Audio Bookclubs: Comparison Shopping Tips

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By Ethan Allen

Avid readers love expanding their horizons and learning as much as they can about as many things as possible. But with only so much time in a day, millions have turned to audiobooks. This way, they can accomplish even more as their eyes and hands are now free to perform other tasks as they absorb the material by ear. There are many audio bookclubs catering to this market now. Here are some things to consider before deciding which one is right for you.

Selection

One of the first things to check when comparing audio book clubs is their selection. Some bookclubs cater to just one specific genre, for example science-fiction audiobooks or the latest non-fiction release on pyschology. Other clubs carry classics, best-sellers and latest releases across a wide variety of topics. Take the time to identify the types of books you enjoying reading first. Armed with this information, you can then check to see if a particular audio bookclub will be a good match.

Formats

The next thing to do is find out what formats the club offers its audiobooks in. Some of the older and larger clubs offer their audiobooks on cassette and CD by mail. Others offer these formats plus a selection of their titles in downloadable format for playback on your computer, iPod or other MP3 player. Other clubs only offer their titles as downloads. Because of this, it is important to check and see if they offer their audiobooks in a format you can actually use.

If you are open to any format, you might consider catching up with the times and going digital. Remember that CDs and cassettes take time to arrive and return by mail, while digital recording allow for instant access. Furthermore, CDs and cassettes loaned through an audiobook club have often passed through the hands of many subscribers and their quality may have become very poor. On the other hand, digital downloads sound as clear as they did right after they were recorded and suffer no loss in playback quality over time.

Subscription Plans

Speaking of access, most audiobook clubs have a variety of subscription plans depending on the number of audiobooks you'd like to be able to access during a specific timeframe. Since it is common for an audio bookclub to charge a monthly-subscription rates, the higher the price, the more CD's or cassette audio books you can have sent to you at one time. If you choose a lower price plan, remember to account for the amount of time it takes to receive and return your current selection by mail before you can choose your next title. This can severely limit the number of audiobooks you can actually borrow in a given month.

For those that want to access downloadable audios, the higher subscription plans usually equal a higher number of downloads each month. If the club carries most of the titles you want as digital downloads, this can often be the most cost-effective option.

Armed with this information, going online and researching the various audio bookclubs becomes a much more enjoyable task. Taking the time to do your comparison shopping before signing up will ensure that the club you join provides you with most relevant audiobooks for your interests at the best possible price.

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