Overdrive and Libby
It has occurred to me that as much as I’ve pushed Book Report posts and Goodreads, I haven’t really elaborated on how I’ve been consuming books. I certainly don’t buy them, because that costs too much money and takes up too much space. I don’t use a subscription to audible, either. No, I use the public library and its Overdrive service: tax dollars put to good use.
When I started reading pretty regularly again in late 2018, I found out that audiobooks are awesome. However, at that time I only did audiobooks on regular audio cd. I would check out a booklet of cds, rip them all, and listen to the MP3 files at my leisure. This technique worked, but it takes up a lot of space, and multiple discs of audio files can be difficult to manage.
Eventually, I discovered MP3 cd audiobooks. These aren’t regular audio cds that you can pop into your car’s cd player and listen to (if you even still have one of those). Instead, you put them in to a PC disc drive, and you can view the tracks in the file system like a flash drive. Instead of ripping audio to MP3 files, you just drag the MP3 files from the disc to your local system.
MP3 cd has a number of benefits over regular audio cd books. The file sizes are smaller, so more book can fit onto fewer discs, and the books take up less hard drive space. Plus, the metadata is usually more accurate, so there aren’t oddly named tracks. It seems that MP3 cds are less common, but I think they’re the better option when available.
Finally, I decided to try Overdrive, the online platform that my local library uses for audiobooks and ebooks. This was a game changer. Because the books are hosted online, I don’t have to worry about storing the files locally. I check out a book, I open it in the Libby app, and I listen for as long as I want.
Overdrive keeps up with your position in a book, even between checkout periods. If I check out a book, listen to 5 chapters, and then my checkout expires, I’ll still be on chapter 6 when I get the opportunity to check that book out again. Plus, Libby has very granular playback controls, so I can actually ramp up the audio speed to exactly where I want it. Personally, I’ll listen to books somewhere between 1.4x and 1.8x speed depending on the narrator. I can consume books in significantly less time, which means I can read more books. It’s a complete win.
One really nice feature of Overdrive is that I can place a hold on several different books and listen to them as they become available. Instead of finishing a book and deliberating on what to read next, I usually have another title drop into my shelf every few days or weeks. If I don’t get a chance to read or listen to it before it expires, I’ll just put in another hold and try again next time.
Unique to ebooks, I’ve actually found a way to extend the duration of my checkout period. When I check out an ebook, I’ll send it to my Kindle. The Kindle will sync and download the ebook. Then, I put my Kindle in airplane mode. Not only does this save battery, but it prevents the ebooks from expiring. The Kindle device doesn’t have any sort of internal clock to know when the checkout has expired, so I can keep reading the book until I need to connect to the internet and download another title.
Since discovering Overdrive and the Libby app, I haven’t used audiobooks on cd. The convenience is just too nice, and most of the audiobooks that the library has in circulation are also available on Overdrive. If you like audiobooks but cd just feels like an archaic delivery mechanism, take a listen in Libby.
When I started reading pretty regularly again in late 2018, I found out that audiobooks are awesome. However, at that time I only did audiobooks on regular audio cd. I would check out a booklet of cds, rip them all, and listen to the MP3 files at my leisure. This technique worked, but it takes up a lot of space, and multiple discs of audio files can be difficult to manage.
Eventually, I discovered MP3 cd audiobooks. These aren’t regular audio cds that you can pop into your car’s cd player and listen to (if you even still have one of those). Instead, you put them in to a PC disc drive, and you can view the tracks in the file system like a flash drive. Instead of ripping audio to MP3 files, you just drag the MP3 files from the disc to your local system.
MP3 cd has a number of benefits over regular audio cd books. The file sizes are smaller, so more book can fit onto fewer discs, and the books take up less hard drive space. Plus, the metadata is usually more accurate, so there aren’t oddly named tracks. It seems that MP3 cds are less common, but I think they’re the better option when available.
Finally, I decided to try Overdrive, the online platform that my local library uses for audiobooks and ebooks. This was a game changer. Because the books are hosted online, I don’t have to worry about storing the files locally. I check out a book, I open it in the Libby app, and I listen for as long as I want.
Overdrive keeps up with your position in a book, even between checkout periods. If I check out a book, listen to 5 chapters, and then my checkout expires, I’ll still be on chapter 6 when I get the opportunity to check that book out again. Plus, Libby has very granular playback controls, so I can actually ramp up the audio speed to exactly where I want it. Personally, I’ll listen to books somewhere between 1.4x and 1.8x speed depending on the narrator. I can consume books in significantly less time, which means I can read more books. It’s a complete win.
One really nice feature of Overdrive is that I can place a hold on several different books and listen to them as they become available. Instead of finishing a book and deliberating on what to read next, I usually have another title drop into my shelf every few days or weeks. If I don’t get a chance to read or listen to it before it expires, I’ll just put in another hold and try again next time.
Unique to ebooks, I’ve actually found a way to extend the duration of my checkout period. When I check out an ebook, I’ll send it to my Kindle. The Kindle will sync and download the ebook. Then, I put my Kindle in airplane mode. Not only does this save battery, but it prevents the ebooks from expiring. The Kindle device doesn’t have any sort of internal clock to know when the checkout has expired, so I can keep reading the book until I need to connect to the internet and download another title.
Since discovering Overdrive and the Libby app, I haven’t used audiobooks on cd. The convenience is just too nice, and most of the audiobooks that the library has in circulation are also available on Overdrive. If you like audiobooks but cd just feels like an archaic delivery mechanism, take a listen in Libby.
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