admitting to myself and anons that my eyesight is going to wear out if I don't quit the constant screens/reading. how do you all listen to audiobooks? the tech, and the company where you find your recordings? right now I just have an iPhone and use Spotify but none of the free audiobooks seem right to me
>>10449 (OP)
I remember reading a /lit/ post a few years ago where some anon described walking around at night between skyscrapers while listening to the audiobook of Neuromancer. That always sounded alluring to me and I haven't yet tried it myself, probably best done in a high-trust society that hasn't yet defaulted to mass immigration from the African landmass, maybe try the Japanese countryside like Kamiyama, or maybe an additional Sub-Saharan risk-factor might add some flair, depending on what you listen to, at least try to keep some situational aawareness while not entirely succumbing to the ecstasy of apprehending the exquisite neo-futurist Gibsonian prose style.
I remember reading a /lit/ post a few years ago where some anon described walking around at night between skyscrapers while listening to the audiobook of Neuromancer. That always sounded alluring to me and I haven't yet tried it myself, probably best done in a high-trust society that hasn't yet defaulted to mass immigration from the African landmass, maybe try the Japanese countryside like Kamiyama, or maybe an additional Sub-Saharan risk-factor might add some flair, depending on what you listen to, at least try to keep some situational aawareness while not entirely succumbing to the ecstasy of apprehending the exquisite neo-futurist Gibsonian prose style.
No.10459
Anonymous
2026-06-08 08:29:31
I use Readest and it has a text-to-speech feature. I'll use it when I'm at the gym and whatnot. It's not very good, and the voice often gets emphasis and interpretation wrong, but you get used to it. I like switching between reading with my eyes and listening and this is the only feasible solution
No.10460
Anonymous
2026-06-08 08:31:15
hello. I have the same problem. reading strains my eyes. didn't think old age would come for me this way in my early 20s.
anyway, about audiobooks
I had the audible subscription for a while but it's pretty limiting with only 1 credit a month.
I personally found it too expensive for the few times I actually paid for it (I had a subscription to something else that would give me codes to get audible for basically free for a while which I heavily abused)
if you like reading classics download or listen to them from librivox. anyone can read any book which is in public domain on a volunteer basis and upload it on librivox. there's even an app, it's not the official app but it's good for what it is. there are some professional librivox readers that are very good, I would suggest you look up the best ones and listen to the classics they've narrated. reddit usually has threads about this. (my favorite are karen savage, elizabeth klett). with other readers it's a gamble.
I don't have a Spotify subscription so I haven't bothered to check out audiobooks on that platform but I do believe that they also have some classics for free. YouTube also does.
it would do you well to be suspicious of any audiobook on YouTube or Spotify and sometimes even on audible that was uploaded post 2022.
now onto the experience itself. if there's a book you're reading purely for entertainment the audiobook format is great. one of the drawbacks which is about the narrator influencing your listening experience due to adding their own interpretative layer can actually not be a drawback if you find the good narrators. and there are many.
serious drawbacks: if you're just laying on your bed or couch while listening there's a good chance you're going to drift off. you'd be surprised at how many people listen to audiobooks just to go to sleep. I would suggest you listen while on a walk or doing chores.
if you're a fast reader it's going to be annoying to deal with the pace of the narrator
it pains me to concede to this anti audiobook argument but it is not the same as reading the book yourself because when you're listening you gotta focus and cannot take many breaks to think about what you've just read, to contemplate, to analyse without pausing the audiobook again and again. unless you're just built different and this doesn't apply to you. but yea this is why I said audiobooks are great when you're just reading for entertainment and don't need to think about the book while you're reading it.
anyway, about audiobooks
I had the audible subscription for a while but it's pretty limiting with only 1 credit a month.
I personally found it too expensive for the few times I actually paid for it (I had a subscription to something else that would give me codes to get audible for basically free for a while which I heavily abused)
if you like reading classics download or listen to them from librivox. anyone can read any book which is in public domain on a volunteer basis and upload it on librivox. there's even an app, it's not the official app but it's good for what it is. there are some professional librivox readers that are very good, I would suggest you look up the best ones and listen to the classics they've narrated. reddit usually has threads about this. (my favorite are karen savage, elizabeth klett). with other readers it's a gamble.
I don't have a Spotify subscription so I haven't bothered to check out audiobooks on that platform but I do believe that they also have some classics for free. YouTube also does.
it would do you well to be suspicious of any audiobook on YouTube or Spotify and sometimes even on audible that was uploaded post 2022.
now onto the experience itself. if there's a book you're reading purely for entertainment the audiobook format is great. one of the drawbacks which is about the narrator influencing your listening experience due to adding their own interpretative layer can actually not be a drawback if you find the good narrators. and there are many.
serious drawbacks: if you're just laying on your bed or couch while listening there's a good chance you're going to drift off. you'd be surprised at how many people listen to audiobooks just to go to sleep. I would suggest you listen while on a walk or doing chores.
if you're a fast reader it's going to be annoying to deal with the pace of the narrator
it pains me to concede to this anti audiobook argument but it is not the same as reading the book yourself because when you're listening you gotta focus and cannot take many breaks to think about what you've just read, to contemplate, to analyse without pausing the audiobook again and again. unless you're just built different and this doesn't apply to you. but yea this is why I said audiobooks are great when you're just reading for entertainment and don't need to think about the book while you're reading it.
For me it's very simple:
* pirate ebooks
* load them onto my phone
* use a TTS converter
* when I get to difficult passages, I switch on the TTS converter's settings to "repeat each sentence X many times"
Enjoy your walks!
* pirate ebooks
* load them onto my phone
* use a TTS converter
* when I get to difficult passages, I switch on the TTS converter's settings to "repeat each sentence X many times"
Enjoy your walks!
No.10477
Anonymous
2026-06-09 06:18:29
>>10476
Btw there's something innately funny about Irish people, not sure why, maybe just the way they talk. It has some kind of endearing earnestness that also sounds a bit funny with that strong Northern accent spoken very quickly like in the video:
Female Voice 1: Hurry up!
Female Voice 2: He's completely dead!
Female Voice 1 (yelling loudly): Get off him, ya fuckin' rat!
Female Voice 2: He's cut him! He's cutting him!
Male Voice: He's slicing... he's slicing his head off his neck, hurry up!
Female Voice 1 (hysterical): He's trying to cut his head off! He's trying to cut his head off!
Seriously I'd listen to an audiobook in that accent, it just sounds that good, like maybe a James Joyce novel or Beckett.
Btw there's something innately funny about Irish people, not sure why, maybe just the way they talk. It has some kind of endearing earnestness that also sounds a bit funny with that strong Northern accent spoken very quickly like in the video:
Female Voice 1: Hurry up!
Female Voice 2: He's completely dead!
Female Voice 1 (yelling loudly): Get off him, ya fuckin' rat!
Female Voice 2: He's cut him! He's cutting him!
Male Voice: He's slicing... he's slicing his head off his neck, hurry up!
Female Voice 1 (hysterical): He's trying to cut his head off! He's trying to cut his head off!
Seriously I'd listen to an audiobook in that accent, it just sounds that good, like maybe a James Joyce novel or Beckett.
>>10475
I have an android phone. I use @Voice not for any particular reason. It has dogshit ads and a terrible interface. I just don't care enough to bother to switch.
I have an android phone. I use @Voice not for any particular reason. It has dogshit ads and a terrible interface. I just don't care enough to bother to switch.
No.10487
Anonymous
2026-06-09 13:14:18
>>10486
OH and yes it has a bookmark feature.
OH and yes it has a bookmark feature.
No.10494
Anonymous
2026-06-09 16:56:41