The audiobook isn't just a solution for a specific need—it also lets us explore stories from a different angle and at a different pace. For some, audiobooks feel like a “new radio,” with background voices keeping you company throughout the day. If you're reading this, you're probably interested in getting free audiobooks, so today we're recommending four sites where you can explore and download to your heart's content.
The Appeal of Audiobooks
We all know the “rituals” that surround physical books: the feel of paper, turning pages, the thrill of skipping ahead, the smell of old books, browsing secondhand shops—for many, these are irreplaceable. Technology is often accused of offering a “colder” or “stiffer” experience through e-book downloads, but the audiobook has the potential to combine the best of both worlds: a sense of closeness and companionship with a traditional profile, all in the comfort of a digital audio format. So how do we get free audiobooks? By visiting the sites below.
Four Sites for Free Audiobooks
LibriVox
LibriVox's goal is the “acoustic liberation of public domain books,” so you'll find a large number of classic works that no longer carry legal restrictions in the United States. The Spanish section of LibriVox has a fairly interesting selection, but don't forget that audiobooks are also an excellent opportunity to practice other languages…
(Editor's note: If the download buttons don't work, right-click on them and choose the “Save Link As...” option. Chrome may also try to block the download, but we haven't had any issues with the content.)
Loyal Books
Loyal Books offers 80 audiobooks in Spanish, and some of its links are based on LibriVox content, but it still deserves your attention. On the left side of its interface, you'll find links to dozens of genres, or you can save time by clicking the Top 100 to download the most popular titles among listeners.
Lit2Go
Lit2Go puts so much detail into each book in its catalog that it can be considered educational material. The “limitation” is that it focuses only on classic novels in English, and each chapter must be downloaded separately, which can be inconvenient, but it also helps save data if you're on a strict plan.
(Editor's note: Use “Save Link As...” again if you notice the browser opens the MP3 for streaming instead of downloading it.)
Archive.org
Archive.org serves as hosting for most sites dedicated to sharing free audiobooks. So why not end our exploration there? Needless to say, its interface isn't the best in the world, there's a lot of junk and incomplete material among its results, and some descriptions are plainly wrong, but those difficulties haven't stopped us before, and they won't stop us now. Just type “audiobooks” as metadata and let the site do the rest.
Final Thoughts
If you were looking for free audiobooks, I think these four sites will keep you busy. Of course, each download brings its own factors into play, from audio quality to how good the narrator is, but there are thousands of books waiting out there, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of them. Do you have another site to recommend? Leave a comment!
