scribd vs Kindle Unlimited

[ruggie]

I remember Kay asking a while back whether I would continue with scribd now that they are plugging audio books. I tried one of their audio books the other day, and didn't like it at all - the (American) reader's over-dramatised style jarred with the way I'd have heard things if I were reading the book myself. I like radio drama, and I used to like listening to BBC book readings, so it's not just a case of preferring reading to listening. Also, a lot of the scribd stuff isn't audio versions of books but just discussions, with excerpts from the books.

Are you a Kindle Unlimited subscriber? If so, what is your impression of it? I'm thinking of changing.

[Kay]

I still have subscriptions to both Kindle Unlimited (KU)and Scribd.

I used to love Scribd when it allowed you to borrow an unlimited number of books. It's not so good now they've changed their business model. Now you can only get three books per month plus audio books, which I rarely bother with. Even so, I'm keeping my subscription because I believe it still costs less that I'd otherwise spend on buying books elsewhere.

As for the audio books, I'm also not keen on the ones with American narrators. There are some good British ones available, though. I enjoyed listening to Jeeves and Wooster, plus I also enjoyed Nigel Slater's Eating for England - even though I'm not a fan of his, because he's a bit pompous sometimes, and I'd read the book before anyway. Still, it was a distraction while I was doing the ironing.

I can never made up my mind about KU. There's an awful lot of rubbish on it, especially on the non-fiction (make money) side of things. But they do let you have an unlimited number of books (although only ten at a time) so I'm still finding it worthwhile. It's an opportunity to try new authors or dip into a subject before committing to buy books to learn more.

All in all, whilst neither are perfect, I've no plans to cancel my subs in the immediate future.