Audiobooks have so many benefits, it’s no wonder that more and more people want to start listening! If you want to know how to listen to audiobooks and how to find the best audiobooks for beginners, check out my beginner’s guide below. I will help you choose the perfect first audiobook and the right audiobook app so you can dive in.
An audiobook is a book that you listen to on your own mobile phone, tablet, laptop or PC. They usually take the form of a series of chapters and are read aloud by a narrator. In most cases they are also accompanied by music or sound effects.
If you already love listening to novels, you may be wondering how to use them to expand your reading repertoire. There are many benefits to listening to books instead of reading them. Firstly, it takes less time to do so than to read a novel. Secondly, there is the added benefit of being able to pause and rewind if necessary. Thirdly, you can listen to the same story over and over again without having to worry about losing your place or getting bored. And finally, you will learn more about what makes good stories when you listen to them.
Many people have used audiobooks for years now. If you are looking for an alternative way of expanding your reading list, then this might be a great option.
What Are Audiobooks?
If you’re looking for ways to relax, you might want to consider listening to an audio book. There is a wide range of different kinds of audiobooks, so you can choose one that suits your needs perfectly.
An audiobook is simply a recording of someone reading a story aloud. The best part is that you don’t need any special equipment to listen to them.
You can buy audiobooks from anywhere. You’ll be able to download them to your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Some people prefer to read their audiobooks on an MP3 player, but you can also use headphones.
There are many reasons why people enjoy listening to audiobooks. For example, you may have trouble falling asleep at night, and you could benefit from something to help you unwind before bedtime.
Another advantage is that you won’t feel as though you’re missing out on anything by not being physically present. If you’re having difficulty concentrating, you could always try listening to an audiobook instead.
Finally, some people find it easier to follow a story when they hear the words spoken rather than written down. This makes it much more convenient to keep track of what’s happening in a book.
The Pros & Cons of Audiobooks
Audiobooks have become incredibly popular in recent years. People love listening to them instead of reading. There are many different reasons why people prefer to listen to audio books.
One of the most important things that you need to know is that they can be extremely helpful for your health. If you suffer from insomnia, then you might want to consider using an audiobook. You can use this method at any time, and it won’t require you to spend much money.
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of audiobooks, then you should read the article below. This is a guide that will help you learn everything that you need to know.
You’ll also find out how to get the best quality audio book for your needs.
The first thing that you need to do is to decide whether you want to buy an MP3 file or an Audible subscription. Both options are available online, but they offer slightly different features.
The next step is to choose the right type of audiobook. You can find a variety of genres, including mysteries, romance, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
There are also some other things that you need to keep in mind. For example, you may wish to check out the number of stars given by various reviewers before making a purchase.
Why You Should Buy Audiobooks
If you’re someone who loves to read but doesn’t have the time, then audiobooks might be just right for you. There are many reasons why people choose to listen to audio books instead of reading a book from the library.
One major benefit is that audiobooks are much cheaper than buying a physical copy. If you purchase an e-book, you’ll need to pay around $10 per month for access to your digital version. On top of this, you will also need to spend money on storage space and electricity to keep all of the files safe.
In comparison, purchasing an audiobook costs less than half of what you would spend to own a single paperback. Plus, most of the time, you won’t even notice that you’ve purchased a new book because you can download them onto your smartphone or MP3 player.
Another advantage of listening to audiobooks is that you don’t have to worry about being distracted by other people. For example, if you were to go to the local library and borrow a book, you could easily get caught up in conversations with others while trying to read. This is why it’s important to avoid places like these when you want to concentrate on your work.
What You Need to Know Before Buying an Audiobook
An audio book is great for anyone who doesn’t like reading long stories. If you enjoy listening to other people read, then this article will tell you everything that you should know about the different kinds of audiobooks.
There are three main categories of audiobooks. The first category includes the kind of story where the narrator reads the entire book. This means that you won’t have to worry about anything except enjoying the story.
The second type of audiobook involves a series of short chapters. These types of books can be listened to in any order, and they don’t necessarily follow a specific plot.
Finally, there are the novels that were written specifically for being recorded. These books usually contain a lot more information than the others.
You should also consider how much time you want to spend listening to each book. Some people prefer to listen to one chapter at a time, while others might take several hours to finish a full-length novel.
It’s important to remember that audiobooks aren’t just for children. Anyone with an interest in literature will benefit from them.
What Kind Of Audio Book Do I Want?
The first thing to ask yourself is what sort of audiobook you’d like to buy.
The Best Audiobooks for Beginners
I know, you expected a list here with 10 books or 20 or whatever. But I’m worried that you would either scroll through them and decide that none of them really interest you, or that you would pick one more or less at random, then get bored with it, and give up on audiobooks. It’s the internet way, right?!
So, instead, we’ll do this differently.
Between the many genre fiction and nonfiction audiobooks out there, the different narration styles, and the many different ways for listeners to get their hands on audiobooks, I don’t think a list of best audiobooks for beginners makes sense or would work. Instead, I want to try and give you the tools to find a good book for yourself. One that is the perfect first audiobook for YOU!
The Best Story for your First Audiobook
If you already love reading ebooks or print and want to try out this new-to-you book format, this is the perfect time to reread one of your favorite stories and to experience it in a new way! There’s a big advantage to this. If you ever lose focus for a moment, you don’t get confused by the story and can get back into it quickly without having to skip back. That way, you won’t get frustrated as easily by your audiobook. If rereading is a total no-go for you, then it should at least be a book by one of your favorite authors. When you’re just starting with audiobooks, it’s not the best time to check out new-to-you authors.
I’ve seen so many people say they didn’t like audiobooks only because they didn’t like the author or narrator they listened to first! That’s like saying I don’t like Italian cuisine because I once tried pizza with pineapple! (I actually love pizza with pineapple, but I hope you get my point.)
If you want to try out audiobooks because you haven’t or couldn’t read many books so far, you could start by thinking about which movies or comics you like. People don’t necessarily have the same favorite movie and book genre, but this is still a safe place to start. For some movies, games, and shows, you can even find companion books that have audio versions, e.g. Star Wars, Doctor Who, or Warcraft.
If you like podcasts, check out if one of your favorite podcasters has an audiobook out as well. Many do!
If you like RomCom movies, you will love how many fantastic romantic comedy books are out there in audio format!
If there’s a celebrity you admire, see if they have a memoir!
The more you’re sure you will enjoy the story or topic of the book and be captivated by it, the better for starting with audiobooks.
There are so ridiculously many fantastic audiobooks out there and one could argue that one is for this or that reason among the “best audiobooks for beginners”. But people have so many different interests. It makes more sense if you take 5 minutes to think about what you enjoy and then look up books that fit this topic and your interests.
Narrations Forms
When picking your perfect first audiobook, the way it’s narrated is just as important as the story. So, let’s talk about narration forms!
Full Cast
Full-cast audiobooks are like listening to a movie. Every main character is narrated by a different voice actor. Full-cast productions are often abridged (shortened versions) to make it more doable to get so many voice actors into a studio. Radio plays are typically recorded with a full cast.
Duet Narration
Consider this “full cast light”. In duet narrations for a book with a male and a female characters’ point of view, a narrator with a manly voice reads all male-sounding characters and a narrator with a feminine voice reads all the female-sounding characters.
Dual Narration
This is the most common narration form for many fiction audiobooks, especially Romance. The books often have two points of view and since each narrator just does their part in their own studio, this is easier to produce than the previous forms, which often require narrators to record together in one studio. However, this is also the form that I personally found the most difficult to get used to when I was new to audiobooks since the characters sound so different in each chapter. I recommend passing on dual narration audiobooks until you feel more comfortable with the format as a whole!
Single Narration
This is closest to having someone read a story to you. Depending on the narrator, they might do more voice acting or more reading.
How to find the best Narration Form for your First Audiobook?
For people who are new to audiobooks, I always recommend either a full-cast or a single narration audiobook. Some find it easier to focus on just one voice. If you listen to podcasts, your brain is likely already used to listening attentively to one voice. But if you often follow TV shows without actually looking at the screen, e.g. while doing crafts or ironing, full-cast might work best for you since you are used to hearing several different voices.
Of course, if you are already an avid reader and want to do a re-read for your first audiobook, your favorite book might not be available in your preferred narration form. Full-cast stories, for example, are somewhat rare in comparison to dual or single narrators. In this case, just look up a bunch of your favorite books on Audible and see how they are narrated, or search for the term “full cast” or “radio play” on Audible if this narration form caught your eye!
Whether you are new to books or specifically new to audiobooks, it’s very important that you make use of the Sample function on Audible and Amazon before you actually buy and download an audiobook. The sample gives you a good idea of how interesting the book is to you and how much you like the narrator’s voice.
How to Listen to Audiobooks
The best way hands down to try out your first audiobook is your local library. A librarian can help you set up Overdrive or Libby on your phone and you can borrow audiobooks for free with your library card so you can find out what you like without having to worry about the cost.
Don’t feel bad about stopping one audiobook and starting another if you feel like this isn’t the right one! Listening to audiobooks is a skill and your brain will need some time to get used to it so your mind will not wander so easily. Keep at it and try out several different books, different genres and narration styles, if your first audiobook didn’t work for you.
However, if you don’t have a local library that offers free audiobooks, or if you are like me and rather do everything from home, here are some good alternatives!
You might have heard that a standard audiobook subscription works like this: You pay a monthly fee for which you get one credit that you can exchange for an audiobook of your choice. But there are also a lot of audiobook subscriptions that work like Netflix or your library! And for beginners, these are great because you can try out a lot of different genres, authors, narrators, and production styles to find out what you like.
Audible is the most well-known audiobook service. And in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, they offer Audible Plus which is a catalog of several thousand audiobooks from which you can borrow as many as you like.
Scribd is a service similar to Kindle Unlimited. They have ebooks and audiobooks that you can borrow. There are some limitations, but unlike Audible Plus, you can find new bestsellers and book club favorites in audio format here!
Either one of those is a good choice to get started with audiobooks. They are easy to subscribe to and have good phone apps with which you can listen. In the apps, you can set bookmarks which I highly recommend, especially if you’re listening in bed. The bookmark will help you get back to the right part quickly if you fall asleep or get distracted.
The Scribd and Audible app also let you set the narration speed. Some people have a difficult time following audiobooks because they feel the narration is too slow or too fast. With the narration speed function, you can set the audiobook to play exactly as quickly as is comfortable for you.
The apps also have a sleep timer which is really convenient.
Most audiobook listeners prefer listening with headphones or AirPods. They make it easier to stay focused and not miss anything. When you are driving, the car speakers work really well too though. If you have headphones lying around somewhere, use those! In the long run, most audiobook listeners find it’s worth it to buy a nice pair of Bluetooth earbuds. When I listen to audiobooks while doing chores or cooking, I like using just one earbud so I can still hear what’s going on around me.