A couple months ago when I wrote about investing time wisely and the concept of multiple positives many readers commented, saying that an excellent way to educate yourself and spice up an otherwise boring workout is listening to audio books and podcasts while you hit the gym. It also works great for beating the boredom while you’re stuck in traffic during your daily commute.
To help you find the best audio content the web has to offer, I’ve compiled a list of resources for free audio books and podcasts on a wide range of interesting topics. Enjoy, and you if know of any good sites I’ve overlooked, please leave a link in the comments.
Free Audio Books
LibriVox, if you don’t know it already, is the king of free audio books. You can use the catalog to search through their library of nearly 1000 works, all part of the public domain. If you’re feeling generous, you can even contribute wiki-style by recording audio of your own.
AudioBooksForFree also has a big catalog to sort through, with an emphasis on classic works, but a decent amount of mystery, sci-fi, and thriller as well. The only catch here is that you’ll have to pay for quality: the lowest quality downloads are free but anything better than 8 Kbps costs $5-8.
If you’re looking specifically for classics, FreeClassicAudioBooks is a nice little resource. Although the library isn’t huge, there are a lot of big names. They also offer the convenience of downloading in an iPod-ready format.
Who knew that on top of all that print content, ProjectGutenberg also has a huge audio section? They’ve got everything from Aesop to Zola, including a decent number of works in French, German, and other languages.
LearnOutLoud has over 500 educational titles and offers a lot of video as well.
The bright side here is that you can probably get almost any older work in the public domain for free. If what you’re looking for is a bit more modern you’ll either have to shell out a few dollars or try to find a relevant podcast.
Free Podcasts
For iTunes users, the fastest and simplest way to find podcasts and load them directly to your iPod is through iTunes Store. Just click on the podcasts button in the store and you’ll be taken to a huge podcast directory. The trick is finding what you actually want.
If you’re looking for a particular subject, The Educational Podcast Network has a big list of subject specific podcasts that cover most academic topics.
If you could use a few personal recommendations, this thread on AskMetafilter points out a number of educational and entertaining podcasts. NPR has a nice collection of informative podcasts too.
Other good sources include the PodcastDirectory and Yahoo! Podcasts, which allows you to browse by popularity and user ratings.
For the tech savvy reader looking to catch up on the latest buzz, I’d also recommend checking out Digg’s podcast section.
Image by Dala*
[...] came across this post – Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your <b>Workout</b> and <b>̷… – and thought it was worth sharing. I hope you find it interesting too and take the time to read [...]
Nice collection of resources John. Most of these are actually new to me. I normally use Audible.com for my audiobooks – they are not free though.
Yes, the only downside is that there isn’t much available for recently published books. Audible could be a good alternative if you can afford it.
Agreed with the previous comments, those sites dont have recent material. However, I can recommend http://www.podiobooks.com for that. It publishes mostly fiction, and is all original, recent material. Most of the books there are published as RSS podcasts, one chapter at a time, and you can always go back and download older chapters.
Thanks for the recommendation, Mike. I’ll add that to the main post when I get a minute.
also, many libraries (like mine at least) will allow you to download audio books and listen to them, there are restrictions and the license will exprie after a week or so, but that is where i get some quality audio books. some you dont even have to be a card holder, just create an account on their affiliated site.
http://www.audiobooks.net has a bunch listed by popularity so you can avoid the duds
I would recommend the free audio books from newfiction.com
they are fun and entertaining.
To find out if your local library supports free audiobook downloads, search here under “Search Libraries”: http://search.overdrive.com/
Classic Audio Book and Podcast Downloads that are Free or Public Domain…
[...]To help you find the best audio content the web has to offer, I?ve compiled a list of resources for free audio books and podcasts on a wide range of interesting topics.[...]…
I live by my podcasts – 3 hours a day, minimum, during my commute. Count me as another vote for Podiobooks.com, they’ve really brought back the idea of serialized books. Everything that’s so old it’s in the public domain is nice, but it also comes with the feeling that you can wait 6 months, it’ll still be there. With most of the podiobooks.com stuff, you can subscribe to it *as its being written* and get pleasant surprises in your playlist when you least expect them.
http://commutesmarter.blogspot.com
[...] PickTheBrain has a list of sources for free audio material. [...]
THanks for sharing this nice list.
Nick
http://www.weefly.com
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Correction to making the above OverDrive library link sound like the end-all, because while some local libraries use OverDrive, I believe others use NetLibrary (about which I don’t know much). So if you don’t find your library in the above OverDrive URL (http://search.overdrive.com/ ), you should then ask your local librarian.
It’s great to listen to audiobooks in your car, on your ipod, at work, or on any trip. Thanks for this great article.
You can download the mp3s of the free audio books from newfiction.com
this is a great list …
i’ve been meaning to get some podcasts to listen on my almost daily ferry ride …
am gonna check out some you have recommended …
thanks for sharing … appreciated …
A few decent things on here:
http://freemp3audiobooks.com/
I don’t think I’ll use this when I do my workout because I prefer silence but thanks for the link especially the Meta Filter and the educational podcast. I’ll probably will use it a lot.
Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute | PickTheBrain…
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[...] an iPod or some Chinese iPod knockoff, and soak up some edumacation via these audiobook sites – here, here, or [...]
[...] Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute | PickTheBrain (tags: audiobooks free podcasts audio mp3 podcast books reference **) [...]
[...] Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute | PickTheBrain To help you find the best audio content the web has to offer, I’ve compiled a list of resources [...]
[...] Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute | PickTheBrain [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt [...]
Open Culture (www.oculture.com) hosts a lot of useful podcasts collections that you may want to know about. The collections include:
Audiobooks: http://www.oculture.com/2006/10/audio_book_podc.html
Foreign Language Lessons:
http://www.oculture.com/2006/10/foreign_languag.html
Complete University Courses:
http://www.oculture.com/2007/07/free_podcasts_of_university_courses_75_courses_and_growing.html
All of the rest:
http://www.oculture.com/2007/06/podcast_library.html
Thanks for good links. Here is the podcastlink from my favorite author Robin Sharma for self-help.
http://www.robinsharma.com/success_podcast_ic.htm
[...] Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute | PickTheBrain To help you find the best audio content the web has to offer, I’ve compiled a list of resources for free audio books and podcasts on a wide range of interesting topics. (tags: audio blogs education free freeware language learning list podcasts mp3 audiobooks) [...]
[...] couple of days ago, I wrote about my top 10 knowledge audio sources. And yesterday I found this blogpost from the blog pickthebrain by John Wesley. He writes: To help you find the best audio [...]
[...] by telecommatt on October 21st, 2007 Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and Commute | PickTheBrain To help you find the best audio content the web has to offer, I’ve compiled a list of [...]
[...] sourced here [...]
John, i would definitely recommend adding Radiolab to the list.
It’s a great podcast by WNYC Public Radio.
radiolab.org
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[...] Free Audio Books (tags: books) [...]
[...] John Wesley placed an observative post today on Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and ….Here’s a quick excerpt:To help you find the best audio content the web has to offer, I’ve compiled a list of resources for free audio books and podcasts on a wide range of interesting topics. Enjoy, and you if know of any good sites I’ve overlooked, … [...]
[...] Newborough wrote an interesting post today on Free Audio Book and Podcast Downloads to Juice Up Your Workout and …Here’s a quick [...]
[...] read more | digg story [...]
[...] a related note, for those of you who enjoyed PickTheBrain’s free audio book and podcast resource collection, Open Culture has a some free audio educational resources that might be of [...]
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
Nice post
[...] Link: PickTheBrain [...]
I thought you might like this custom Google Search engine I’ve put together to make it easier to find free audio books
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=001127977917864091225%3Ahbmbtxosnvs&hl=en
You should also check out YAKiToMe! (http://www.yakitome.com). It’s a free website that turns any text into an audio-book podcast. It works in multiple languages (English, Spanish, French, etc.), has multiple readers, and you can control the pronunciation and speed of the readers as well. They have a public library with lots of Project Gutenberg texts converted to audio-books and other content that users have submitted. It’s a cool website. I use it all the time and highly recommend it.
Free Audio Books can also be acquired via http://www.MojoMove411.com
We also provide Technical Assistance for Audio recorders
[...] service. There are also free audio book at sites like librivox, audiobooksforfree, etc. Here are two links that might be of interest starting points for getting free audio books. I personally like the [...]
Thanks very much for all the audio book info! There are so many new places to get audiobooks that pop up all the time. I keep a list of sites that offer free audio books at http://www.audioedition.org/services/free/ and I have to update it all the time
You should definitely add YAKiToMe! to your list — http://www.yakitome.com
http www youtube…
Good work. Keep it up….
[...] Free Audio Books (tags: free audiobooks) [...]
nice blog. try to google video search for searching more videos
[...] 5. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material This may sound cheesy, but one of the reasons I love the morning is that an entire day of endless possibilities lies ahead. One of the best ways to ignite this spirit of endless possibilities is to devour some motivational material, impossible whether it be in the form of a book, audiobook or podcast. If you want some help finding motivational audiobooks and podcasts, check out this Free Audio and Podcasts article. [...]
Another good source for free drama podcasts is Dramapod which has user reviews and updates a drama podcast chart every day.
http://www.dramapod.com
YAKiToMe! is a wonderful free resource for listening to educational materials. It turns any electronic text into a podcast automatically using high-quality text to speech (TTS) synthesis. You can find it at http://www.yakitome.com. I’m wondering why you didn’t mention it in this, otherwise, good post?
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Hi
I found your blog by looking for free books to see what connected with the theme of my blog, http://freebooksplus.net/blog/.
There are loads of ways of getting legal free books including audio books over the radio and I’ll be looking at them regularly. I also offer advice on the best free ways to process the book whether print or audio and I’d love to have comments to help me see what readers value most. Let’s all contribute to more legal free books
Keep up the fine blogging!
Another good resource is http://www.audiobooktreasury.com/
A reasonable amount of audio books (classic literature mostly) but the ebook is right there with the audio book so you can read along or look in more detail at a particular passage – handy if like me you’re studying.
teach me
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[...] Free Audio Books [...]
This is the third of Burrough’s Tarzan novels. Originally serialized in All-Story Cavalier magazine in 1914, the novel was first published in book form by A. C. McClurg in 1916.
[...] Free Audio Book by Pick The Brain Audio Edition Free Book source List [...]
I don’t see http://www.ejunto.com mentioned above. They have only a few books but they are all high quality — mostly bio’s. The one about Theodore Roosevelt was very interesting and I also enjoyed the bio on Lincoln and the autobiography of Franklin.
work at home for free…
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[...] Original post by unknown [...]
[...] http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/free-audio-book-and-podcast-resources/ Posted in Uncategorized. [...]
Nice collection of resources John. Most of these are actually new to me. I normally use Audible.com for my audiobooks – they are not free though.
You have discussed cool audio books websites. If you want to listen to Audio Drama, the only web 2.0 Audio Drama and iSoaps site is:
http://www.newfiction.com/
Check out the library and audiobook technology ued by Audio Pod (www.audiopod.ca). Really cool ideas and without a doubt – ‘WOW, SUPER EASY!!!’
This sucks! You can even download whole books. I’m going back to Audible.com
The download wasn’t working right…I agree with Zo, I’ll go to audible.
[...] (Ilounge’s Forum, MightBargainHunter, Pickthebrain & [...]
I love to listen to a good bunch of audio books extremely more than read actual books. There is something about driving in a car and listening. I just finished the 7th harry potter the other day. It was pretty good
When it comes to dealing with audio books and finding good ones to listen to for a smaller price, I usually just think to myself that maybe just reading a book would be less expensive. However, I can’t really read a book and drive at the same time when I am going to work.
Good post, admin.
Good site, admin.
Good site, admin.
Click here….
Nice site. Check out this one sometime……
I’ve found the service at The Audio Book Store to be very good. Huge selection of titles too.
Check your local library. Ours has a great e-library catalog. Great way to listen to books and they even have movies.
http://dlc.clevnet.org
Kew site…
Keep up the g00d work man!…
I’ve been part of an audio book project.
You can watch and download this FREE multimedia fantasy audio book . It is presented in videos with strong musical background and graphics.
The audio book is entitled “Helena & the Orchestra of the World of Mist”
Helena, a young piano virtuoso is confronted with the mysterious disappearance of her parents. As she tries to deal with this tragic event, she’s drawn into a Fantasy World where she will encounter wolves, horses, dragons and… the Prophecy…
Check out the videos…
?eid=143431…
?eid=143431…
Great post here John. Always good self-improvement content here on PickTheBrain. For those of you looking for free original fiction audiobooks check out the link in my name.
-Josh
Thank you for your post and for its additional comments, also. This is the exact thing that I need nowadays.
Peaceful greetings…
PianoDraft…
Megacool Blog indeed!… if anyone else has anything it would be much appreciated. Great website Enjoy!…
,..] http://www.pickthebrain.com is other nice source of information on this topic,..]
[...] Free Audio Books [...]
[...] Free Audio Book by Pick The Brain Audio Edition Free Book source List [...]
There is another alternative for more modern books and its also free. Several library’s around the country have begun to offer audio books and some of them are even available online the rules are the same as when you check out a book at the library (you only get to keep the title for a limited time and you may have to renew it and in most cases you will need a library card) but that is a small price to pay for having access to audio books for free if that is what you need. It would be wonderful to see a list of these sites somewhere that is easy to access perhaps that can be the next project you tackle. Thank you for the list you have provided here there are many books that I will be able to access that are not available through the use of the library based books.
It’s only small, but interestingly he puts all his stories to music. Try http://www.teafuelledart.co.uk
I think his short stories are awesome.
First, LOVE your site. Thanks for the list.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS SITE AND THE WORK YOU’VE PUT INTO IT!!! I have only just discovered the addictive joy of audiobooks as I got an ipaq for christmas, and this site has listed TONS of places I havent found yet! I also want to thank the great people who have posted links and sites as well, I really appreciate it. The only thing I would add is this link–
http://www.archive.org/details/audio
It will take you days to go through!!!LOL!!! Also, if you want a whole series of current bestsellers like Charlaine Harris (sookie stackhouse), John Sanford, Robert Jordan, Patricia Cornwell, or even Steven King, heres a very inexpensive site where the merchant is willing to send you single layer cds (for those who have older pcs) or take special requests as well! He’s very quick to get your orders out, and returning emails, too.
http://www.cheapmp3audiobooks.com/Home_Page.php
Today I got the whole Trueblood series, as well as a book from one of her other series(10 audiobooks), and the Kellerman collection (30 audiobooks) for $30 (including delivery in that figure)!!!
I hope these links are as helpful to you as your links were for me, and many thanks again!
Came across this website that has free audio books available to download you may find useful
Thanks for listing all these audio book sites. I usually use iTunes but these are great! Always helps to have a little motivation in your ears as you walk
It is rather interesting for me to read that blog. Thanks for it. I like such topics and anything connected to them. I would like to read more on that blog soon.
Truly yours
It is too unfortunate that newer books do not have the free audio! I am assuming there are copyright issues to create audiobooks!
The issue with audio books is that you really need a great narrator – otherwise you lost interest!
I recently listened to audio version of the novel “The White Tiger” by Arvind Adiga! It is a fascinating story, and depicts the life of the indians you do not meet outside india!
Maybe I will do I review of the book on my blog soon!
One site i haven’t seen mentioned yet that is really good for audio books is emusic. I use them all of the time they are amazing.
The list of all these audio book sites is really helpful for everyone. You can also find audio books on self help. Confidence and self esteem are no doubt the keys to success in a person’s life.