I finally tried the Audible free trial. Should you?

Adverts for the audible free trial are everywhere. It’s free right, so why has it taken me so long to try it? Now I have finally tried the Audible free trial, would I recommend it? Read on and see what you think. I’ve included all the information you need to know so it’s easy if you want to give it a go.

I love books, I love physical, beautiful books. Reading is one of the great #SmallJoys as you can see from my blog. It’s not just about the story, it’s the full immersion, total concentration on the words on the pages. This I believe started with Stephen King – ‘Carrie’, the first book I read in one go, through the night as I couldn’t put it down. And grew from there. One of my prized possessions is a signed copy of Stephen Kings ‘Bag of Bones’. We met the great man at Borders in Oxford Street. The book, the ticket and the photo of us with him is like new, over 20 years later. I’ve included links to the actual books in the article to make it easy for you to buy if you want.

Stephen King is also the reason I was very anti audiobooks. This is why.

In the year 2000 I bought the Blood and Smoke audiobook. Yes it was a cassette, for my Walkman (not Sony, that was too dear, mine was a Matsui from Currys ). It was read by Stephen King himself, I was sooooo excited. 10 minutes I lasted, if that. It was absolutely terrifying. I remember the part so clearly (no spoilers here though), I was listening to it on the tube. Even now the words come back to me, the tone, the horrible noises and gives me the absolute shivers. Never again. That was the first and only time I tried an audiobook. Also I don’t like things in my ears – headphones, even the ones that go over your ears (they feel like they are crushing my skull) are a no no.

I now use these over the ear noise cancelling headphones, brilliant for flying, and deep listening, and they look great and are really comfortable.

What has changed my mind about Audiobooks?

Alexa and Audible changed my view completely.

I got an Amazon Echo for my birthday. I use it as a speaker basically, for playing my Spotify tunes, and we occasionally learn random things ‘ The weather in Enfield, Jamaica is currently 24 degrees and sunny’. Who knew there was an Enfield in Jamaica? Anyway Audible were doing a free trial so I thought why not? Give it a go, I’m writing an article on why and how we should try free things so, cool new experience to try, and to write about.

Are you an Amazon Prime member?

Audible is from Amazon so being an Amazon Prime member it was really easy to set up – I didn’t even need to ask one of my boys to help. Actually did it myself. Click here for FREE trial. Done.

How many books do you get with the Audible Free trial?

Non Amazon prime members get one book credit in the first month
Amazon Prime members get two book credits in the first month

What happens after the free first month?

You continue to get the same benefits as the free month. The cost is then £7.99 a month. Diarise to cancel before the month is up, just to be on the safe side. Then you can choose to ‘uncancel’ and continue rather than be surprised with automatic renewal. I’m working on an article ‘free’ where I delve into what goes on in your mind when you get something free then have to pay for it. Indeed my first reaction was ‘I’ll try it for the month then cancel‘. But actually looking at what I spend on books, £7.99 a month is ok.

How do you chose what to read?

The next step was to choose a book, oh my days this took a loooooong time. I could have read a book in the time it took me to decide! There are thousands and thousands. My criteria was – one that I hadn’t read before, or maybe a favourite that I read a while ago, one that I would buy, one that I could listen to on Alexa so dip in and out of, no complex storylines.

Before you decide what to listen to, make sure you do this.

So I shortlisted a few then on the audible app you can listen to a sample. DEFINITELY do this. Some voices I found were really irritating. And why on earth would I want to listen to a Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational) book read by a female? There is often more that one option on each book, so listen and see what you prefer. Finally I picked one.

What book did I pick?

I chose Daniel H. Pink – Drive The surprising truth about what motivates us. It is narrated by Daniel H. Pink himself.

How do you listen through Alexa?

So I said Hey Alexa open Audible please (we are always polite to Alexa, please and thank you are essential). Only having one book on there made it pretty easy, but I guess you’d just request the title you want if you have more. And then Daniel H. Pink is talking to me, well reading to me. I was hooked from the very first words.

I find time to listen to audiobooks whenever I’m home alone. Instead of having music on in the background, I have the audiobook. I may be cooking or whatever, and I’m also listening to the book. I can pause it, repeat passages, and yes I kind of talk to Daniel H. Pink. (Along the lines of really? No way. Mmmm Interesting and Oh I didn’t know that). I love it. It’s so much fun. Only problem is 2 weeks in and I’ve nearly finished the book. To be fair though its been a novelty and I have made more time than I usually would to try this. I think going forward one book a month will be enough.

When do we listen to Audiobooks?

Taz is also doing the free trial and chose George R R Martin – Game of Thrones. The set itself is nearly £260 to buy. He listens to it in the car going to and from work and on his headphones at home.

I have totally got used to him making me jump by jumping himself or him taking sharp intakes of breath or commenting out loud. It’s very funny – sometimes a tad annoying when he says listen to this and I have to stop mid concentration and listen. Usually it’s worth it though. His Game of Thrones will definitely take more than a month to listen to. (update – it did!)

Is the Audible subscription worth keeping after the free trial?

For us, definitely. Updating this in July 2021, there has been a lot of time over the last year or so due to Covid to make the most of the Audible subscription. I have now listened to over 30 books on Audible. Currently listening to Homestretch by Graham Norton, not a book I would have picked to buy but I am really enjoying listening to it. I’d definitely recommend it to kick off your free Audible trial.

It’s worth giving it a go for the month (remember to diarise cancellation!) Then decide whether YOU want to keep it.

Can an Audiobook replace a real book?

Books are my thing and since my birthday I have actually bought 4, some were with book tokens, and I did get quite a few for my Birthday so I have some reading to do. So this Audible is perfect for reading when you don’t actually have time to read. I would have got round to reading this eventually but this saved me buying it and it was an absolute joy to listen to.

What are the benefits of Audible?

So I did have questions / concerns that I’ve found out the answers to below.

What if I want more books? You can buy more credits easily.
What if I take longer than a month to read a book? The credits roll over so you don’t lose them, just use them when you’re ready.
What happens If I cancel the subscription, do I lose the books I’ve already had? Even if you cancel the subscription, the books are yours to keep. Yay.
What if I start a book and don’t like it? You can exchange for any reason, you’re not stuck with one that’s not working for you.
What if I want to listen out of wifi? That’s fine, you can listen offline, on the underground, wherever.
Any other perks? Yes there’s various offers been popping in my inbox for Unlimited listening shows and free podcasts and specially discounted books, they seem to be tailored to what I like so that’s fab.

What are the drawbacks of Audible?

After the free trial it’s £7.99 a month, you need to weigh up if it’s worth it.
What are you missing out on? I missed music and the radio.

So as a free trial, I’d definitely recommend it and I’ve found that it’s something I want to keep in my life. I am already thinking about what my next book will be. I do know though that it won’t be Blood and Smoke (although that is on there). Some things are best left in the year 2000 and anyway I have a reading list that will keep me and Alexa entertained for many years to come.

You can sign up here for your free 30 day trial. The link will take you to the Audible free trial page on your Amazon account, if you have one. If you don’t have an Amazon account you will need to make one – click here for your 30 day free trial of Amazon Prime, the instructions are easy to follow. Remember to diarise cancellation for this too if you don’t want to keep it.

If you do cancel after the free trial, then you keep the book you downloaded in the free trial so nothing to lose AND a book to gain. Win win.

Do let us know in the comments what book YOU chose to start your free Audible trial

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I finally tried the Audible free trial. Should you?

Stephen King is also the reason I was very anti audiobooks. This is why.