this come as an audiobook?

Ha ha very funny. Try fiddling around with the radio while driving down the twisty road trying to find ANY radio station. A frequent tip I found was essentially "stay entertained", with one solo trip column stating "Load your iPod with several hours of music, a variety of podcasts or an audio book, and connect the device to your car's stereo system. Many audio books, for example, can be more than six hours in length, which can take up a substantial part of your road trip, if not all of it." I know beforehand that I was going to be going through some dead areas for radio reception AND cell phone reception (thus no streaming audio), so I was prepared.

For me, if i had a long road trip and didn't want to make a mix disc (i perfer cds to mp3 players, no battery to wear down) I would make a cd collection of either the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy audio book...or the radio version, preferably the radio version as it was meant to be heard and not read.

The CD player is broken in my car, and it would cost $300 for me to get it fixed. I ended up having a FM modulator installed in my car which is hooked up directly to the antenna input of my car radio which ended up costing me $100. I think I made the right decision, as I can hook up my MP3 player, cell phone, or a old portable CD player. One annoying thing that I found out was that if I hook up my USB cable to my Sansa MP3 player, the earphone gets disconnected. As for HGTTG, I have that on my wish list with Audible. Let me get through the Song of Ice and Fire series first. 

When I took my road trip last fall, I listened to World War Z (abridged) on the first day, and The Kite Runner (abridged) on the second day, both on my way up from Sacramento to British Columbia. Both were ripped from the audio CDs that I had purchased. On the way down along the coast on US-101, I listened to A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire (Book 1) (unabridged). T

Which leads me to a suggestion.... one of the deal sites that I monitor is Humble Bundle, which, every 1-2 weeks, carries a bundle of computer games, but has also carried music and ebooks as well. From now until early February 4th, they have an audiobook bundle of the following books:

• The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (21 hours 35 minutes)
  
• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (13 hours 28 minutes) (*)
  
• Abandon by Meg Cabot (9 hours 15 minutes)
  
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (13 hours 4 minutes) (*)
  
• Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (6 hours 59 minutes)
  
• Junky by William S. Burroughs (7 hours 7 minutes)
  
• On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony (12 hours 50 minutes) (*)
  
• Stolen by Lucy Christopher (8 hours 38 minutes)
  

In comparing the runtimes with Audible, these appear to be the unabridged versions of the books. The price range for ONE of these books, according to Audible, is $14.69 to $25.46, with the average price being $20.75. However, Humble Bundle has a "name your own price" scheme, and if you pay more than the current average price of around $6, you get all eight audiobooks. That makes it a good price for just trying it out. Beyond gettng a email or two from Humble Bundle for future deals, there are no additional strings or subscriptions attached.

Another thing to check out is the Old Time Radio Collection at archive.org. Lots of MP3s of old radio programs whose copyrights are believed to be lapsed including Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Abbott & Costello, X Minus 1/Dimension X, Superman, and The Lone Ranger. I have to admit with a smile at some of the things that were common in those days as well as what was going to happen in the "future year of 1975", but they are at least free downloads.

[hbelkins]

So, in anticipation of my upcoming road trip, I just picked up World War Z, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and (through Audible) The Time Traveler's Wife. I figured... why not ask if anyone else listens to audiobooks during long road trips?

No. I had one audiobook on CD that was given to me as a gift several years ago (it was one of Bill O'Reilly's books back when I watched him nightly, I think it was his "The O'Reilly Factor") and I listened to a lot of it on a roadtrip through rural West Virginia.

I tend to listen to talk radio when I'm traveling. If I can pick up Limbaugh on local AM stations I will do that; if not, I will use iHeartRadio on my iPad and listen to his show that way (if I am somewhere that I can pick up an AT&T cell signal). At 3 p.m. the XM radio goes on for Hannity's show, then if I am still on the road at 6 p.m. it's Levin on XM. If I miss Limbaugh or Levin, then I download the podcasts and listen to them delayed the next day.

I find myself listening to music less and less these days. I've bought two CDs in the past two years -- the new Rush last year and the new Black Sabbath this year.

[mrsman]

We have recently started doing the audiobooks for road trips.  My son is in 4th grade and has some learning disabilities.  He likes to hear stories, but does not like to read.  It's always a struggle for him to do his reading homework.

My wife has decided to get some audiobooks from the library to show him that there are some wonderful stories on books. We've recently listened to The Phantom Tollbooth which I've actually enjoyed.  We also heard a King Arthur story, 1001 Arabian Nights, and an interesting history discussion on who was the first discoverer of America detailing the history of Columbus, Leif Ericsson, the Native Americans, and even a theory that Zheng He from China discovered America before Columbus.  We've also heard some Dr. Seuss for the benefit of our younger children.

[Laura]

I don't mind listening to audiobooks while i drive. The only issue is that sometimes I am so focused on the road that I loose track of the book. Because of this, I can't listen to literature while I drive - it has to be fun and escapist. If there are too many intricacies, I can't keep up. I tried listening to Jane Eyre and gave up for that reason. The only audiobook I've ever successfully finished while driving was Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, which was a lighthearted read.

[ZLoth]

Picking up on the audiobooks part: 10 Free Audiobook Sites to Get Your Bookworm On

[Brandon]

No, I'd rather get engrossed in the book.  Just reading it to me doesn't really cut it.

I tend to hook up the mp3 player while I drive long distances for music or listen to SiriusXM.

[ZLoth]

No, I'd rather get engrossed in the book.  Just reading it to me doesn't really cut it. I tend to hook up the mp3 player while I drive long distances for music or listen to SiriusXM.

To each their own.

"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."
- Ramsay Snow (aka "Boy")

I am quite enjoying the reading of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books by Roy Dotrice to be quite enjoyable.

[english si]

I am quite enjoying the reading of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire books by Roy Dotrice to be quite enjoyable.

Not sure I agree with all Dotrice's voices - accents more than tones, but that's probably due to my hearing European English accents rather than American. The Lannisters sound northern, and the Starks southern to me on it.

[Pete from Boston]

I tried to get "The Power Broker" in audio.  Sixty-something bucks! 

[ZLoth]

I tried to get "The Power Broker" in audio.  Sixty-something bucks!

Helpful hint: Subscribe to Audible and use one of the monthly credits. Check out http://markholtz.info/nq

[Doctor Whom]

I usually don't listen to audiobooks.  Once, however, I downloaded an audiobook of On the Road for a business trip.  I think I'll always associate a certain rest stop in downstate Virginia with the chapter in which Sal met Terry.

[ZLoth]

Helpful hint.... the default music player on a Android device will play audiobook MP3s, but if you exit out of the application, the player resets to the beginning of a track. Not a problem for a song, but when you are listening to a audiobook track that is 45 minutes long, that's a problem. A search for "MP3 Audiobook" will give you some good alternatives.

[SteveG1988]

If you like sci-fi i would reccomend picking up the radio show version of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. 30 minute episodes that the books are based off of for the most part. You will get several hours of enjoyment out of them, the first 2 radio series (12 episodes) will last you most of a road trip and will provide a good bit of entertainment throughout since it is designed to be listened to, not read or watched.

[ZLoth]

Just as a heads up.... Humble Bundle has the Humble Audiobooks Bundle 2. $10 gets you EIGHT audiobooks.

[ZLoth]

Here is the list of books in the Humble Audio Books Bundle 2. For any contribution, you get:

• The Perfect Storm  by Sebastian Junger, narrated by Richard M. Davidson (Audible Price: $17.14/ Downpour Price: $18.50)
  
• Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen, narrated by George Wilson (Audible Price: $22.04/ Downpour Price: $21.00)
  
• Red Rising by Pierce Brown, narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds (Audible Price: $24.49/ Downpour Price: $23.50)
  
• Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris, narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan (Audible Price: $19.58/ Downpour Price: $18.50)
  

Pay more than the average (currently $9.36), and you all of the above plus:

• How Music Works by David Byrne, narrated by Andrew Garman (Audible Price: $22.04/ Downpour Price: $21.00)
  
• Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom written and narrated by Cory Doctorow (Audible Price: NOT AVAILABLE/ Downpour Price: $15.00)
  
• Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan, narrated by Jonathan Davis (Audible Price: $19.59/ Downpour Price: $23.50)
  
• Rules of Prey by John Sanford, narrated by Richard Ferrone (Audible $14.69/ Downpour $21.00) (Added 6/18)
  
• Baudolino by Umberto Eco, narrated by George Guidall (Audible $24.49/ Downpour $23.50) (Added 6/18)
  
• Bearing An Hourglass by Piers Anthony, narrated by George Guidall (Audible NOT AVAILABLE/ Downpour NOT AVAILABLE) (Added 6/18)
  

Pay more than $10, and you get all of the above plus:

• Fight Club by Chuck Palahnuik, narrated by James Colby (Audible Price: $20.56/ Downpour Price: $18.50)
  

All of the files are in MP3 format.

[ZLoth]

Anne Frank was born today in 1929. Commemorate her birth and the indestructible nature of the human spirit by listening to ANNE FRANK: A DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL. Download the audiobook free for today only!

Click here to download: http://snapp.to/1hMiAaK

Please note - while you can stream the audiobook from a phone, you can only download the file from a computer. This offer ends June 13, 2014 at 9:59 AM ET.

You do have to sign up for a free mailing list, which you can easily unsubscribe to.

[ZLoth]

Three more books have been added to the Humble Audiobook Bundle 2 in the "Pay more than the average price" section. I have updated my original post accordingly. The price range of these books from Audible.com is $14.69 to $24.49 each, with the average price being $20.51, so $10 for eleven books is an excellent deal!

[ZLoth]

Just as a heads up.... Humble Bundle Books has about 14 Scholastic Audio books available for $15. This includes the Hunger Games trilogy and War Horse (among others). This may be good for Thanksgiving driving.

[Stratuscaster]

I don't do audio books, but I do enjoy podcasts. Download them to my iPod touch plugged into the AUX port on my aftermarket JVC head unit. Most of them run between 45 and 90 minutes.