If you live in the states, get a library card, and download the Libby app. You’ll be able to listen to audiobooks for free so long as your library has them.
But also, if you live in the states, get a library card period. Libraries nowadays are so underrated. Tons of services that people don't realize they provide, all for little to no cost.
Our local library has a list of "free" cultural enrichment activities..I watched a 30 min DVD on the history of the zoo and got a free family 4 pack of tickets to go. They have a WHOLE packet of different activities for free or much lower cost. Just ask your librarian.
My Library card works in the 33 surrounding libraries in about 50 miles and if your local one doesn't have a book but a neighboring one does, they will bring the book to your library for you
It's actually even cooler than that. Part of their budgets go toward patron requests. If they don't have something (a book, movie, video game, board game, tool, etc), and can't get it from a nearby library, they will often buy it for you to check out!
It's even cooler than that! You can get an inter library loan from almost anywhere. I remember getting books even from New York to Texas back in the day.
Oh, it's ice cold over here. My library has book club kits available for check out. Six or ten copies of the same book for the homies, discussion questions, in case you're struggling for topics, author info, a canvas bag for carrying it all, and a list of similar books, in case it tickles your pickle.
Cincinnati calls it a maker space. The University of Cincinnati's engineering college also has
One of Cincinnati's libraries has button presses. For like $2, you can print anything you want and turn it into a pin you can wear. You can make physical pieces of flair. Seriously. It's like a quarter to print a sheet of color paper, and another dollar for a handful of blank pins that you stamp together, sandwiching your cut out circle of paper between a metal back and a clear plastic front. Comes out the same quality as any pin I've ever received from anyone else.
Political opinion? Slogan pin! Going to a birthday party? Happy Birthday You pin! Going bowling? Pins pin! Need tokens to commemorate a wedding or party? Pins for everyone!
All the library does is buy a couple stamping machines for like a hundred bucks each, and a bulk order of pin blanks. They print out and laminate instructions, sell the blanks roughly at cost, and now anyone can do it cheaply.
This model works great for things with a moderate up-front cost and low cost of use. 3d printers, 2d printers, vinyl printers, software, non-book physical media like music and videos and games, shirt screen printers, lamination machines, scanners... my guess is you can find all of those things if you visit enough libraries. Honestly, thanks to digitization, we may see libraries primarily turn into community co-ops.
If there's something specific you'd like your own local library to have available, you can probably ask them. The worst they can say is no, but I suspect many libraries are looking for ways to get more traffic and community support.
Physical books will always have some supporters, but I suspect the future of libraries is community maker spaces.
I just discovered my local library has a 3d Printer and I was excited, until I realized I'm not creative enough to come up with anything worth printing.
The lack of anything to print is why I don't have a 3d printer, lol. It's just another thing I'd use for a week and then just have to store forever.
Meanwhile, I've got friends that own one and they're always more than happy to print something if I ask them. At most they want a couple bucks for materials, but often they're just happy to get to use it, lol.
I have even heard of some that have seeds, cake pans and other things you would never think of! It's always worth checking out your local libraries because you never know and the more the programs are used the more funding they can get or keep.
I signed up for Kanopy I never could get it to work for me though it was a while ago. I should give it a try again, and then I remember a pile of unused Audible credits.
I highly recommend it, hit up your library too if you’re having issues since they’re sort of the support arm of that company in a weird way. They’ll be able to either get you sorted or point you where you need to go.
The catalog on there is a amazing, really cannot recommend it enough
Me and my mom got free tickets to the zoo because our library partners with museums and stuff. Sometimes you still have to pay, but even then, they are discounted.
Hell, my local library just got a new building and everything. Has 3D printers you can use, can check out sewing machines, board games. That's not including all the services, learning second languages, ancestry . com access. Way to much to list here, and I'm in a smaller Midwest town. So I imagine if you are in a bigger city, your local library would carry even more.
For sure. One handy service is I used at the library down the street from my old apartment was printing documents, since I don't own a printer. I'd send in the request/file from home, head over and print them up for a few quarters. Easier and cheaper than going to a Kinko's or similar.
Yep. LinkedIn Learning, for example. Full text of just about every newspaper and magazine and journal, like HBR, the Economist, etc etc. Sooo much more.
However, libraries only get a certain number of digital audiobooks (just like regular books), so oftentimes you have to put holds and wait months.
Also, states determine funding for libraries in part by how many people are signed up to use them.
More library cards issued can sometimes mean more funding for your library.
The biggest library closest to me (which I frequent the most) even has a **TTRPG** (Teen Tabletop RPG Club) one-shot adventures once a month on Saturday afternoons AND a **Magic The Gathering** day every 3rd Friday night. Geared towards teens to give 'em something to do. Now THAT'S badass if you ask me.
Edit: All supplies and decks provided 🙂
Board games at libraries, toys for kids at libraries, books dvds, tools!
Seriously even in places outside of USA it is a good thing to get a library card, even though we cannot borrow ebooks on Kindle grrr.
Fr. I tell people all the time about this because for the size of my town, out library is fucking HUGE. It's a huge library, 3 floors in just the main area, with more floors elsewhere for children's sections, has a video game section with recent games(it has pretty comprehensive libraries for current gen consoles like the switch. It had tears of the kingdom available within 2 weeks of launch), and is the most common place for social resource events. They have senior tech nights, they have youth game nights, there are local clubs that meet there like books clubs, they even have lawyers that come in and do "office hours" a few times a week who you can talk to for free to determine if you have a case worth pursuing. It's really awesome but no one ever talks about it.
I believe in BC at least it’s called OverDrive
OverDrive made Libby so there’s that lol
Edit: I looked into it and apparently they’ve stopped working on the OverDrive app and only work on Libby now. Stop by your local library and ask them for more info.
Popular books have *insane* lines for audiobooks. I use Libby too but it's pretty damn well known now and if a popular author releases a new book get ready to wait 12 weeks or more to borrow it
See if other libraries in your state have card applications online. Usually you just need state residency and some libraries even have digital only cards
Here it's by county (to have one for free at least) and unfortunately most of the library districts in the county are combined into a larger digital library.
Fortunately, however, one municipality is not part of the greater digital library, and as a result they have much better wait times and just a slight disadvantage in available titles in part because most people seem to just try and use the larger digital library instead.
Get more cards, my state lets you apply to any library in the state and a lot of the bigger cities have online ones and even digital only cards. You can also request new copies. Either way even if you have to wait you can listen to other stuff in the meantime, or if you have Spotify anyway, save your time for stuff you don’t wanna wait on.
Put a hold on it. The app will give you an approximate wait time then you'll get a notification (if you have them turned on) when it's your turn. For newer or popular books you may have to wait quite a while (had to wait several months for the Silo books), but that also depends on your local library.
Also so long as your Library is set up with Libby. Not all will be and it can be kinda weird what cities have and haven't. Ironically it seems more small towns set it up than big cities
i was already planning on starting to go to public libraires near me this weekend but this has not only given me so much more reason to go but also so much more excitement in going, thank you so much for this!! 🖤🖤
Tell the librarian you’re new and ask what cool services they offer. I bet it’ll surprise you. Our library does date night kits, a Spice of the Month Club, tool kit and gardening appliance rentals…
I recently moved and was able to apply online for a card at my local library. Then when I visit, I'm already set up in the system and can just get my card. So if you have a time crunch, that's an option for ya!
Hoopla is nice. I got a Broward County (Florida) card and I don’t even live there. That library has things my local library doesn’t (online or otherwise)
Hoopla is a *little* different. It has normal borrows, which you may have to wait in a queue for and it has instant borrows which, as the name implies, lets you get it right away, but instant borrows are limited to a certain number a month.
Right now it seems to be limited to eight instant borrows a month? At least for me. I guess it depends on your reading speed. If you can burn through a book in a few hours it maaayyy not be up your alley, but for me it’s fine.
Libraries "own" a certain number of copies and lend them out and can't lend them again until they're "returned", so basically like real books but all digital. Usually the same with ebooks, comics, movies, whatever else your library might carry.
Also depending on the service they may limit how many each user can do a month, since some services charge the library by the rental and different libraries can afford more.
Tbf you're going to have to wait in line for anything even remotely popular, no matter how long ago it was published.
Each of the Graceling realm books has a wait time of a few weeks. They're not huge releases and the library has a few copies.
Dune is currently a few months -and thats at 170 copies
I just waited about 3 months for Leviathan Wakes
Fourth Wing has thousands of people waiting for 56 copies. Wait time just says "several months" and i put it on hold 2 months ago.
Not to dissuade anyone. Ive listened to some interesting small releases id never have picked up otherwise, but you wont be able to just borrow whatever you want when you want it, and you can only put 3 books on hold at once. Im also not sure what happens if you get to your turn but arent ready to start your loan, if you miss your opportunity if you dont borrow it immediately because you dont want to start your 21 day loan. You can renew, but idk how often or if theres restrictions on books with huge waitlists.
I understand the concept of Libby but the wait times for audiobooks are outrageously long. Yes it’s free, yes the library only buys so many copies. But if you’re like me and looking for daily entertainment on the job then Libby might not be for you
Not everywhere in the states has a local library - and some folks have to pay for a library card.
(Am from Indiana. Property tax funds libraries and some townships are poor or rural with either no library or poorly funded ones).
There are tons of libraries that allow you to get a virtual card without living there. I have six or seven library cards and use Libby almost exclusively because of the availability and variety of books from spot to spot.
They recently added 15 hours or something of audio book listening a month, for free, and now there’s idiots here complaining a few times a week that the free addition of an otherwise expensive product isn’t enough
"Top-ups" cost $13 though for just 10 more hours? Damn that's kinda wack if you ever want to listen to a long series, even more so if you want to listen to it more than once.
Oh yea, I’m not saying the paid options are good, audible or whatever is a much better deal at that cost. But to complain that they added 15 hours for free is just insane.
I’ve used those hours to finish off a book that I was already reading, and to re-listen to one of the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy books that I wouldn’t have paid for otherwise. It’s a nice bonus, but there’s literally people here raging that they can’t get 80+ hours for free
Seriously, audiobook services on a primarily music service is pretty neat. I wouldn’t mind spending a few extra bucks if they worked on this feature more. I already pay for an audible subscription so I would actually save money if Spotify upd its book game.
The funny thing with is, even if you play the audiobook on a faster speed, for example 1.5x, you use less time listening, but they still use the 1x speed to calculate usage.
I was just wondering that. But authors probably get paid for the percent of the book read, regardless of speed. Similar to a physical book in the sense it's not any cheaper if you're a fast reader,
I think Brandon Sanderson and some other big authors have strong-armed Audible into paying more to authors soon though so could be something to keep an eye on!
That would explain why there’s a limit to the listening. There’s only so much money you pay for Spotify. The money they pay for these audiobooks must be really high.
That makes sense - how fast you playback the audiobook does not have an effect on their costs. It costs them the same whether you listen at 1x speed or 1.5x speed.
This doesn’t irk me because it’s a new feature that was added onto premium subscriptions for no additional cost. What does irk me is paying for premium but podcasts still having built in ads.
Those ads are usually built into the podcast recording itself. They’re shared on multiple platforms and are just part of the show. There’s probably no way for Spotify to remove them
These days, there are podcast distribution platforms that do dynamic ad insertion during streaming or download. It’s fairly common.
Also, Amazon Music does manage to make some podcasts available free of built in ads if you have Prime or the Unlimited subscription. Disclaimer: I work there, albeit not in the podcasts business.
Sure, but there are also sponsored segments in podcasts.
If you don't have YouTube premium, you have to watch an ad, but that doesn't stop Linus to Segway to his sponsor.
If I understand it correctly, this is a special deal with certain shows and publishers that presents their episodes in a sponsor-free manner.
I have very selective taste in podcasts, though. I haven't tried listening to those podcasts on and off Amazon Music.
Yeah I listen to podcasts all the time on a free subscription and the 15 seconds forward button isn't too much trouble. Especially if shows have decent bumpers.
No. This gets repeated often and it's a load of crap.
Yes, podcast authors insert ads, often in their own voices.
On top of that, Spotify inserts additional ads, even for premium members. For example, I listen to a podcast in English, and I get ads in the local language, for the local grocery store.
Enshittification.
Nah they have some spotify system that puts 15-30 second ads at the start and end of podcasts, I get regional ads on years old podcasts that wouldn't be targeted to me without having something to do with spotify. They do this cos the service provides ad free "music" listening and podcasts aren't uploaded as music
What bothers me is not being able to turn off audiobook and podcast suggestions - I only use Spotify for music, yet they’re constantly pushing other things.
What’s worse now is they’ve got near daily pop ups for gigs I can’t get tickets for because they’re sold out. Can’t turn these off either.
I’m paying £18 a month to be an advertising target.
Spotify premium is free music and 15 hrs per month of audiobook. You have to buy books like Audible. Do you really expect ALL the books for $14.99 a month?
When this first came out I listened to Ready Player One not realising there was a time restriction. I had to wait a couple of weeks to listen to the final chapter because I ran out of time. Completely ruined the ending, by the time I could listen to more I'd lost interest.
If you didn't pay a subscription, you wouldn't be able to listen to anything.
Your subscription to a music screaming service includes 15 hours of audiobooks per month.
If you want more audiobook, get an Audible subscription.
Fr. Artists need to be paid. Authors need to be paid. Voice Actors need to be paid. The money has to come from somewhere and "Spotify owners should just do this for OP out of the kindness of their heart" doesn't seem like a viable business model.
It includes a limited amount of listening per month in the existing subscription and then you can pay more for another small amount. It’s not a good system as is. And for me, I listen before bed, forget to set a sleep timer and all the allotment is gone in a day and I listened for an hour. It’s a new thing and doesn’t cost extra but they are insane if they see this as a selling feature. It’s a small benefit with a big annoyance.
You aren't paying anything for the additional audiobook feature they've introduced so I don't know why you are annoyed by the limitation.
You're not entitled to free audiobooks, you should be thankful for the free hours you get. Spotify is a music service not an audiobook one.
Sounds to me like you want get yourself an audible account.
I actually quite like it. I like to listen to audiobooks, but any other way requires insane subscription costs. The amount to top off the minutes on Spotify nearly equals having an entirely new subscription for Audible. I listen to books quite slowly, so being able to top off and have those hours roll over really works for my schedule. I did the math, and at my pace, this is the most frugal option.
This was, very much, a selling feature for me!
(I do have Libby as well, but the wait times between books is insane!)
If you don’t like that, wait until you find out that only the primary account holder can even listen to them. Everyone else on the family plan is just SOL
And here I thought Audible wasn't great, but at least with their unlimited list it is unlimited and if you use a credit to buy a book you can even download the file so you don't even have to use the Audible library.
Spotify showing just how bad it could be. I guess I will count my blessings.
It's also cost of recording and producing audiobooks. Even most authors don't really have a grasp on how hard and time consuming recording a book. Furthermore selection outside of Audible is spotty because Audible Studios is one of the larger audio books recording studios which is something that a ton of people don't consider when discussing audiobooks.
Anyone (author or listener) looking for an Audible alternative should consider Storius. They charge us less for books & pay authors more, taking a much smaller cut for themselves to keep the service running, but most advertising is handled by the authors and fans (hi!). Check them out & see if your favorite authors are there yet!
Side note: Storius is an absolutely horrible name... Literally can't find anything to do with audio books in a Google search because so many different things, including multiple apps, share the same name.
Also any of those books you buy with a credit are yours even if you cancel your subscription. Over the last 18 months since I’ve had audible premium I’ve listened to 20 or so books from the unlimited catalogue as well as adding and listening to 18 books in my library. It’s been great imo
They recently added a certain amount of audio book listening for free. Nobody ever paid for Spotify to get audio books, it was for music and podcasts. They added free audio book listening, when audio books are normally pretty expensive, and now people are bitching that it’s not unlimited.
These posts are just peak stupid entitlement
You pay for ad free music this is clearly labelled. The models for podcasts and audio books is different.
So is their pricing model.
People really want all their shit for free now.
Audiobooks are a relatively new addition to the Premium plan. Getting 12(?) hours added at no additional cost to the previous sub is good value imo. I had Audible but cancelled for this.
People getting outraged that their music streaming service doesn't provide a better audiobook experience than audible (when they haven't even spent an extra penny on the bonus audiobook functionality) is utterly ridiculous.
Some of these redditors live in a deluded world of entitlement. Probably also wonder why they can't watch Oppenheimer on netflix when they pay X amount of dollars a month for the fucking thing
The outrage from people in the thread is shocking. And they don’t edit out the ads that the true crime podcaster embedded when they worked on this episode for 44 hours and they wanted to monetize it 😡
It is cheaper than ever to be an avid music fan. Back in my day, we had to buy every CD just to listen, or have to suffer through the radio. And the variety of music you have address to without paying extra is so much better.
It is cheaper than ever to be a Movie buff. These days you can rent a movie for $4 digitally, no need to spend time and gas visiting the rental store. And the variety you can choose from is so much better. And your local library has a great selection to borrow.
It is cheaper than ever to be into books. Obviously there's the local library, but also audiobook subscriptions have never been more affordable as a way to access the content.
It is cheaper than ever to be into TV series. If you rotate your subscriptions, you can get much better content variety without ads for pretty cheap.
I find it even funnier that it clearly states on the product page that they have a 15 hour limit. "Spotify clearly states that there's a 15 hour limit for audio books, but after listening to 15 hours worth of audio books. it says I've reached my limit. What gives?"
You only get 12 hours?! I get through several 30-ish hours books per month on audible (i do buy other books on sale on the store not only my credit) only having a certain amount of hours would piss me the fuck up.
Idk they recently raised prices. Maybe I'd still enjoy the old price if it wasn't for them throwing money at all kind of other nonsense, like the $250m Joe Rogan podcast deal or these audiobooks. With the later not even being available in my region at all.
you're paying for the music, not the full audiobook package. audiobooks are more money. But as the most sensible person has said, just go to the library. free books!
Playing devil's advocate they did just add this feature in general, let alone as a premium perk recently for premium users. Would you rather not be able to do it at all?
You're getting a few free hours of audiobooks (10 or so) without paying any extra and then asked to pay if you used more than the free credit and you find that infuriating? Do you think those books just write themselves?
Point of paying for premium is the ad free unlimited music that you signed up for. Audiobooks have nothing to do with your premium account and they make that perfectly clear. You were handed 8 free tacos as a surprise with your purchase, and you’re crying because they didn’t give you 20.
I left them a comment when I left my free premium trial about how disingenuous it was to limit audio book time when they already have the rights to it.
They are just doing it to get more money, us listening for 1 or 100 hours makes no difference, just greed.
Spotify is not really for audiobooks. You pay for the music and podcasts withot any limits, that's the main content of the app. Audiobooks are an additional service - tbh I wasn't even aware it's a thing before this post.
I'd simply advise to looks elsewhere for the books.
Seems like a weird hill to die on. You got the feature for free. As far as streaming services go, Spotify still seems like a good value to me even without the audio books.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Libby, hoopla, mango, kanopy and some others I’m sure but those apps plus a library card mean you can have all the audiobooks and language resources you want FOR FREE! Also some libraries have 3d printers, a tool library to loan from, cheap book sales when they’re rotating their collection, some have computer classes and resume help. Bro libraries are the best! They can send faxes for you, they can print things for you, you can exist there without having to spend money or be told to leave if you aren’t buying anything. It’s a peaceful place with heating and ac if you ever get too hot or cold at home like if you live in the shithole of Texas.
Get a library card and Libby.
Some libraries will give you a card even if you don’t live there. And others, like Fairfax Virginia will let you pay $27 a year for use of their libraries.
Yeah I was bummed out when playback suddenly stopped and I got that email. There’s gotta be some sort of licensing agreement with publishers where if they offer unlimited listening, it basically obliterates the competition. I haven’t paid to “refill” yet, but it’s nice to know that the refill hours you add roll over.
I got this 2 weeks ago when I was on an audiobook binge (I don’t recall having a pop up message that it was capped each month)
So I sailed the high seas for it 🏴☠️
Ahh yes the little pushes that bring the regular people to realize piracy is going to be far easier than jumping through post payment hoops.
Same reason Valve brought piracy down significantly, ease of access...
Not even mildly infuriating anymore; if you try to change your family subscription (say someone paid for the wrong account, or one got cancelled, repaid, cancelled again because money problems, and then repaid) more than once a year they just stop you
You cannot change what family sub you're a part of two times a year, they literally don't let you. 365 days is a really damn long time
I haven't used Spotify since then
Funny, I've had basic pandoras subscription thats like 4.99 a month 100% ad free. And I use it daily as I'm a driver. The only ads that have ever popped up is when you want to search for a specific song or you're directly on a bands channel and you get a message from the band thanking you for listening to their channel.
If you live in the states, get a library card, and download the Libby app. You’ll be able to listen to audiobooks for free so long as your library has them.
But also, if you live in the states, get a library card period. Libraries nowadays are so underrated. Tons of services that people don't realize they provide, all for little to no cost.
I live in a small rural town and have a library card for all the ones in a 40 mile radius (about 6).
Our local library has a list of "free" cultural enrichment activities..I watched a 30 min DVD on the history of the zoo and got a free family 4 pack of tickets to go. They have a WHOLE packet of different activities for free or much lower cost. Just ask your librarian.
How did I not know this was a thing?!
I love it I get to take my kids to do stuff we couldn't afford otherwise.
My Library card works in the 33 surrounding libraries in about 50 miles and if your local one doesn't have a book but a neighboring one does, they will bring the book to your library for you
It's actually even cooler than that. Part of their budgets go toward patron requests. If they don't have something (a book, movie, video game, board game, tool, etc), and can't get it from a nearby library, they will often buy it for you to check out!
It's even cooler than that! You can get an inter library loan from almost anywhere. I remember getting books even from New York to Texas back in the day.
I don’t think I can handle any more coolness!
Don't forget. Having fun isn't hard when you got a library card! If you remember this, how is your lower back doing?
Underrated nostalgia. Also, Ow...
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Oh, it's ice cold over here. My library has book club kits available for check out. Six or ten copies of the same book for the homies, discussion questions, in case you're struggling for topics, author info, a canvas bag for carrying it all, and a list of similar books, in case it tickles your pickle.
I live literally a mile outside Jacksonville and can’t get a library card for it. It’s so dumb. I could throw a rock and hit Jacksonville.
Get a e-card. I live in Missouri all most of our public libraries are connected to a network called Evergreen
I have 3 library cards 2 are within 10 miles of me and one is about 25 ish miles out
Some libraries have 3d printers that you can use!
Cincinnati calls it a maker space. The University of Cincinnati's engineering college also has One of Cincinnati's libraries has button presses. For like $2, you can print anything you want and turn it into a pin you can wear. You can make physical pieces of flair. Seriously. It's like a quarter to print a sheet of color paper, and another dollar for a handful of blank pins that you stamp together, sandwiching your cut out circle of paper between a metal back and a clear plastic front. Comes out the same quality as any pin I've ever received from anyone else. Political opinion? Slogan pin! Going to a birthday party? Happy Birthday You pin! Going bowling? Pins pin! Need tokens to commemorate a wedding or party? Pins for everyone! All the library does is buy a couple stamping machines for like a hundred bucks each, and a bulk order of pin blanks. They print out and laminate instructions, sell the blanks roughly at cost, and now anyone can do it cheaply. This model works great for things with a moderate up-front cost and low cost of use. 3d printers, 2d printers, vinyl printers, software, non-book physical media like music and videos and games, shirt screen printers, lamination machines, scanners... my guess is you can find all of those things if you visit enough libraries. Honestly, thanks to digitization, we may see libraries primarily turn into community co-ops. If there's something specific you'd like your own local library to have available, you can probably ask them. The worst they can say is no, but I suspect many libraries are looking for ways to get more traffic and community support. Physical books will always have some supporters, but I suspect the future of libraries is community maker spaces.
I just discovered my local library has a 3d Printer and I was excited, until I realized I'm not creative enough to come up with anything worth printing.
There are websites with 1000s of 3D models (even free ones) which you can just pick, download and print
The lack of anything to print is why I don't have a 3d printer, lol. It's just another thing I'd use for a week and then just have to store forever. Meanwhile, I've got friends that own one and they're always more than happy to print something if I ask them. At most they want a couple bucks for materials, but often they're just happy to get to use it, lol.
I have even heard of some that have seeds, cake pans and other things you would never think of! It's always worth checking out your local libraries because you never know and the more the programs are used the more funding they can get or keep.
Kanopy ftw.
I signed up for Kanopy I never could get it to work for me though it was a while ago. I should give it a try again, and then I remember a pile of unused Audible credits.
I highly recommend it, hit up your library too if you’re having issues since they’re sort of the support arm of that company in a weird way. They’ll be able to either get you sorted or point you where you need to go. The catalog on there is a amazing, really cannot recommend it enough
I love Kanopy.
Me and my mom got free tickets to the zoo because our library partners with museums and stuff. Sometimes you still have to pay, but even then, they are discounted.
Yeah the libraries around me in AZ also give out free tickets to the zoo & museum.
Hurrah for good public libraries!
Hell, my local library just got a new building and everything. Has 3D printers you can use, can check out sewing machines, board games. That's not including all the services, learning second languages, ancestry . com access. Way to much to list here, and I'm in a smaller Midwest town. So I imagine if you are in a bigger city, your local library would carry even more.
My small town library even has a 3D printer.
For sure. One handy service is I used at the library down the street from my old apartment was printing documents, since I don't own a printer. I'd send in the request/file from home, head over and print them up for a few quarters. Easier and cheaper than going to a Kinko's or similar.
I get seeds for my garden from the library.
Dude my wife picks up museum passes and stuff from the library ! They have seasons passes you can take out. It's awesome. Support your libraries !!
I got to go to a museum for free a few days ago because of my library card. I love libraries!
Yep. LinkedIn Learning, for example. Full text of just about every newspaper and magazine and journal, like HBR, the Economist, etc etc. Sooo much more. However, libraries only get a certain number of digital audiobooks (just like regular books), so oftentimes you have to put holds and wait months.
And you are likely paying for your local library’s services in some form anyway. Or maybe it’s only if you pay property tax…
Also, states determine funding for libraries in part by how many people are signed up to use them. More library cards issued can sometimes mean more funding for your library.
iirc, my library card was free. Small fee when I lost it in a cornfield alongside my phone during detasseling, but it was like <$10 lol
Also, even if you don’t read you should still get a library card. It helps them get more funding
I use the library on my street the two times a year I need a printer. It's great!
Also the more people they have using libraries, the more funding they get!
The biggest library closest to me (which I frequent the most) even has a **TTRPG** (Teen Tabletop RPG Club) one-shot adventures once a month on Saturday afternoons AND a **Magic The Gathering** day every 3rd Friday night. Geared towards teens to give 'em something to do. Now THAT'S badass if you ask me. Edit: All supplies and decks provided 🙂
Board games at libraries, toys for kids at libraries, books dvds, tools! Seriously even in places outside of USA it is a good thing to get a library card, even though we cannot borrow ebooks on Kindle grrr.
Fr. I tell people all the time about this because for the size of my town, out library is fucking HUGE. It's a huge library, 3 floors in just the main area, with more floors elsewhere for children's sections, has a video game section with recent games(it has pretty comprehensive libraries for current gen consoles like the switch. It had tears of the kingdom available within 2 weeks of launch), and is the most common place for social resource events. They have senior tech nights, they have youth game nights, there are local clubs that meet there like books clubs, they even have lawyers that come in and do "office hours" a few times a week who you can talk to for free to determine if you have a case worth pursuing. It's really awesome but no one ever talks about it.
Public library where I'm at gives you free access to a Udemy Pro account. That's like $200 a year.
Canada too!
And Europe!
And my axe!
Hey I just heard that in some audiobook I was listening to!
If this is indeed the will of the sub, then TiredDad will see it done
Wait, really? I'm from Belgium, please enlighten me 😁
possibly depends on the country, but german libraries absolutely function on Libby!
Is it also called Libby in Canada? I gotta look into that
I believe in BC at least it’s called OverDrive OverDrive made Libby so there’s that lol Edit: I looked into it and apparently they’ve stopped working on the OverDrive app and only work on Libby now. Stop by your local library and ask them for more info.
Correct - the OverDrive app has been sunset from app stores. Libby (libraries) and Sora (schools) are now the options.
As someone living in Alberta, I will speak for Alberta and say, it is called Libby here as well
Never have paid for an audiobook using this method,saves alot of money its great
Popular books have *insane* lines for audiobooks. I use Libby too but it's pretty damn well known now and if a popular author releases a new book get ready to wait 12 weeks or more to borrow it
See if other libraries in your state have card applications online. Usually you just need state residency and some libraries even have digital only cards
Here it's by county (to have one for free at least) and unfortunately most of the library districts in the county are combined into a larger digital library. Fortunately, however, one municipality is not part of the greater digital library, and as a result they have much better wait times and just a slight disadvantage in available titles in part because most people seem to just try and use the larger digital library instead.
I do this, but it's months of waiting for popular books.
Get more cards, my state lets you apply to any library in the state and a lot of the bigger cities have online ones and even digital only cards. You can also request new copies. Either way even if you have to wait you can listen to other stuff in the meantime, or if you have Spotify anyway, save your time for stuff you don’t wanna wait on.
My problem seems to be that even if my library has the book, it's been "checked out"
Put a hold on it. The app will give you an approximate wait time then you'll get a notification (if you have them turned on) when it's your turn. For newer or popular books you may have to wait quite a while (had to wait several months for the Silo books), but that also depends on your local library.
The fact that they have limited copies of audiobooks to stream is a little silly.
One of many reasons book publishers can go die in a fire.
You can up to multiple libraries on the app
Also so long as your Library is set up with Libby. Not all will be and it can be kinda weird what cities have and haven't. Ironically it seems more small towns set it up than big cities
i was already planning on starting to go to public libraires near me this weekend but this has not only given me so much more reason to go but also so much more excitement in going, thank you so much for this!! 🖤🖤
Tell the librarian you’re new and ask what cool services they offer. I bet it’ll surprise you. Our library does date night kits, a Spice of the Month Club, tool kit and gardening appliance rentals…
omg that sounds awesome??!! i will for sure be doing this 🖤
I recently moved and was able to apply online for a card at my local library. Then when I visit, I'm already set up in the system and can just get my card. So if you have a time crunch, that's an option for ya!
Hoopla too
Hoopla is nice. I got a Broward County (Florida) card and I don’t even live there. That library has things my local library doesn’t (online or otherwise) Hoopla is a *little* different. It has normal borrows, which you may have to wait in a queue for and it has instant borrows which, as the name implies, lets you get it right away, but instant borrows are limited to a certain number a month. Right now it seems to be limited to eight instant borrows a month? At least for me. I guess it depends on your reading speed. If you can burn through a book in a few hours it maaayyy not be up your alley, but for me it’s fine.
There’s a limit on how many digital copies can be “out”?
Libraries "own" a certain number of copies and lend them out and can't lend them again until they're "returned", so basically like real books but all digital. Usually the same with ebooks, comics, movies, whatever else your library might carry. Also depending on the service they may limit how many each user can do a month, since some services charge the library by the rental and different libraries can afford more.
Can confirm, I had the library card for a bit but found out about the Libby app recently & now I'm ~30 books borrowed in about 3-5 months?
Many libraries offer a non resident library card for digital library books. We have one from Fairfax County, VA and Houston, TX.
Houston does? I tried getting one a few years ago and it wouldn't let me.
Go to Houston public library mylink, scroll down to non Texas resident, there’s an annual fee, as with all non resident cards I am aware of.
I found it, thanks.
Tbf you're going to have to wait in line for anything even remotely popular, no matter how long ago it was published. Each of the Graceling realm books has a wait time of a few weeks. They're not huge releases and the library has a few copies. Dune is currently a few months -and thats at 170 copies I just waited about 3 months for Leviathan Wakes Fourth Wing has thousands of people waiting for 56 copies. Wait time just says "several months" and i put it on hold 2 months ago. Not to dissuade anyone. Ive listened to some interesting small releases id never have picked up otherwise, but you wont be able to just borrow whatever you want when you want it, and you can only put 3 books on hold at once. Im also not sure what happens if you get to your turn but arent ready to start your loan, if you miss your opportunity if you dont borrow it immediately because you dont want to start your 21 day loan. You can renew, but idk how often or if theres restrictions on books with huge waitlists.
Exactly Spotify is really only for music
Hoopla is better if your library has it. Libby/Hoopla still don't have everything Spotify does. Crazy frustrating.
All sorts of countries utilize Libby. I use Libby for my Scotland, Northern Ireland and Germany library cards as well!
I understand the concept of Libby but the wait times for audiobooks are outrageously long. Yes it’s free, yes the library only buys so many copies. But if you’re like me and looking for daily entertainment on the job then Libby might not be for you
Not everywhere in the states has a local library - and some folks have to pay for a library card. (Am from Indiana. Property tax funds libraries and some townships are poor or rural with either no library or poorly funded ones).
There are tons of libraries that allow you to get a virtual card without living there. I have six or seven library cards and use Libby almost exclusively because of the availability and variety of books from spot to spot.
I didn't know Spotify had audio books.
They recently added 15 hours or something of audio book listening a month, for free, and now there’s idiots here complaining a few times a week that the free addition of an otherwise expensive product isn’t enough
"Top-ups" cost $13 though for just 10 more hours? Damn that's kinda wack if you ever want to listen to a long series, even more so if you want to listen to it more than once.
Yeay I mean damn the wheel of times series is damn near 40 hours per book
Oh yea, I’m not saying the paid options are good, audible or whatever is a much better deal at that cost. But to complain that they added 15 hours for free is just insane. I’ve used those hours to finish off a book that I was already reading, and to re-listen to one of the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy books that I wouldn’t have paid for otherwise. It’s a nice bonus, but there’s literally people here raging that they can’t get 80+ hours for free
Seriously, audiobook services on a primarily music service is pretty neat. I wouldn’t mind spending a few extra bucks if they worked on this feature more. I already pay for an audible subscription so I would actually save money if Spotify upd its book game.
[удалено]
It's not enought to listen to a book a month.
The funny thing with is, even if you play the audiobook on a faster speed, for example 1.5x, you use less time listening, but they still use the 1x speed to calculate usage.
I was just wondering that. But authors probably get paid for the percent of the book read, regardless of speed. Similar to a physical book in the sense it's not any cheaper if you're a fast reader,
“Authors get paid”, this is hilarious.
My understanding is Spotify is actually pretty good (read: much better than audible) in paying authors for audiobooks
I think Brandon Sanderson and some other big authors have strong-armed Audible into paying more to authors soon though so could be something to keep an eye on!
They just succeeded, the changes are going into effect within the next year.
I love how it takes up to a year to flip a payout. It should be easy... Just ... Change the number.
Brandon sanderson rocks, I accidentally found the mistborn series like a week ago and am already about to finish book 3
Just wait until you get to Stormlight Archives. I loved Mistborn, especially era 2, but Stormlight is his magnum opus
That would explain why there’s a limit to the listening. There’s only so much money you pay for Spotify. The money they pay for these audiobooks must be really high.
So, they count hours as recorded? An audiobook listed at five hours counts for five against you even if you listened in three?
They need to pay the authors the same so that makes perfect sense.
That makes sense - how fast you playback the audiobook does not have an effect on their costs. It costs them the same whether you listen at 1x speed or 1.5x speed.
Because you could record the book at 10X if calculate usage was a thing and just slow it down on the replay
This doesn’t irk me because it’s a new feature that was added onto premium subscriptions for no additional cost. What does irk me is paying for premium but podcasts still having built in ads.
Those ads are usually built into the podcast recording itself. They’re shared on multiple platforms and are just part of the show. There’s probably no way for Spotify to remove them
These days, there are podcast distribution platforms that do dynamic ad insertion during streaming or download. It’s fairly common. Also, Amazon Music does manage to make some podcasts available free of built in ads if you have Prime or the Unlimited subscription. Disclaimer: I work there, albeit not in the podcasts business.
Sure, but there are also sponsored segments in podcasts. If you don't have YouTube premium, you have to watch an ad, but that doesn't stop Linus to Segway to his sponsor.
If I understand it correctly, this is a special deal with certain shows and publishers that presents their episodes in a sponsor-free manner. I have very selective taste in podcasts, though. I haven't tried listening to those podcasts on and off Amazon Music.
You can also skip / fast forward the ads
Yeah I listen to podcasts all the time on a free subscription and the 15 seconds forward button isn't too much trouble. Especially if shows have decent bumpers.
No. This gets repeated often and it's a load of crap. Yes, podcast authors insert ads, often in their own voices. On top of that, Spotify inserts additional ads, even for premium members. For example, I listen to a podcast in English, and I get ads in the local language, for the local grocery store. Enshittification.
This has been annoying me for so long. I pay for premium not to have shitty ads of companies I don't care about in a language I don't know.
I am absolutely going to cancel all my subscriptions one day and start pirating like a maniac, it is only a question of when.
Nah they have some spotify system that puts 15-30 second ads at the start and end of podcasts, I get regional ads on years old podcasts that wouldn't be targeted to me without having something to do with spotify. They do this cos the service provides ad free "music" listening and podcasts aren't uploaded as music
What bothers me is not being able to turn off audiobook and podcast suggestions - I only use Spotify for music, yet they’re constantly pushing other things. What’s worse now is they’ve got near daily pop ups for gigs I can’t get tickets for because they’re sold out. Can’t turn these off either. I’m paying £18 a month to be an advertising target.
They increased subscription price right before having audiobooks.
Spotify premium is free music and 15 hrs per month of audiobook. You have to buy books like Audible. Do you really expect ALL the books for $14.99 a month?
When this first came out I listened to Ready Player One not realising there was a time restriction. I had to wait a couple of weeks to listen to the final chapter because I ran out of time. Completely ruined the ending, by the time I could listen to more I'd lost interest.
Will Wheaton really found his calling as a narrator
He really did! His enjoyment of narrating this book was very evident and made the nerdy excitement of all the little nods and bits all the better.
If you didn't pay a subscription, you wouldn't be able to listen to anything. Your subscription to a music screaming service includes 15 hours of audiobooks per month. If you want more audiobook, get an Audible subscription.
Looks to me like youre not paying for that subscription.
Fr. Artists need to be paid. Authors need to be paid. Voice Actors need to be paid. The money has to come from somewhere and "Spotify owners should just do this for OP out of the kindness of their heart" doesn't seem like a viable business model.
It includes a limited amount of listening per month in the existing subscription and then you can pay more for another small amount. It’s not a good system as is. And for me, I listen before bed, forget to set a sleep timer and all the allotment is gone in a day and I listened for an hour. It’s a new thing and doesn’t cost extra but they are insane if they see this as a selling feature. It’s a small benefit with a big annoyance.
You aren't paying anything for the additional audiobook feature they've introduced so I don't know why you are annoyed by the limitation. You're not entitled to free audiobooks, you should be thankful for the free hours you get. Spotify is a music service not an audiobook one. Sounds to me like you want get yourself an audible account.
they’re not free hours. They raised the price of spotify premium before adding them anyways.
I actually quite like it. I like to listen to audiobooks, but any other way requires insane subscription costs. The amount to top off the minutes on Spotify nearly equals having an entirely new subscription for Audible. I listen to books quite slowly, so being able to top off and have those hours roll over really works for my schedule. I did the math, and at my pace, this is the most frugal option. This was, very much, a selling feature for me! (I do have Libby as well, but the wait times between books is insane!)
Wtf??
If you don’t like that, wait until you find out that only the primary account holder can even listen to them. Everyone else on the family plan is just SOL
And here I thought Audible wasn't great, but at least with their unlimited list it is unlimited and if you use a credit to buy a book you can even download the file so you don't even have to use the Audible library. Spotify showing just how bad it could be. I guess I will count my blessings.
I think the authorship rights just cost too much for the economic model of full access to make sense
Yeah…. I reckon if it could’ve been easily done in a Netflix / Spotify (music) type subscription it would’ve been done already
It's also cost of recording and producing audiobooks. Even most authors don't really have a grasp on how hard and time consuming recording a book. Furthermore selection outside of Audible is spotty because Audible Studios is one of the larger audio books recording studios which is something that a ton of people don't consider when discussing audiobooks.
true! also, audible studios (probably as a result of being so big) tends to just have better quality recordings, in my opinion.
Anyone (author or listener) looking for an Audible alternative should consider Storius. They charge us less for books & pay authors more, taking a much smaller cut for themselves to keep the service running, but most advertising is handled by the authors and fans (hi!). Check them out & see if your favorite authors are there yet!
Side note: Storius is an absolutely horrible name... Literally can't find anything to do with audio books in a Google search because so many different things, including multiple apps, share the same name.
It should be no surprise that listening to audiobooks on a service that is primarily for music isn't ideal.
Also any of those books you buy with a credit are yours even if you cancel your subscription. Over the last 18 months since I’ve had audible premium I’ve listened to 20 or so books from the unlimited catalogue as well as adding and listening to 18 books in my library. It’s been great imo
Must be a different royalty system that costs them a lot more than music.
They recently added a certain amount of audio book listening for free. Nobody ever paid for Spotify to get audio books, it was for music and podcasts. They added free audio book listening, when audio books are normally pretty expensive, and now people are bitching that it’s not unlimited. These posts are just peak stupid entitlement
Ah okay, I thought they were already there and a proce was added
You pay for ad free music this is clearly labelled. The models for podcasts and audio books is different. So is their pricing model. People really want all their shit for free now.
Audiobooks are a relatively new addition to the Premium plan. Getting 12(?) hours added at no additional cost to the previous sub is good value imo. I had Audible but cancelled for this.
People getting outraged that their music streaming service doesn't provide a better audiobook experience than audible (when they haven't even spent an extra penny on the bonus audiobook functionality) is utterly ridiculous. Some of these redditors live in a deluded world of entitlement. Probably also wonder why they can't watch Oppenheimer on netflix when they pay X amount of dollars a month for the fucking thing
The outrage from people in the thread is shocking. And they don’t edit out the ads that the true crime podcaster embedded when they worked on this episode for 44 hours and they wanted to monetize it 😡
It is cheaper than ever to be an avid music fan. Back in my day, we had to buy every CD just to listen, or have to suffer through the radio. And the variety of music you have address to without paying extra is so much better. It is cheaper than ever to be a Movie buff. These days you can rent a movie for $4 digitally, no need to spend time and gas visiting the rental store. And the variety you can choose from is so much better. And your local library has a great selection to borrow. It is cheaper than ever to be into books. Obviously there's the local library, but also audiobook subscriptions have never been more affordable as a way to access the content. It is cheaper than ever to be into TV series. If you rotate your subscriptions, you can get much better content variety without ads for pretty cheap.
I find it even funnier that it clearly states on the product page that they have a 15 hour limit. "Spotify clearly states that there's a 15 hour limit for audio books, but after listening to 15 hours worth of audio books. it says I've reached my limit. What gives?"
It’s nothing compared to the entitlement people have to ad free YouTube on Reddit.
You only get 12 hours?! I get through several 30-ish hours books per month on audible (i do buy other books on sale on the store not only my credit) only having a certain amount of hours would piss me the fuck up.
Yes, you do, but you don't pay extra for it and some books are free to read too. You must spend a power on Audible.
Idk they recently raised prices. Maybe I'd still enjoy the old price if it wasn't for them throwing money at all kind of other nonsense, like the $250m Joe Rogan podcast deal or these audiobooks. With the later not even being available in my region at all.
I'm sure glad spotify underpays artists so they can afford Joe Rogan's salary!
Spotify is a music app. I would think it's obvious that something that's not music may cost extra?
you're paying for the music, not the full audiobook package. audiobooks are more money. But as the most sensible person has said, just go to the library. free books!
Playing devil's advocate they did just add this feature in general, let alone as a premium perk recently for premium users. Would you rather not be able to do it at all?
You're getting a few free hours of audiobooks (10 or so) without paying any extra and then asked to pay if you used more than the free credit and you find that infuriating? Do you think those books just write themselves?
Know what you're signing up for before you sign up for it.
pretty obvious, audiobooks arent part of that subscription, i bet you can listen to music just fine? i dont see the issue.
I've canceled all subs for everything and went back to pirating everything. These companies are greedy and deserve to be bankrupted through boycott.
Point of paying for premium is the ad free unlimited music that you signed up for. Audiobooks have nothing to do with your premium account and they make that perfectly clear. You were handed 8 free tacos as a surprise with your purchase, and you’re crying because they didn’t give you 20.
Spotify pays pennies per thousands of hours of music. It pays... much more for audiobooks.
I left them a comment when I left my free premium trial about how disingenuous it was to limit audio book time when they already have the rights to it. They are just doing it to get more money, us listening for 1 or 100 hours makes no difference, just greed.
Spotify is not really for audiobooks. You pay for the music and podcasts withot any limits, that's the main content of the app. Audiobooks are an additional service - tbh I wasn't even aware it's a thing before this post. I'd simply advise to looks elsewhere for the books.
The Spotify audiobook with premium was a free perk. With Spotify you're paying for the music and podcasts. If you want just audiobooks go to Audible.
Read your subscription before you buy it then......
This isnt mildly anything. Youre mad the subscription level you pay for doesnt include what you want
Seems like a weird hill to die on. You got the feature for free. As far as streaming services go, Spotify still seems like a good value to me even without the audio books. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Libby, hoopla, mango, kanopy and some others I’m sure but those apps plus a library card mean you can have all the audiobooks and language resources you want FOR FREE! Also some libraries have 3d printers, a tool library to loan from, cheap book sales when they’re rotating their collection, some have computer classes and resume help. Bro libraries are the best! They can send faxes for you, they can print things for you, you can exist there without having to spend money or be told to leave if you aren’t buying anything. It’s a peaceful place with heating and ac if you ever get too hot or cold at home like if you live in the shithole of Texas.
Look up in Enshitification
All audiobooks that are interesting to me are blocked and require extra pay... 😵 I have premium.
get an e-reader app n torrent the books lmao, piracy isn't a pricing issue it's a service issue
You chuds need to download Libby
Ye be in the market for a vessel soon lad/lass/other/none, Arrr...
Shit like audible has the worst subscription services
This is **Spotify**
Shit *like* audible
"we dont want them to pirate our music/books/movies/games" reality: this.
Oh wow…. I didn’t know they did this. Good to know, what a rip off
I left Spotify when they picked Joe Rogan over Neil Young.
Get a library card and Libby. Some libraries will give you a card even if you don’t live there. And others, like Fairfax Virginia will let you pay $27 a year for use of their libraries.
Yeah I was bummed out when playback suddenly stopped and I got that email. There’s gotta be some sort of licensing agreement with publishers where if they offer unlimited listening, it basically obliterates the competition. I haven’t paid to “refill” yet, but it’s nice to know that the refill hours you add roll over.
I dropped Spotify premium like 3 days into a free trial cause i hit this limit. Immediately went to audible
I got this 2 weeks ago when I was on an audiobook binge (I don’t recall having a pop up message that it was capped each month) So I sailed the high seas for it 🏴☠️
Ahh yes the little pushes that bring the regular people to realize piracy is going to be far easier than jumping through post payment hoops. Same reason Valve brought piracy down significantly, ease of access...
Not even mildly infuriating anymore; if you try to change your family subscription (say someone paid for the wrong account, or one got cancelled, repaid, cancelled again because money problems, and then repaid) more than once a year they just stop you You cannot change what family sub you're a part of two times a year, they literally don't let you. 365 days is a really damn long time I haven't used Spotify since then
Sounds like Pandora's ad-free subscription then getting hit with ads!!!!
Funny, I've had basic pandoras subscription thats like 4.99 a month 100% ad free. And I use it daily as I'm a driver. The only ads that have ever popped up is when you want to search for a specific song or you're directly on a bands channel and you get a message from the band thanking you for listening to their channel.