Listen to your favourite books

Here are some apps that let you dive deep into the world of literature

Whether you are a voracious reader who simply can’t find the time thanks to work from home, someone trying to get back to reading or even someone hoping to create the habit, audiobooks are a great way to start. This possibly explains why audiobooks have become extremely popular in recent times. They are convenient, easily accessible and allows room for multitasking. Here are some popular audiobook apps you can try.

Audible

Known for its extensive library, Audible is easily one of the biggest names in the audiobook space. Home to more than 200,000 unique titles in English and Hindi, including 400 titles by Indian authors, the platform also houses hundreds of Audible Original titles. If you don’t like an audiobook you’ve purchased, you can exchange it free of charge. Audible India comes with a 30-day free trial, at the end of which you need to sign-up for a monthly subscription. Even if you cancel the membership, you can access all the downloaded audiobooks in your Audible library.

LibriVox

The non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project, LibriVox has a collection of over 15,000 audiobooks that are read and recorded by volunteers (celebrities and authors, included) from all over the globe. It only offers public domain titles, as a result of which all titles are completely free. Users can listen to free audiobooks on their computers, mobile devices or even download MP3s or stream recordings in your browser.

Google Play Books

The free audiobook app is great for those who wish to test the waters and find out if audiobooks are something you would enjoy. With a no-subscription format, it offers a range of free audiobooks. The latest releases can be bought at a nominal fare. All downloaded audiobooks automatically get sync on all devices that are connected to your Google account, so you can easily pick up where you left.

Hoopla

The app allows you to stream movies, listen to books and even music. You can borrow from a library with hundreds of thousands of titles. It works on mobile devices, desktop PC, tablet or TV. It allows you to stream digital content or you can download and watch it offline at leisure.

Storytel

The Swedish audiobook subscription service launched in India in 2019 and currently houses over one lakh audiobooks and ebooks in English and regional languages. It also allows users to switch between multiple audiobooks. You can also listen to the books offline, save books to your bookshelf and even make your library, making the experience extremely personalised.

Kobo

Kobo added audiobooks to their e-bookstore in September 2017, making it a single platform to buy both ebooks and audiobooks. Like Google Play Books, it works as a book reader or an audiobook player, with the common library and access to the store.