I really enjoy this app and use it frequently. My literary interests have almost always dwelt in long ago and lesser known titles, and this app gives me access to tomes nearly impossible to find anywhere else. I give it only four stars because the search function can be rather problematic. For example; I’ll search for titles written by a certain author and only be given a few choices, but if I look up that author under the actual Authors section, there are dozens more. Or I’ll search for a title and the results give about twenty other titles along with it that seem to have no connection to that title at all. Sometimes this is because my title was mentioned in the description of the other books, but other times not. There have been other difficulties with the search function, but for the sake of conciseness, I won’t mention them here. I have also noticed that many of the titles available on the Librivox website are not available here; I’m not sure if the reason for this, but it would be great to have access to them as well. Also, it can be very time consuming to find a title that captures my interest and holds onto it as well, so I wanted to suggest the addition of a “recommended for you” section that brings up available titles based on your previous listening selections. I believe this would seriously streamline the process and increase the enjoyment of your app. Thanks! Tami
For me, it’s wonderful to listen to a book while drawing, knitting, or even cooking. What a great way to multi-task! When I become too distracted, the 30 second repeat gets me right back into the story, and I just discovered the timer which will hold my place and turn the app off automatically, after I fall asleep while listening in bed. Since I often leave my earbuds in and wake up next morning, many hours later, with the audio still running, this is really important to me. The selection of books is tremendous, and I am enjoying so many well known authors who’s works I hadn’t read before, as well as authors I was previously unfamiliar with. Sometimes I have difficulty understanding an orators dialect, but when I stick with it, am becoming able to comprehend the words readily, which is an unexpected bonus for me. When deciding on what to select, the book description is broad enough to give a good idea of what it’s about, without giving away the story. I recommend this app to anyone who enjoys books!
The biggest problem I have with other audio-book apps is that in many cases they only offer abridged versions, so it’s really just an interpretation of a work. Not here, you get the original version by the author. The recordings vary in quality, there have been a few that were so bad, I couldn’t even listen to them, but some are as good as the pay sites and read by pro readers. Also, I highly recommend forking over the $10 for the featured audiobooks, it’s such a great value! I’ve listened to about 60 books from this app.
Below this you will see my original 5 star review. However, in the last couple months it continuously deletes my downloads. Instead of indicating a 100% download, everything is now 0%, awaiting download. I live in a rural area with very poor internet connection, so it is essential that I have books on my phone. Also, I rely on this app when I travel, but I can’t anymore if it keeps deleting my downloads. Please fix this. I had it on my iPhone 2, my iPhone 4 and now my iPhone 6s. If it were the only app on my phone, the cost of my phone would be worth it. So many books and so many genres to choose from! Some readers are better than others, but, hey, they are volunteers. I have about 50 books downloaded to my library which has slowed things down a little so I make sure now to delete the file and just keep the title. I love being able to store books to have on hand when I travel. I love being able to listen to all the science fiction selections and the history and biographies. I love being able to fall asleep to a book after a stressful day. Just download it and enjoy!
I have listened to Librivox books with this app for years. Enough so that paying the small fee to access plus titles was easy. However, for reasons unknown, the app now irregularly purges completed downloads. I dod not want to leave a review regarding this, but it happened again this morning: 15-20 books went from “all files downloaded” to “0 files downloaded.” I’ve written and received responses several times on this single issue though no resolution has surfaced. The customer svc response time is fine; it’s just that this malfunction persists. The explanation they offered was that the app might purge previously complete downloads if/when a device’s available storage is exhausted or close to it. I have averaged 8-12gb of free space throughout my correspondence with developer, and have never run out of space. Unfortunately, I am to the point where I will trial the many competing apps. Resigned, EJ
So I LOVE this app it has SOOOOOO many amazing authors and books!! With that being said their is one thing I wish that I saw more....KID BOOKS!! I wish their were more books for kids such as Nancy Drew, and what about comic books? Can we see some of those?, and what about Magic Treehouse? Speaking of Magic Treehouse can you guys make a feature where you can search Series of books and guys group them together so all the books in the series in one group that would be awesome! If you guys have these features please let me know thanks! 😘
I have enjoyed these books so much! I got Audiobooks Plus, which is somewhat better. Some narrators are good, but the quality varies. I had to stop reading one audiobook because I could barely understood what they said. And another Plus book was read by a child. Not an enjoyable read. But you can sometimes get a good reader. Overall, if you want to hear a book, regardless of how you hear it, this is the place to go. The Sherlock Holmes reading is excellent (If you do the ones by David Clarke.) There are some small errors in the organization of the books in the authors, for example. My rating (out of 5 stars) Narrating ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Books ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Something is wrong with the downloading process. Often I have to close the app and reopen it in order to retrigger the app to resume downloading after one file has completed. It usually gets stuck once it finishes one file and doesn’t move on to the next. Sometimes it continues with the next file but almost always it doesn’t, meaning I have to close and reopen many many times for books with many files, like the ones I have that are about 60 files big. It’s very annoying and inconvenient. I tried messing around with the settings but couldn’t get the download process to work right. Please fix this!
Ever since I got this app it was good to have. Until this happen. I had a library of books that has been downloaded with all the files, when I open the app, every downloading files are gone and start yet again download them once more. This happen to me twice and I'm sick and tired of having all the files downloaded for only the app self delete the books files. I'm done with this app. I used to love it and I enjoy it listening good books from there; just hate the idea of auto self destruct app and start over. I have zero time to waste for all the books files to be downloaded.
I love this as a resource but I wish they curated some of the people who do the reading a bit more critically. When listening to the Count of Monte Cristo, chapters 25 and 26 are nearly unlistenable. The woman has thick accent and is clearly uncomfortable reading English, also her audio equipment is terrible. There is a high pitched sound in the background. Very difficult to listen to. Some of the readers are great, with good voices and high audio quality. But some aren’t nearly as good. I especially the narrator in chapters 25 and 26. I can’t really under what happened in those chapters. Looking back I should have just skipped them and looked up what happened. It gave me a terrible headache.
I am so appreciative of this app. Most audio book apps cost money. I am a wife and a mother of five children. Money is very sparse in my house especially for extras. I used to be an avid reader but with the business of caring for a large household as well as dealing with focus issues as I get older, it is very difficult to find the time to read a book. Now, I’m able to enjoy literature as I wash dishes or care for other responsibilities around the house and it is helping to keep my spirits up. Thank you!❤️
AWESOME app for discovering and enjoying a huge collection of FREE audiobooks. They have several well-known classics as well as a huge list of other works, which I estimate to be in the hundreds. They do offer the books for a couple dollars if you want better quality, but I’m content with the lesser so far. Definitely recommend!! I didn’t used to enjoy audiobooks- but because of this app I now do!
Such an excellent way to enjoy certain books. Let’s face it, some books are more challenging than others, and in our day and age we are struggling to find time for the important things. This helps make important things, such as growth and intellectual exercise a priority. The app’s interface is clean and easy with a good feature set: back up, jump ahead, sleep timer, etc. Enjoyable and helpful. Thanks also to LibriVox!
The early 20th century is the time. A small town surrounded by farmland the place. Living from birth with a mother who resented her very existence, Elnora Comstock does not grow into an embittered young woman. Instead, she makes her way with a full heart, sympathy and forgiveness for everyone she meets. Earning her way as a budding naturalist and then a teacher she finally finds a mother and then a lover deserving of her. The language can run to overly sentimental; but the story is engaging and enjoyable.
How did we get to where we are, from where we have been? Jane Austen writes of such a complex life, which most of us in the 21st Century would find impossible to navigate, let alone survive. As always, we have so much to be thankful for. The narration by Elizabeth Klett is simply lovely. For those of us who enjoy audiobooks, the narrator is usually the deal breaker when it comes to choosing the book or not. Congratulations Ms. Klett.
I have listened to uncountable number of books every night for years! I have discovered many amazing new authors, laughed and cried, and now can’t go to sleep without it. I started by listening to the favorite 50 books and listened to all the books of my favorite authors. Next, I listened to my genres with a relisten to my favorites once in awhile. Thank You 😀
Classic trying to improve the menu made it confusing
The menu before was very easy to maneuver. You could go from playing it back to your library easily now all the buttons are jammed at the bottom in a soon as you click on preview the book immediately starts to play. Looks like they want to upgrade it, and got someone to do it cheaply.
I recommend this app to my friends. With it's handy snooze setting, I can fall asleep listening to what ever book I fancy. I can also listen to my favorite authors while doing household chores or crafting . My son uses this app to listen to classical literature , while he follows along on the Kindle for books like Ivanhoe which may be a little difficult for him. This is a very useful app.
Karen Savage was the narrator on these and several other titles. She is fantastic. This app has been so enjoyable. I am somewhat selective with the narrators . But for a free app it has been wonderful. Thanks for offering so many great titles. Although... I’m having issues with this app running background and draining my iPhone 7 Plus battery. I’ve had this app for 5 years and LOVE IT. But turning off the background refresh didn’t work. 😢 please fix it.
You have changed the view on this app so that the font is much larger. It isn’t something I can change. When you want to do a search for a new book you only use 1/2 to 1/3 of the page so you can only see a few titles at a time. I can no longer scroll through quickly to find a new book. Also is there a way the app could know which books we have already read without downloading it again to find out?
Wonderful! I use this all the time, and there’s always an interesting story waiting for me every time I open the app. My only complaint is sometimes I cant understand the narrators. I understand that the narrators are volunteers, but maybe just review the audio, make sure that your listeners can understand them. Just a suggestion. Otherwise, amazing app!
I love this book and the narrator does a tremendous job. The story is intricate and well woven to keep the reader's attention. The glimpse into the characters emotions and feelings upon having dealt with such harsh blows is thought provoking. I have listened through twice and enjoyed the story just as much the second time.
This app urgently needs an update as it barely works now. It glitches and freezes a lot. When downloading content, it becomes unresponsive and sometimes crashes. It used to work flawlessly when I first started using it, but over the years it has become unstable, as there have been many iOS updates since the last app update 3 years ago.
For a long time this was a great app- the narration and user interface were great, and so many books to choose from! But there has been a recurring problem with the files simply disappearing all at once. All books will be 100%, and the next time I open the app, they will all be 0%. Repeatedly. I only have a few books at a time and plenty of memory, so I don’t see why it should purge like this. Honestly tempted to delete the app if I can’t even listen to one book without downloading it four times.
The new update is pretty good, and of course having access to all these classics is great. My one complaint is that we can not edit the order our books are in in the library. If I try to sort them, they go right back to where they were to begin with. Please address this in the next update.
Recently redownloaded this amazing app, as it has many amazing audiobooks I love, but it keeps turning itself off. I’m not moving around, but it keeps cutting off. The response time of checking other parts of the app are extremely slow, and it has sped up the speed multiple times despite not touching it. Please tell me if there’s anything I can do to restore it’s former glory!
It works. Good selection of books. Some of the readers aren’t the best, some of the recordings aren’t the best. But the price is right. And it beats listening to that wacky duo on the “morning zoo” or having to listen to that stupid commercial that will drive you crazy if you hear it just one more time…
I’ve listened to a greater variety of wonderful books than I would have expected. There are many undiscovered treasures in the public domain and read by talented narrators in this app. Ten stars! Sometimes I wish I could slow the reading down a bit. It seems too fast.
I love that I can listen to books that I may not have picked up in a store with this App. Going through some of the classics right now. Only negative is that some books have multiple narrators. The last one has the sane guy for 15 out of 16 chapters and then for the last chapter a woman. Kind of changed the ending for me... there are a lot of talented readers and some not so much bu I am grateful the volunteered.
I like being able to set the time I want to listen and then have it turn off. Often go to bed listening to a section of the book but if I fall asleep it won't keep going. Only problem is that I have to try to find what I last heard, as there are no visual clues where I am in the book.
Pros: This app is one great app! I loved listening to books I’ve never even heard of before! Cons: There are some books I really want to listen to but I can’t find them! Also super laggy, I looked up many ways of the books I want to listen to but instead of the books I want, it gives me other books not even close to what I searched up! Recommended: I would love if you fixed that and added more books like my sister’s favorite Warrior cats. (She has to use my phone to listen to them because she doesn’t have one) also recommend adding more books for younger kids because my aunts daughter wants better not “scary” books… P.s. Not saying you HAVE to do this it’s recommended though..
I needed something loke thisnto help me learn french about 50 years ago, but any audio tapes in francais cost so much, and the quality of the sound was not very good. This here, on the other hand, is very clear, with a native speaker doing the reading. The fact that this is free is a dream, a great blessing. I thank God for the altruism of the folks who put this together.
I really prefer books written in the 1800s and have found most of the authors I like to read. The readers have taken time out if their lives to read these books for our enjoyment. I really appreciate them.
They can’t get books that are extremely popular... you have to give them a credit card to find out if they have what you want to read.... only to find out they don’t have it but now they have my credit card number... There is no place in settings that says cancel my subscription so I sent them an email with the subject Cancel my subscription now I wait to see if I get a bill It would be better to find what you want to read before you commit to the app
I loved this app but after the latest update it stops playing after 30 seconds then it glitches and freezes and the app can’t be used. I constantly had to close and try to relaunch the app but even that is hit and miss.
The most frustrating thing about this app is how many books are cut up by being narrated by persons with thick accents or very annoying cadences! Some narrators accents are so thick that you cannot understand them at all, or their reading style is so weird and annoying to listen to. Then there are a couple narrators who are a pleasure....like Andy minter. I choose the book by the narrators for this reason
I have had the app for a couple weeks now and have no problems playing books. The selections are endless. I love old time radio and they are hard to find but audiobooks has a large selection and it grows everyday. Very good app!!!
I first downloaded this book around 10 years ago and have been listening over and over as one of my absolute favorite books, and the reading by Robert kiper is one of the most soothing voices as a narrator. Thank you
I really enjoy listening to books that I have never read as well as books I remember reading as a child. This is a great app for books and while driving to and from work I can get lost in the stories!
This app opens a door to an amazing library of literary works that are free to download. This app has helped me from stressing over the commute every day and has opened my mind to many wonderful works of literature. You will not be disappointed!
I think this app is very good plus it is free. From the App Store I can go around anywhere I want to just listen to 90 bucks I love this app I only have one complaint that is some of the chapters don't play but besides that I think it's all good and some of the voices you can't understand but that's not their fault.👍💜💙🐾💝💝💝💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩
Great selections of old autobiographies, history and fiction. *Love that it has previews. And a very reasonable price to get the intro credits removed too. * the speed variation doesn’t work, but who cares when you get so much out of this app.
I've had to drive/fly many miles, and the way I have the audiobooks, on my favorite History, non-fiction books. Now on my car they play by Bluetooth thru the car radio.
I absolutely love Audiobooks! I remember a time when I was read to as a child, and this evokes those lovely memories!! This is my favorite way to pamper myself with my favorite classics being read to me— whether in the car, at home, or morning walks. Love it!!
Many old books for free with decent audio. I wish it had the casebook of sherlock holmes, since it has the first 4 volumes and books. And that it was satisfied with 1 review, since this is the second time it has asked me.
I had a hard time to sleep... But I wanted a good book. I couldn’t find a good book I have. I looked for a app but there was none that I could understand. I saw this and I am listening to Alice in wonderland and I love it! Please can you make great apps like this?
What a great book! Thank you, Audiobooks, for making it available without cost. I hope to begin another very soon. This one I enjoyed thoroughly, and was delighted to perceive Charlotte Bronte‘s understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and her evident embrace of it.
This app opens a door to stories and lessons that are priceless. I have enjoyed the free portions. As for the rest well, everything in life isn’t free, good thing I don’t need to know everything. But thank for your generosity. JCA
When I sent Audiobooks a notice that 16 out of 50 chapters in Dragonfly in Amber had not downloaded, I got NO response! I love this book and want to reread it but want the full book! 😢😢😢
Thousands of FREE audiobooks await. Whether you're stuck in traffic, powering through your workout or cramming for an English test—Audiobooks puts the most beloved audiobooks at your finger tips. Or if you don't have time for an audiobook you can listen to a Podcast instead. Podcasts are like your own personalized radio station, proving a steady stream of topical, fun episodes to enjoy. Features include: - Thousands of fantastic, free Audiobooks for you to choose from - A carefully curated collection of Podcasts to enjoy - Offline download perfect for your commute - Background and AirPlay enabled playback - Fully customizable Sleep Timer. Enjoy!