Audible has been running a program for the past year that is called “Send this book.” It allows you to get one free audiobook from other Audible users. After that, any audiobooks sent to you must be paid for. The purpose of this initiative is to make loaning out a favorite title to a friend. You can send an invite out via e-mail, text, Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, using iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices smartphone or tablet. The good thing about this platform is that Audible will pay authors, actors and other rights holders the equivalent value of each recipient’s first title.
Do you use Send this Book? This is a feature that truly works if you directly know people who listen to audiobooks and you can work out a trade. I surmise that the vast majority of audiobook listeners are the only one in their peer group, so it makes lending impossible. Still, there are other ways to get the audiobooks loaned out to you with forums and Reddit threads.
Have you used Send this Book? Did you even know the program existed? It seems easy, you can send out an audiobook to a friend that doesn’t even have an Audible account and they don’t need a credit card, just an email address.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.