50,000 unlimited audiobooks
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Still Handy, but Disappointing
Mar 25, 2019 I’ve used Librivox for a number of years, through undergrad and grad school, and have found it tremendously helpful as an English major. The voices help liven up the texts and make difficult works much easier to follow. More recently, however, I’ve been disappointed by the addition of advertisements at the end of chapters and such. While they could be much more intrusive, it’s still a disruption to the experience and overall nuisance. Luckily, you can work around them by tapping on the next chapter, but having to do so feels unnecessary. I wish they would have just stuck to having a small visual ad at the bottom of the page. A small matter, which most people probably don’t care about, but enough to make me go to other audio reading providers sometimes. That said, Librivox is still my go-to reader, and it is very helpful overall.more -
Unbelievably awesome
Jan 5, 2018 I have used LibriVox for the past three years and am always consistently blown away by the skill of some of these amateur readers. I also have Audible, and with both combined I feel like there is always something interesting and new to experience. LibriVox's best feature is the wide, free use of public domain writings. The search for good readers is rewarding, albeit different than Audible. The difference is that with LibriVox it doesn't cost me a cent. Excellent. The mobile app is very straightforward, and in a way offers even more options than my subscription, in particular the playback speeds.more -
Great app but new reading speed controls bad
Mar 28, 2020 LibriVox used to be the perfect app for free audiobooks, and as a English graduate student, I still use it daily for reading. However, I’m greatly disappointed by the new app update, specifically the changes to the speed settings. You used to be able to change the speed and see how fast you were setting it, but now it’s just a sliding scale with no numbers. The old version also allowed you to go much faster than x2 speed, which honestly is necessary with some of the slower readers (I think the old version went to x2.5 or x3 speed). If they could improve the speed controls I’m sure I’m not the only one who would greatly appreciate it!more -
5-Star content, one annoying problem
May 30, 2018 This review is for the app (LibriVox is one of the best things on the modern internet). Playback and downloading works well. Search algorithm finds what you want most of the time (though having separate entries for different readings of the same book makes things more complicated than they need to be). The only serious problem is ads. Not that they exist. They’re infrequent and generally tasteful. It’s the VOLUME. The ads don’t seem to be scaled to the same volume as the books. Rather, whenever an ad plays there’s a large spike in volume and I’m inevitably startled if I’m wearing headphones. It’s particularly troublesome if you’re listening to a book to help you sleep.more -
Don’t bother paying to remove ads...
Jun 24, 2019 These public domain books are read by readers with vastly varying skills. Most of what I’ve heard is pretty amateurish, but there are some very good contributions. The jewel in crown, of course, is that the service makes so many great books available to audio readers. You just have to do a bit of searching to find a combination of good book/good reader. The app is moderately intuitive and a bit glitchy. Most disconcerting of all, though, is that payment to remove ads does...nothing. The ads are annoying, at best, and there seems no way to really communicate effectively with the apps designer. Ultimately, though, I’m an avid listener of books, and this gives me another tool in my audio book tool box.more
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- You'll have access to 24,000+ audiobooks in the palm of your hand that can be streamed or downloaded for later use
- An audiobook that is easy to use with stop playback, sleep timer, unlimited bookmarks, and it even remembers the last page you read
- Improve your listening skills at the correct volume with a built-in volume normalization setting
Reviewed by Chris on February 13, 2018
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Unbelievably awesome
Jan 5, 2018 I have used LibriVox for the past three years and am always consistently blown away by the skill of some of these amateur readers. I also have Audible, and with both combined I feel like there is always something interesting and new to experience. LibriVox's best feature is the wide, free use of public domain writings. The search for good readers is rewarding, albeit different than Audible. The difference is that with LibriVox it doesn't cost me a cent. Excellent. The mobile app is very straightforward, and in a way offers even more options than my subscription, in particular the playback speeds.more -
Great collection with awesome readings
Jul 17, 2017 I really love how this app has grown since I first started using it. I have a love for Germanic folklore especially core mythology books like the Eddas and the Sagas. When I first started using this app they had literally two audio books on Norse and Germanic myth. One was awesome, the other...not so much. But now there are quite a few more including readings of both Eddas as well as a few sagas and some are in more than one language. The readings are well done and easy to understand. I am super impressed with the progress of this project so far and I look forward to seeing how it continues to grow.more -
Great listening option
May 3, 2020 If you want to listen to great literature from the past and don’t have the time to read, this is a wonderful application. You can pull up documents of historical and religious significance. You can listen while they are read to you and you were able to do another activity while you’re listening. I have especially enjoyed listening to William Bradford‘s record of Plymouth colony. I highly recommend it. You have no idea of the myriad obstacles the Pilgrims overcame until you’ve listened to it.more -
Totally enjoying this app.
Jan 8, 2019 I am truly enjoying this app. For the past week I’ve been downloading books and listening to them when I go to bed. I honestly believe I am sleeping better since I started this. Perhaps it’s because our mother used to read to us before we went to sleep at night. As a child it made me feel safe and content. Whatever it is I am thankful that my sister told me about her experience with audiobooks which peeked my curiosity enough that I went looking for apps and found this one. Thank you.more -
Commercials
Aug 10, 2018 I absolutely love this app! I have arthritis, very bad, in my phone, so I need to use audiobooks. I do, however, have one huge complaint! I set a timer, so that I can slip off, to sleep, each night. I understand the need to advertise, and have seen many, included with the pictures of books. I don’t mind that at all! But now I find, that as I drop off to sleep, a VERY loud and intrusive, pop up, and wake me. So instead of using this app every night, I must use a library audiobook. Very disappointing!more
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Still Handy, but Disappointing
Mar 25, 2019 I’ve used Librivox for a number of years, through undergrad and grad school, and have found it tremendously helpful as an English major. The voices help liven up the texts and make difficult works much easier to follow. More recently, however, I’ve been disappointed by the addition of advertisements at the end of chapters and such. While they could be much more intrusive, it’s still a disruption to the experience and overall nuisance. Luckily, you can work around them by tapping on the next chapter, but having to do so feels unnecessary. I wish they would have just stuck to having a small visual ad at the bottom of the page. A small matter, which most people probably don’t care about, but enough to make me go to other audio reading providers sometimes. That said, Librivox is still my go-to reader, and it is very helpful overall.more -
Great app but new reading speed controls bad
Mar 28, 2020 LibriVox used to be the perfect app for free audiobooks, and as a English graduate student, I still use it daily for reading. However, I’m greatly disappointed by the new app update, specifically the changes to the speed settings. You used to be able to change the speed and see how fast you were setting it, but now it’s just a sliding scale with no numbers. The old version also allowed you to go much faster than x2 speed, which honestly is necessary with some of the slower readers (I think the old version went to x2.5 or x3 speed). If they could improve the speed controls I’m sure I’m not the only one who would greatly appreciate it!more -
5-Star content, one annoying problem
May 30, 2018 This review is for the app (LibriVox is one of the best things on the modern internet). Playback and downloading works well. Search algorithm finds what you want most of the time (though having separate entries for different readings of the same book makes things more complicated than they need to be). The only serious problem is ads. Not that they exist. They’re infrequent and generally tasteful. It’s the VOLUME. The ads don’t seem to be scaled to the same volume as the books. Rather, whenever an ad plays there’s a large spike in volume and I’m inevitably startled if I’m wearing headphones. It’s particularly troublesome if you’re listening to a book to help you sleep.more -
Fantastic app
Feb 17, 2017 I love this app and all the volunteers who make it so valuable. There are so many great books on here and many of the volunteer readers do a fantastic job even doing different voices for each of the books characters. Because I work for at least 10 hours a day mostly driving heavy equipment I have lots of time to listen to something but precious little time to read even though I love books. This app has made it possible for me to enjoy literature without sacrificing family time and other after work activities.more
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Don’t bother paying to remove ads...
Jun 24, 2019 These public domain books are read by readers with vastly varying skills. Most of what I’ve heard is pretty amateurish, but there are some very good contributions. The jewel in crown, of course, is that the service makes so many great books available to audio readers. You just have to do a bit of searching to find a combination of good book/good reader. The app is moderately intuitive and a bit glitchy. Most disconcerting of all, though, is that payment to remove ads does...nothing. The ads are annoying, at best, and there seems no way to really communicate effectively with the apps designer. Ultimately, though, I’m an avid listener of books, and this gives me another tool in my audio book tool box.more -
Please help!
Sep 9, 2018 Firstly, I LOVE this app! Thank you for making it possible for me to revisit old classic books and find new ones through your app. Lately, though, it’s been such a chore to open the app and continue with a book. If I don’t happen to finish a chapter before closing the app, it will take me back to the beginning of the chapter when I’m ready to start listening again. It’s very difficult sometimes to fast forward and find my place! This is a relatively new problem (over the last month, I’d say). Is there anyway to fix this? Is there a setting I inadvertently turned on? Thank you for a timely answer! I WILL change my rating to 5 stars when this is fixed!!more
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No reviews available
What’s Groovy
Large library. Most of the recordings sound fine to me, and the organization of the app is impressive for a free download. Really, the only detraction for me is the ads, but they have to make money somehow.. That being said, they are relatively minimal and once you get your book going, its not bad at all. I am a person that will instantly uninstall if the ads are overwhelming and give a 1 star, so that should tell you my thought on the matter. Ill put a book on at work and maybe hear 1-2 ads per 8 hour shift. Will definitely be paying for the premium version, but not because I feel like I need to to enjoy the app. More because Libravox is a breath of fresh air, and I want to support.
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What’s Subpar
No subpar reviews to show. Everything is groovy!
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