No Time to Read? Try Audible

Hi, it's Yoko, who has lately been trying to be a bit more self-improving.

Recently an acquaintance told me about Audible, Amazon's audiobook service, and I've started using it!

What, you're only just finding out? If that's you, you don't need to read any further (lol).

Audible is great for people who don't have time to read.

I've always been a fairly fast reader, but since I started using it, the number of books I get through has gone up dramatically.

Even if you're short on time, depending on how you use Audible, you can easily make time for reading.

In this post I'll share how I usually use Audible!

What is Audible?

Audible is an audiobook service launched by Amazon where you listen to books read aloud by real people, not machines.

There's a 30-day free trial, and your first book is free.

With Audible you can read, or rather "listen," in your spare moments!

Great for people with no time to read

It's especially recommended for people who can't find reading time, or who keep a pile of books they've bought but not read (tsundoku).

Honestly, isn't reading time really hard to come by?

You basically need to be alone in as quiet a place as possible. And carrying a book around when you go out is a hassle.

With Audible, on the other hand, you don't need your hands or eyes, you just listen, so you can listen to a book almost anywhere you can use your phone and be on your own.

It's a coin system, but it may be practically all-you-can-listen...?

With Audible, you get 1 coin for ¥1,500 a month, and 1 coin can be exchanged for 1 audiobook.

I thought, "It's not all-you-can-read, and isn't ¥1,500 a book expensive?" but in fact you can return a book if you don't like it.

Since it's not a paper book, you can't flip through it to get a feel for the whole thing, so sometimes it isn't what you expected.
(Audiobooks have samples too, but they're limited to the first part.)

But with the return option, you can buy once you're fairly sure you like it!

And you can return books quite a few times, so it may be practically all-you-can-listen.

How to return an Audible book

Here's how to return one on an iPhone, with screenshots.

First tap the square-with-arrow icon in the middle of the browser, then swipe the bottom row of the menu to the right.

Choose "Request Desktop Website," go to https://www.audible.co.jp/ and log in.

Once you're logged in, choose "Account Services" from the "Hello, ___" menu.

Select Purchase History (Returns), then press the "Return" button to the right of the book you want to return.

A dialog appears, so pick your reason for returning and press "Return."

That completes the return! Your coin balance goes from 0 back to 1 right away.

You can buy a different book right after.

That said, I hear lots of people have been returning books lately and Amazon is getting a bit annoyed...

About the member return benefit

As one of the member benefits, Audible members can return a title within 365 days of purchase.
This benefit relies on your understanding. It is not a book-lending or on-demand (all-you-can-read) program. It is intended so that, for example, if a title turns out to be different from what you imagined or the narrator's voice doesn't suit you, you can return it and purchase a work that suits you better. Please refrain from use that goes against the purpose of this benefit, such as excessive returns in a short period.

Source: About the member return benefit

So abusing the return option is strictly off limits...!

One theory says you can return up to 8 times and after that you have to contact customer service, or something like that.

Even so, I've heard of people who contacted customer service and got their coin back right away...

Anyway, the first month is free, so you could try it out then.

Spare moments become reading time

With Audible, even if you're short on time, you can make reading time depending on how you use your spare moments!

With a book, where you can read is limited, but with Audible all you need is one smartphone.

And it really shines in the situations where it's usually hard to read!

Even if you have no reading time, you could get through 15 books

Even if you normally have no time to read, just by using your spare moments well I think you can read at least 15 to 20 books a month.

It depends on the book, but one takes about 4 to 5 hours to listen to.

I listen at double speed, so for example, if I listen for 1 hour on the train, 1 hour at lunch, and 30 minutes in the bath, I get through about half a book.

That's a pace of about one book every two days!

Yoko's recommended times to use Audible

My personal top pick is while running at the gym.

I make a point of listening to Audible when I run or walk since I'm bored, but listening is so fun in itself that now I'm more or less exercising because I want to hear what comes next.

I feel it's fine to mix up the purpose and the means with this kind of thing.

— Daiki Hirakata (@bigplants) February 24, 2019

Looking at Twitter, plenty of people seem to listen while running.

I've tried Audible in lots of other situations too.

In the bath: so-so
-> You can listen, but it's not very relaxing (lol)

While cooking: so-so
-> It's a bit hard to measure amounts. You can still listen.

Eating alone: good
-> It distracts you a little from savoring the food, but it's a good replacement for TV or browsing the web!

While drying my hair: good
-> My hair is long, so drying it takes forever... You can turn that boring time into productive time, but
it's only about 10 minutes, so it's a bit short for listening. Men probably have short hair, so it might not work for them.

While cleaning or doing laundry: great
-> Washing dishes or running the washing machine can be reading time too! They're simple tasks, so it's easy to focus on listening.

While commuting: great
-> Highly recommended if you have a decent stretch of time. Be careful not to miss your stop.

While working out: great
-> It pairs really well with things like running, where you do the same motion for a long time, and your concentration goes up when you're exercising.
It's not suited to machines where you have to count, like sets of 30 reps, because it distracts you (lol)

Before bed: great
-> You can set a timer and fall asleep to a novel, and there seem to be relaxation-type books too.

All in all, I think it's best for simple tasks.

Even though your hands and eyes are free, if you do something complicated your attention goes to it

and nothing sinks in, so just watch out for that (lol)

Books I recommend on Audible

Finally, here are two books I personally recommend.

Takafumi Horie's "Tado-ryoku" (Multi-Tasking Power)

This book gives you energy. It makes you feel you have to act instead of just thinking.

It might be good to listen to on your commute or at the gym.

And the book that is now translated into many languages and a huge bestseller worldwide, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"

It really does bring joy to your life (lol). After I finished it, my home stopped getting messy.

You could even listen while tidying.

Audible has another 400,000 titles of content, so you may have a hard time deciding what to listen to.

But right now there's a 30-day free trial (cancel anytime) and one free book, so if you don't have time to read, give it a try!

See you next time!