Starting this week, this blog has received a new sponsor in the form of Audible.com. I am really excited about this for a couple of reasons.
1. Audiobooks are a unique medium. One wants to say 'I read these books', but it really is something else having them read to you by a skilled narrator. The reading soaks in, but its not as if you turn pages.
If you're an auditory learner, this is a marvelous method of reading books. Audible is not your daddy's cassette tapes, it is crystal clear narration in digital form. Playback is for iPods(I use a nano), iPhones, Android phones, Blackberries, Zunes, and a plethora of other music players. It's also easy to burn to a CD, for playback in any car system.
2. I have personally been an Audible.com customer since August of 2009, and have read/listened to exactly 22 audiobooks from there since then. Every interaction with the company has been resolved to my satisfaction, from changing payment methods to refunds for a crummy book to tech questions regarding product functionality.
3. The utility of this product is astounding, and something you likely will not fully appreciate until you try it with a good book. Great for filling in all that vacant time for your mind.
As an example, this has been my usages within the past week. Working out, driving, mowing, dishes, taking out the garbage, time between classes, and washing the car. All told, over 8 hours of reading I would have not had without an audiobook on my iPod.
(Simple trick, whatever the amount of time it takes to listen to an audiobook, divide by 2 for the amount of time to read it on paper. Ergo, I would have spent 4 hours reading on paper to match it)
Good news for you, the reader. As part of the sponsorship from Audible, there is are two open offers to try audible.
There are not any gimmicks on this, you can pick any book from the 60,000+ in the Audible catalog and keep it forever.
You select the Audible Gold option, and the first month is free with no charge attached. This sounds fishy, but I did it myself a few years back. You can keep the book, even if you don't pay a dime in subscription, just get the book and cancel the subscription within 14 days if you so desire. But you will love it so much, you won't cancel.
This option is for 1 book a month for 3 months, at 50% off. If you know you already like audiobooks, this option is for you. Ridiculously cheap for an audiobook of your choice.
To get started, I recommend The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
Reviews on more books will be forthcoming, these two included.
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