Grumble grumble...Overdrive and audiobooks

[aurora]

I am new to audiobooks, but I was searching my library's e-book/audiobook collection and found one of the books on my TBR list available as an audiobook so I thought I'd check it out. I downloaded Overdrive to my laptop and got the app on my phone, then checked out the book, and only after I got an error message 3 times running did I do my internet research to learn that you can't listen to .wma format audiobooks on an Android platform. I know that there are programs out there to convert to .mp3, but I was so annoyed at Overdrive that I promptly uninstalled it from laptop and phone and then came here to complain about it. (I realize this may be an overreaction!)

So, what I'm now curious about is how people listen to their audiobooks in general. Via computer, iPhone/iPod, Android in native .mp3 format, Android after converting from .wma, something else I'm not aware of? I do think I'd enjoy listening but not generally in places where I'd have my laptop, so it has to be on my phone.

[aurora]

Oh, and just to add to my annoyance: Overdrive says I can't return audiobooks early, so unfortunately this one is checked out for a week even though I'm not listening to it. I feel bad that someone else won't be able to in that time.

[apelila]

I don't particularly care for audio format, but it seems really dumb that you can't turn it in early!
I'm sorry you had so much trouble with the program/app though, I'll admit I laughed at the progression of excited installation to pissed off/prompt uninstall and coming here to complain.

[hopecounts]

Can you not use the overdrive app/program to listen with android? That's what I do on my iPod and computer.

[PinkSquirrel]

Overdrive annoys the crap out of me. I can't stand it because it makes things overly difficult.

[Bumblebee]

That's strange. I use Overdrive for audiobooks on my iPad, and I can return audiobooks early.

[2curlydogs]

I use my iPad. The only thing that annoys me is I can't download direct TO my iPad from my library's website, even though I have the Overdrive app on it. I'm thinking this is more to do with my library system than Overdrive, though....

[aurora]

Thanks for all the replies! I do even laugh at my own progression of excitement to annoyance. A bunch of Googling indicates that the .wma format with Overdrive works on i-devices (iPad/iPod/iPhone) but not Android. Overdrive also supports .mp3, which works on Android, so there are supposedly audiobooks out there in that format but very few and none of the ones on my TBR format.

I went with Android originally because iPhone wasn't offered on Verizon and I needed their network, and to be honest this is the first time I've wished I had an iPhone. Maybe when I'm up for renewal.

[amyb2332]

It took me absolutely ever to figure this out as well. I kept thinking, "My library says I can download this to my Overdrive app on my phone, wtf isn't this working." And yeah, just because it is a druid. My library also doesn't have a lot of MP3s. Lame!

However, I still listen to audiobooks via my ipod. And maybe this is just my trying to look on the bright side but I figure that listening on my phone may not be so great after all given that my phone dies really quickly and audiobooks would likely suck the battery more. Plus, I think my ipod is way nicer to run with!

[duckduck]

I listen to audiobooks with my Zune, which handles .wma just fine. For a week or so when I was between Zunes (long story), I had to listen on my iPad. It took forever for iTunes to convert the book to whatever the iPad could play. It's all but instantaneous when I sync a downloaded audiobook to my Zune.

[mrsbro]

Jun 20, 2012 6:12:09 GMT -5 Bumblebee said:

That's strange. I use Overdrive for audiobooks on my iPad, and I can return audiobooks early.

It's an option that each Library turns on, along with different checkout periods <-- Dorky Librarian

[aurora]

mrsbro - returning early is an option that each library can turn on? Or use of Overdrive for i-devices vs. Android devices? Hmmm, maybe I should contact my library with feedback if there are options out there.

[mrsbro]

Jun 21, 2012 13:56:26 GMT -5 aurora said:

mrsbro - returning early is an option that each library can turn on? Or use of Overdrive for i-devices vs. Android devices? Hmmm, maybe I should contact my library with feedback if there are options out there.

I work for a consortium and we turned it on for our 30 locations along with turning the option on to return materials early. Definitely have your Library look into it, there are some publishing restrictions on returning early but it is possible.

[aurora]

Thanks for the tip! I suppose the mature thing to do is to give feedback to my library instead of solely grumbling anonymously on the internet.

[mrsbro]

Jun 24, 2012 22:55:15 GMT -5 aurora said:

Thanks for the tip! I suppose the mature thing to do is to give feedback to my library instead of solely grumbling anonymously on the internet.

Hahaha..I go to my boss with lots of grumbles I find on the internet but we don't live near each other so you definitely should ask!