Free Harry Potter Audio Books?

After analyzing some traffic statistics, it has come to my attention that a lot of people are looking to find Harry Potter audio books for free. A part of me can understand, after all, they ain't cheap!

But let's be real. These are books (and audio books and movies...) that people wait in line for. That people are willing to pay money for to get their hands on as soon as possible. If you were a business, would you be handing out a product that has that kind of demand for free? I don't think so. I know I sure wouldn't be.

As for the author, yeah I've heard that she is rich - as in richer than the Queen of England - more money than she can ever spend - rich. But you know what, good for her. Anyone who has the dedication to write 7 books totaling over 4,100 pages and has the creativity to make kids and adults absolutely love reading those books, deserves every penny! I don't begrudge her a single cent.

All that aside, that doesn't mean that you have to pay to listen to the audio books. You can get on the waiting list at your local public library or you can borrow a copy from your friend who just had to buy it. Two perfectly legitimate ways to listen to Harry Potter audio books for free. (Notice that I said borrow and not copy if you want to maintain legitimacy!)

Not good enough for you? Your next option is to pay as little as possible for those Harry Potter, or any other bestselling audio books. If you only buy the occasional audio book then your best bet is just to buy at the best price possible. One example is the obvious, Amazon.com, where audio books are routinely 30-40% off the retail price. Another option is signing up for one of the online audio book clubs. If you are an avid listener of bestseller audio books, this is probably your best money-saving option. Whether you want to rent or buy, get cds or download files there is a club that fits the bill.

For your convenience, here are some of the online audio book clubs out there. All are good choices - it's more a matter of finding the one that best fits your needs. Take a moment to determine what you want, such as price, commitment, rent or buy, cds or downloads, etc. before you sign up for anything.

Audible.com

SimplyAudiobooks.com

Jiggerbug.com

Booksfree.com

And for those not in the US/North America:

Audible.co.uk

Audible.de

Free Audio From the Smithsonian

I just found this. And here is a quote from the site about what they offer:

"Voices From the Smithsonian Associates® provides online streaming programs featuring lectures and discussions by world renowned scholars, performers and authors."

To make it a little clearer, you can get free audio in the form of lectures and discussions on the following topics: history, literature, current affairs, performing arts and personal development.

They even have an interview with Carol Burnett titled A Legacy of Laughter. I just love her work, she is so funny!

Happy Listening!

45 More Free Audio Books

ThoughtAudio provides classic literature as free audio for your enjoyment. "Each title selection is part of a well-rounded, intelligent view of classic literature, history and philosophy." And there are some great selections to choose from, 45 titles in fact.

Whether you are looking for fiction or non-fiction, terror or comedy, Eastern or Western philosophy you will find it at ThoughtAudio.

Happy Listening!

Free Career Audio

With the exception of odd jobs here and there, I have been out of the workforce for over 8 years. But I recently learned that my youngest is going to be going to school full time this fall. (They just changed the kindergarten program here.) Staying at home all day with all of the kids in school sounds pretty boring - although there are numerous projects I could finally finish up :)

That means entering the workforce again. A bit intimidating considering the time I have been away. I don't even now what I want to be when I grow up any more! My previous career decision (I have a degree in Landscape Architecture) doesn't really mesh with my idea of family any more, due to long hours. I still want to be home when the kids are.

Anyway, I have a lot of thinking to do. And of course I looked for some free audio on the topic!

Ultimate Career Guide offers a free 7 part audio course says it will show you how to "chop months of your job search, boost your salary by at least 25%, get promoted faster, and never worry again about job security or layoffs" :) The free audio is in exchange for an email address, so a sales pitch will follow, I'm sure. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wild About Work is another free audio course that you can get in exchange for an email. This one is more about finding a "vibrant, fun, meaningful career". Maybe I should start with this one because that sounds good to me. He also has an affordable ebook on the topic here, if you are interested.

Well, I guess that will give me a couple of directions to start out with for my new career search.

Happy Listening!

Audio Books to Celebrate Freedom

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. I have been gone over the weekend on a backpacking trip with my family. It always amazes me what the kids are capable of! We got home in time to go to the community Independence Day celebration, which had the requisite BBQ and fireworks show.

In a previous post I showed where you can get an audio bundle that contained the founding documents of the United States. While LearnOut Loud stated that it would only be available till the 4th, it's still there in their free audio section, under American History. You can also download the separate titles contained in the bundle as individual downloads.

FreeAudio and AmericanRhetoric are two more places to find free audio content on the subject of freedom that I have also mentioned in a previous post.

A new resource of free audio: Assistive Media. They have hundreds of audio articles on a variety of topics that are all free to download. Check out their archives to get a full list by topic, publication or date listed. They also have a search feature there. They are working to provide material to those with a "'reading access barrier" so please consider providing a donation if you use their services.

Happy Listening!

Free Parenting Audio Books

I'm a stay at home mom, and sometimes that's a really hard job. Its not so much the long hours and endless work - that has its own rewards of being with my children and being able to set my own schedule and pace. Its more the lack of recognition and the crappy pay. After all, there is no annual review where someone says "you're doing a great job and we're so glad to have you with us!" and the pay is pretty self explanatory - there is none! Unless you count room and board. Again there are compensations; hugs from the kids, knowing I don't have to call in to anyone when they are sick, etc.

But its also hard because sometimes you just don't know what you are doing! Mine didn't come with instruction manuals. And it's not something I've ever done before. I've never raised a ten year old, but I'm soon going to be!

So what's a mom (or dad) to do? Besides going on blind instinct? Get advice from someone who's done it before and apply it to your situation as best you can. After all, you know your child(ren) better than anyone else. And it doesn't have to be an "expert" it can be your mom, or other friends and family.

Here are a few audio resources:

"Surviving the Teenage Years" by Mickey Michaels. Acoording to the site this won't be free forever, so get it while you can! There are also some parenting articles if you are interested in reading them.

The "Love and Logic" folks have some free audio including "Funny Parenting Stories", "Funny Classroom Stories" and some of their radio shows.

Get some free audio parenting tips from radio interviews with Kelly Nault here. They are located at the bottom of the page.

You can get a free audio chapter of the book Scream Free Parenting here.

And let's not forget some of the resources mentioned in previous posts. LearnOutLoud has 7 free audio titles in their free section under parenting. And Podiobooks has Lessons from the Geek Fu Master listed when searching for "parenting".

There you have it, a few free audio resources for parents who occasionally feel like tearing their hair out :)

Happy Listening!

Audio Books for Independence Day

July 4th is just around the corner. And if you are driving for any length of time I highly recommend heading over to Learn Out Loud and downloading their free Founding Documents of the United States of America. That way on your way to campgrounds, picnics, family reunions, firework shows and all of the other wonderful activites of the 4th, you can listen to some of the history of that independence we are celebrating.


The documents contained in this set include: Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" Speech, The United States Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, The Virginia Plan, The Constitution of the United States, Federalist Paper No. 51, United States Bill of Rights, Subsequent U.S. Constitutional Ammendments, and First Inaugural Address of President George Washington.

This free download is only available through the 4th of July, so don't wait to get your copy!

Happy Listening!