Is Audible Worth it? 

A lot of people I talk to ask me; “is Audible worth it?”. The answer is quite simply, Yes! Audible is an awesome platform that provides thousands of top-quality audiobooks and podcasts in an easy to access and user-friendly platform. If you are a person who loves to learn but you don’t have the time to sit down and read paper-copy books all the time (like I was), then Audible is absolutely worth it. 

What is Audible? 

“Audible is the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, enriching the lives of our millions of listeners every day. With our customer-centric approach to technological innovation and superior programming, Audible has reinvented a media category, and is the driving force behind today’s audio entertainment revolution.” – Audible.com/about

How Audible Has Improved My Life 

Before I became an active user of audible I was a person who saw print material as an excellent way of learning “some day”. I bought many books and started them only to have them stack up on my bedside table, unfinished. 

I told myself that I would keep reading books and learning but every time I got home from a long day of work I was too tired or had too many family obligations to pick up a book, read and focus. 

At the time I was introduced to Audible, I had a 1-2 hour commute each morning and evening that was largely spent listening to talk radio and music. While there is nothing wrong with these things I found myself as if I was wasting my life away stuck in a tin can on wheels every day. 2-4 hours per day were being thrown out the window as I burned gas sitting in long lines of people in sub-Seattle traffic. 

I had a counselor who suggested that I read a couple books dealing with the issues we were trying to get to the bottom of. Each week when we met he would ask how much progress I made. My answers were typically something like “I read a bit but I should be able to find more time this weekend”. Needless to say, I never did. 

He suggested that it would be worth my time use my hours of travel per day to listen to his suggested readings using Audible. I took him up on the suggestion and was pleasantly surprised when the next counseling session came and I was able to say that not only had I finished the reading but I was now reading more titles soaking up material daily. I went from finishing ZERO books per year to finishing 2-3 books per week! 

Now I look forward to my time in the car because I know I will learn new things every time I get on the road. Using Audible has not only changed my educational life but it has changed my habits and the way I see life around me. Audible has been worth every cent I have paid to increase my education on the go. 

Tips and Tricks

Use these sections of the Audible app to maximize your experience. 

Speed

The speed section allows you to control the rate at which you hear the reading. You have the option of listening at half speed all the way through 3.5x speed. 

I have found that listening to a book between 1.25x and 1.5x is the most effective way for me to stay focussed. I have a very active mind and when information is not flowing fast enough I find myself going down mental rabbit holes. Play around with this function and find the speed that is best for you. 

Chapters

The chapter Section allows you to select a specific part of the text that you want to listen to. This is very helpful when there is a concept or a topic that you want to listen to repeatedly in order to digest the material or reference it to friends, family and coworkers. 

+Clip

Clipping audio is perhaps my favorite tool when there is a statement that I need to reference in the future or would like to take notes on. Because I listen while I am in the car, the clip section helps me to capture a section of the material without having to take notes. Then I can go back later on and write down the information that I wanted from that clip later on. 

Rewind/Forward

This section helps you to move forward or backwards in increments. I find this particularly helpful when I get distracted and need to relisten to a particular section. The amount of time skipped is easily changed in the settings menu to address your needs. 

How To Choose The Right Plan

The nice thing about Audible is that each plan allows you to change or cancel at any time. You don’t have to worry about annoying contracts. You can choose from a number of monthly or annual subscriptions.

Choose a subscription that matches your needs, from 1 credit per month to 24 credits per year. Remember that you are able to purchase additional credits at any time and are not held to the basic credits included with your membership.

You can explore Audible monthly and annual subscriptions here.

If you already have an amazon audible membership and you know it is worth it then give an Audible membership as a gift here.