A favorite app and website of mine that will quickly become one of your favorites too is LibriVox.  The app is free and can be downloaded to your mobile phone, iPod, or tablet.   These free public domain (in the United States)  audiobooks can be listened to on-line, downloaded to your iPod or phone, or burned onto CD’s.  Public domain books are books that are no longer under copyright and essentially were written before 1923.

About:

Hugh McGuire started LibriVox in August 2005.  Librivox’s stated objective is “To make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.”  It is a non-profit and ad-free project that’s supported through the work of volunteers. Project Gutenburg is the text source for Librivox’s book readings. You can find your favorite books through several search options such as author, book title, genre/subject, volunteer reader or language.

Language:

These free audio books come in a variety of languages from German to Spanish to French.  Audiobooks can be found in over 50 different languages but the majority are in English.

Author:

Search Librivox by an author’s name, such as Jane Austen, and you will see that there are 40 audiobooks completed and 1 book in progress.

Volunteer Reader(s)

There may be more than one version of a book.  Emma, by Jane Austen has 7 versions read by different volunteer readers.  Some audio books have one single reader, listed as “Solo” while others are listed as “Dramatic” and have different readers for different characters and a 3rd version is listed as “Collaborative” and uses many readers who each record several chapters.  Listen to several versions to choose which audiobook version you prefer.  After you’ve listened to a couple of books you may find a favorite reader. You can then search the database for all audiobooks that your favorite volunteer has helped with.

Genre

The genres available include those that appeal to children and adults.  Children’s Fiction, Action & Adventure, Family Life, Poetry, Crime and Mystery Fiction, and Historical Fiction are just a few of the many options available.

Settings

You can adjust the settings to listen to just one chapter or to listen continuously until you hit Pause or End.  You can rewind or fast forward for times you want to repeat a section or to skip over a section. The app remembers where you left off.

To listen to your own free favorite public domain audiobooks go to Librivox here: www.LibriVox.org

Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

www.WebRN-MacularDegeneration.com