I know @Leo has mentioned he switched away from audible multiple times, and I was wondering if anyone knows the service name? I have a huge library as like Leo I go back almost to the beginning. From books on cd to getting all things considered on my classic iPod to whatever it is now. So a huge library I always did not want to lose.
This week Audible announced a new “cheaper” plan, but the catch is you lose all your books if you are not currently subscribed. Big alarm bells started going off in my head.
So here I am with my request, and also wondering if possible to take my audible books and move them. Doing this on Linux desktop.
@leo mentioned libro.fm in TWiT #1047 (with Cory Doctorow). Transcript is available here. You can see the discussion @0000:27:33. Cory mentioned that audio books are downloadable on that service as MP3s – important because Cory swims every day and his underwater audio player only plays MP3s.
AIs are good for asking this kind of question, especially since TWiT provides an archive of show transcripts. You may have to prompt the AI with the URL of the transcript directory: Transcripts .
Claude notes that Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack is a poor choice. Claude thinks that Libation is a good way to go (as Paul noted). It also recommends several commercial apps and a command-line tool.
Anthropoic’s [free] Sonnet 4.6 available through claude.ai is really excellent providing excellent technical advice plus smooth conversation. The smoothness is artificial. I love the experience of Grok’s Absurd Mode (which can be accessed by adding “use absurd mode” to your Grok prompts). For example, Grok’s absurd responses to mundane queries like what is 3+2 are quite fun. Grok does a service: it reminds you that the tone of all AIs is contrived. Some pundits will avoid mentioning Grok at all; it’s amusing and educational to ask Grok why. IMHO, there’s something really funny watching Grok talk about itself while grokking the absurdities of our reality.
Leo said they had changed the rules. I don’t use it, but a quick Google said they had switched from giving credits to get books permanently to a system where you just rent it more temporarily. (I would guess like the Netflix model.)
And more recently, Audible cancelled my account because I was grandfathered in (since 2001) with a Light Listener account they no longer support. They only gave me a couple of weeks notice and because I missed that one email, I was summarily booted without warning. And when I called to see if I could get the “free year” they were offering as an aoplogy, I was told the offer was no longer valid.
I decided my $14.95 a month was better spend at Libro.fm which offers non-DRMed downloads, non-rapacious business practices, and shares some of their revenue with my local bookstore. I’m happier all around.
and of course now they have some sort of light plan again…. but this time you don’t get the keep the book in the library if you ever stop your sub. Guess this is where we are going as Spotify adding audiobooks has this response. It will get worse.
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