| In our go-go, hypermediated society, it's rare to | | | | making it hard to hear, especially when the volume is |
| meet anyone who has time to curl up with a good a | | | | very low. But for a vast library of absolutely free |
| book. But reading remains one of the ultimate | | | | audiobooks, Librivox is the essential source. |
| escapes for a hectic world and one of the most | | | | 2. iTunes U |
| genuine and enriching human pleasures available. | | | | The iTunes Store is an obvious source of |
| Thanks to audiobooks, we can reclaim the joy of | | | | audiobooks, but did you know that they have plenty |
| reading without scaling back our hectic lives. Free | | | | of free downloads, too? The best source for free |
| audiobooks also help to cut back the costs of | | | | stuff on iTunes is ITunes U. Here, you can sit in on |
| enjoying audio books, since most professional | | | | lectures from renowned universities, such as Harvard |
| recorded versions of novels, biographies and | | | | and Berkeley, absolutely free of charge. But most |
| nonfiction books can easily cost more than $25 per | | | | importantly to us, check out the University of South |
| listen. To help you fill your digital library with hours of | | | | Florida's Lit2Go audio channel. Here, you'll find podcast |
| enjoyment, I've compiled a list of the top five | | | | audiobooks free for download, such as books from |
| sources of audiobook downloads - for free! | | | | H.G. Wells, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bram Stoker and |
| 1. Librivox.org | | | | more. |
| Librivox is a collection of literarture and texts that | | | | 3. Audible |
| have entered into the public domain and are | | | | Audible isn't free, but I'll let you in on a secret - you |
| therefore free to distribute and enjoy. Most of these | | | | can get virtually as many free trials as you want. |
| texts are lifted from Project Gutenberg, which is a | | | | Plus, when you threaten to cancel your free trial, |
| massive database of classic texts, such as Lewis | | | | they'll usually sweeten the deal with a $20+ coupon. |
| Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Jane Austen's Pride and | | | | Audible is hands down the best source for |
| Prejudice, James Joyce's Ulysses, Mark Twain's The | | | | professional quality audiobooks read aloud by such |
| Adventures of Tom Sawyer and more timeless | | | | recognizable voices as Ira Glass, Conan O'Brian, |
| books. | | | | Stephen Colbert, Matt Damon, David Sedaris, Chuck |
| Librivox kicks it up a notch by organizing volunteers | | | | Klosterman and more.The trick is to never buy |
| to read the books aloud and record them into | | | | anything from Audible without a coupon code or |
| audiobooks. It's the best stories on Earth provided at | | | | some other kind of discount. Audible is very |
| the best price - free. You can download these as | | | | aggressive in garnering new customers, and you can |
| MP3 files and sync them to your iPod or iPhone or | | | | make this work to your advantage. |
| burn them to a CD. | | | | So, there you have it - three great sources for |
| The only downside of Librivox is that, with a few | | | | endless free audiobooks. Unless you live to be a |
| rare exceptions, you won't have the pleasure of | | | | thousand years old, you'll never run out of free |
| hearing a professional reader or voice actor read the | | | | listening material. Enjoy! |
| book. Also, the audio quality is sometimes a bit low, | | | | |