Audiobooks offer a versatile and immersive alternative to traditional reading, allowing listeners to enjoy literature on the go. One of the best things about audiobooks is that the format is well-suited for those who might have always wanted to read books but simply don’t have the time to indulge in them. In fact, you can listen to audiobooks even while engaged in daily activities like commuting, exercising, or relaxing.
Also, while there is no dearth of places to source your audiobooks from, most will charge you a fee for the same. That said, there also are places that offer audiobooks for free. Mentioned here are a few such places where you can have the audiobook you want without paying a dime.
Open Culture
Open Culture has a nice collection of audiobooks that you can stream or download to your device for listening anytime you want. The collection is well organized, and neatly grouped according to the genre so that you can easily get to what you might be looking for. However, the collection here comprises largely of classic literature.
Lit2Go
Lit2Go is run by The Florida Center for Instructional Technology which is located in the College of Education, University of South Florida. The audiobook collection is excellent with the titles neatly arranged according to the author, audiobook genre, title of the audiobook, and such. You can also search audiobooks as per your reading level which spans from grade K to grade 12. Most of the audiobooks are available for download as MP3 files.
LibriVox
LibriVox offers a comprehensive collection of audiobooks which stands at more than 16,000 titles. The collection is organized according to the title, author, or subject of the audiobook. Also, you can have audiobooks in multiple languages. Not only are the audiobooks completely free, they have been read by voice actor volunteers who hail from different parts of the world. You can also download the app which is available on both Android and iOS. The audiobook is also available in ZIP file format that you can download on your preferred device. The other option is to listen to the audiobooks via the website.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive claims to be one of the largest online repositories of books, music, software, websites, and such. It also happens to be a non-profit organization though that has not prevented it from running into legal issues with the publishers. While that is a different topic altogether, what is relevant here is that the site has a collection of more than 20,000 audiobooks as well as the entire collection of LibriVox. The audiobooks are available in MP3 format which you can download on your device.
Overdrive
Overdrive works in conjunction with your local library or school to let you have the audiobook you want. The audiobooks are available for free though you can’t download the title directly from the Overdrive app. You will first have to register with OverDrive followed by checking out with the local library attached with Overdrive to check the titles you want. You will then have to use your card issued by the local library to access the titles via Overdrive. The collection is among the best and also includes titles from The New York Times bestseller list.
Storynory
Bedtime stories are the best to put your child to sleep. However, if you as a parent are too busy to read out stories to your kid, Storynory can be of help to you. Needless to say, the collection comprises of almost exclusively fairy tales – both original and classic – along with short novels specifically aimed at the kids. However, the collection isn’t huge right now, with just about a few hundred titles available at the moment. That said, the collection is growing with about a title added each week. Also, since each of the audiobooks is HTML5 based, you can listen to them via smartphone, tablet, or browser.
Loyal Books
You have a nice collection of audiobooks here at Loyal Books though most of them are classics. There are both novels and short stories that you can stream on your device. There is multiple language content available in MP3, podcast, M4b, or as an RSS feed. You can rate and review the books which can be viewed by fellow readers.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
