Free audio books: SIX PLACES TO GET AUDIO BOOKS FROM

FREE AUDIO BOOK DOWNLOAS and BEST MP3 PLAYERS FOR AUDIO BOOKS

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1. LIBRARY - AUDIO BOOKS ON CD
Libraries have a great selection of audio books on tapes and CD on the shelves. Any library is usually a part of a big Network or a Consortium of libraries and funds. This Network comprises dozens of local libraries and has combined collections of millions of items. In the online catalog you can find and request most of the audio books ever published. This is great! And I cannot stress enough: libraries have most of the audio books ever published. There is one disadvantage though: it may take days, or even weeks, for your order to arrive to your local library for you to pick it up. So this option is for patient readers. If you finally got the book you so much desired, you may want to make the listening process even more convenient and enjoyable by converting it into the mp3 format. You can load this book onto your portable mp3 player and enjoy. Please notice, however, not all mp3 players are good for audio books. In order to accomplish this conversion you can simply use the Windows Media Player, which is an integrated part of your Windows operating system. Just open the Media Player, select the Rip option, as shown in the pictures to the left, and start converting. For further convenience you may want to change some default parameters, which regulate the generated file names, the destination directory and the quality of the mp3 files. From the copyright prospective, this procedure is perfectly legal, if you only make the copies for your own convenience and delete them after you have finished the listening.
2. LIBRARY - DIGITAL CATALOG
Digital catalogs are relatively new, but they become more and more popular among the libraries. They provide a very convenient means for you to download audio books, and they have a great selection. The downloadable services are provided by OverDrive and NetLibrary nationwide. NetLibrary might not allow burning CDs but Overdrive does. If your local library is not yet participating you can initiate the process by referring to the digital provider OverDrive. If you need help, you can find a quick guided tour here. The guide walks you through the basics, from getting started to downloading to burning to a CD. In just a few minutes, even the newest user can be enjoying a downloaded title. Instead of burning a CD, you may want to use your mp3 player for listening. However, as I said, not all mp3 players are good for audio books. Read more about this issue here. As an example, check out the digital catalog of the libraries already connected to this service. One thing I should mention here: the quality of the library digital books is not the best. The audio files are compressed too much. For better quality see other recommendations below.
3. FREE AUDIO BOOKS AND BOOKS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN
By definition, books in public domain are not protected by copyright and may be freely used by everyone. A work may be moved to public domain if the term of copyright for the work has expired, or the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright, or the work is a work of the U.S. Government. Books published before 1923 are usually in public domain. You can find tons of outstanding classic works in public domain. Since there is no copyright protection for these works, you can download them for free. As to audio-books, they are also either free, or very inexpensive, since publishers don't need to pay royalties to the copyright owners. 1. podiobooks.com - This site is a hidden treasure. They've got lots of books available for download. The books are in the mp3 format and you can download them chapter-by-chapter and put them onto your mp3 player for convenience. If you get a chance, check out this site. I'll give you some specific links ( The Immortals and Ancestor) so that you could see how it works. When you get to these pages, scroll down and you'll see links for downloading. Right-click on a link and select the 'Safe target as' option in the pop-up menu. 2. talkingbooksdirect.com - you can find many free audio books here. 3. freeclassicaudiobooks.com - free classic audo books narrated by humans and by digital voice simulation. 4. free-books.org - 1000+ free audo books for download and for online listening. 5. audiobooksforfree.com - download free with poor sound quality (8 Kb/sec ), buy cheap with better qulity (up to 48 Kb/sec).
4. BETTER CHOICE FOR AVID READERS
If you are an avid reader and require a better choice, you may want to sign up for commercial download services. audible.com probably has the biggest selection of all. Their catalog is easy to browse or search and, what is very important, you can listen to samples before you order a title. Other services we would like to mention here are: booksfree.com jiggerbug.com kitabe.com audiodigitalbooks.com
5. RENT A BOOK
If you still cannot find what you need, or you want better sound quality of what you listen, you may use rental services that work very much like DVD movie rental through regular mail. You just make your order, receive it in the mail and then, after you have finished, send it back in the prepaid envelope you will receive with your order. One of the places where you can find some of the best recordings and readers is RecordedBooks.com. Other sites we can recommend are BlackstoneAudio.com and dickestell.com. Dick Estell has been reading books on National Public Radio since June 1964.
6. FOR THE AUDIO BOOK COLLECTOR
Finally, if you are an audio book collector, you can buy disks from sites like: amazon.com audiobooks.com booksamillion.com barnesandnoble.com RecordedBooks.com

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TOP 10 MP3 PLAYERS FOR AUDIO BOOKS
Creative Zen 2/4/8 GB by Creative We're hard-pressed to find anything not to like about the Creative Zen. Watch video It's a great option for anyone looking for a great-sounding, pocketable MP3 player with an excellent, video... See specs...
iRiver Clix 2 Gen by iRiver February 2008. Great for audiobooks! The re-designed iRiver ... See specs...
Cowon iAudio 7 by Cowon July 2007. The Cowon iAudio 7 is one of the most versatile MP3 players available. It plays music, video, and photos; has unbeatable sound quality; records line-in, voice, and FM; supports OGG and ... See specs...
iAudio G3 2 GB MP3 Player w/FM & Voice Recor... by Cowon Cowon has made it again. Another exceptional product by that hidden gem of a company. Fantastic sound quality, excellent battery performance and everything you need for listening to audio books. See specs...
COWON D2 by COWON Take your media everywhere with the versatile Cowon D2 4GB Portable Media Player. Featuring a 2.5-inch LCD touchscreen, wide video and audio file format support, audio recording via internal micr... See specs...
iRiver T10 1 GB MP3 Player by iRiver iRiver T10 MP3 Flash Music Player is no ordinary player. It's a lifestyle. Amazingly small, you'd hardly know it's there but you'll appreciate its features and performance. The ultra-portable T10 from iRiver delivers exceptional sound quality in a unique, sport-ready design. The T10 is PlaysForSure verified to support subscriptio... See specs...
SanDisk Sansa M260 4GB MP3 Player by SanDisk The 4 GB Sansa M260 will hold approximately 64 hours of CD-quality MP3 tracks (encoded at 128kps) or 128 hours of WMA tracks (at 64kbps). It's compatible with MP3, WMA, secure WMA, and Audible audio file formats. The digital FM radio allows you to access local radio stations, as well as preset up to 20 of your favorite stations. ... See specs...
Creative Zen Micro Photo 8 GB MP3 Player Bla... by Creative The micro-sized, coolly styled Zen Micro Photo digital audio player/photo viewer enables you to watch slide shows of your favorite digital images on its stunning, high-intensity 1.5-inch OLED screen while listening to an MP3 or WMA soundtrack. This 8 GB player in black can hold up to 10,000 JPEG images or 4,000 songs. It's also n... See specs...
Sandisk SDMX4-4096 Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Playe... by SanDisk Enjoy skipless music playback, photo slideshows, and videos with the sleek, easily-pocketable SanDisk Sansa e260 flash memory digital audio player with 4 GB of storage. It features MP3 and WMA playback and is also compatible with secure PlaysForSure WMA files downloaded from online music stores and subscription services (like MTV... See specs...
iAudio X5L 20 GB Multimedia Player by Cowon The iAudio X5L 20 GB Multimedia Player Black combines an MP3 player, video player, FM radio, voice recorder, and digital photo album in one tidy package with a smooth aluminum finish. With its capacity for up to 5,000 songs, 2,000 folders, or 10,000 files, and a lithium-ion battery that provided up to 35 continuous hours of play,... See specs...
iRiver H10 20 GB MP3 Player/Recorder by iRiver The iRiver 20 GB model H10 is the perfect portable digital player/recorder for true music and audio enthusiasts. Hardly bigger than a deck of cards, its 1.8-inch hard drive has space for over 5,000 songs (128 kbps MP3, 4 minutes per song) or more than 330 hours of music. Yet the whole player measures just 2.4 x 4 inches (W x H) a... See specs...
COWON A2 by Cowon Why Cowon A2? In addition to a wide range of audio, video, and still image compatibility, Cowon A2 also offers an FM radio, and unique in-line audio and video recording. Well, Archos 604 features in-line video recording too, but it requires an additional expensive docking station. Co... See specs...
Samsung YP-K3JQB 2GB Ultra Slim MP3 Player by Samsung The Samsung K3 Slim 2GB MP3 Player lives up to its name. It's the slimmest subscription-enabled MP3 Player on the market. The OLED display has a light emitting touch-pad, for easier control. Samsung's proprietary DNSe (Digital Natural Sound engine) technology lessens distortion at high volume & gives you natural, accurate sound. ... See specs...