Audio Tech

  I sold my Mercedes that I loved so much because it didn't   
have Bluetooth, I needed to connect my phone so that I can listen to my books.
Part 2:
Now as soon as I start the car, the audiobook starts where I left off previously. I have not listened to the radio in the car for over 3 years.
I have used various technologies to listen to audiobooks.
if you like listening to audio books the first thing you will discover is that they are very expensive, sometimes they cost 4 times more than a paperback, actually you can get the paperback for free from most places: public spaces, hotels, cafes, restaurants, holiday places, even school staff rooms.
but you can never find an audiobook for free not even from our friends.
I think there is good case for inequality, as this put the visually impaired at a disadvantage, they will have to pay more than anyone else.


There are ways in which you can improve the situation:
Local libraries: these can be good depending on what you want to read. If like me I exhausted the lists of books available in the whole of Essex of certain writers, when these particular writers published new books, I tried to order them through the county library, following the procedure in place but waited for over 6 months and gave up at the end. Actually as soon as you ut the order, your request goes on a list and stays there forever, there is no one in charge of monitoring these requests.
Anyway, books on CD from libraries is good but very limited.


Overdrive: this is an excellent app that allows you to connect to your county library and download MP3 books directly to your device, compatible with all devices.
all you need is a username and a password from your local library. when you download an MP3 book, you have three weeks to read it after which the book automatically deleted from your list. so no need to remember to take back or upload. very user friendly and intuitive.


Some librarians are not aware of this themselves so do not expect them to give you help or support on what to do. I phoned 3 libraries in Kent, all of then referred me to the central place where there was one expert who gave me the right information, in Essex, some librarians did not know about MP3 let alone Overdrive. but things are changing slowly.


Online audio companies: few of them are owned by Amazon, if you have money then you can pay a monthly fee for a fixed number of books. but different companies do different deals, there is also Waterstones in the mix.


Here is a list of some books from the local library:

Title	Author
A short history of Western thought /	Trombley, Stephen.
Absolution /	Ramsay, Caro.
Aftermath /	Turnbull, Peter,1950-
Almost dead /	Jackson, Lisa.
Crossfire /	McNab, Andy.
Echo burning /	Lee Child
Field grey /	Kerr, Philip.
Four blind mice	Patterson, James,1947
Identity /	Ford, G. M. (Gerald M.)
Jean-Paul Sartre :	Compton, John (John J.)
Kill the messenger.	Hoag, Tami.
Lifeless /	Billingham, Mark.
Life of Pi.	Yann Martel
Limitations /	Turow, Scott.
Omerta /	Puzo, Mario.
Postcard killers /	Patterson, James,1947-
Rush of blood /	Billingham, Mark.
Slipknot /	Masters, Priscilla.
The angel's game /	Ruiz Zafón, Carlos,1964-
The assassin /	Cain, Tom.
The family :	Puzo, Mario,1920-
The House of Silk /	Horowitz, Anthony,1955-
The hunger games /	Suzanne Collins
The prince of mist /	Ruiz Zafón, Carlos,1964-
The player of games /	Banks, Iain,1954-2013.
The righteous men /	Bourne, Sam.
The shadow girls /	Mankell, Henning,1948-