Free audiobooks for winter
Photo by Kuma Chan
Audio is a great way to enjoy a book when you are on the go, have tired eyes from too much screen reading, or are just sick of hitting the books for school. (I love them when stuck in traffic or doing dreary tasks like washing and ironing.)
Over the next two months – coinciding with the American summer and our winter – publishers of audiobooks are providing free a number of mp3 downloads. Each week, starting on July 1 (make that July 2 for Aus) you can download audiobooks on mp3 – one young adult title and one classic is offered each week and you get 7 days to download each.
The first thing you need to do is take a look at SYNC for more details. This will lead you to the Audiobook Community. The SYNC group on this site is where the links to the downloads will be posted. You need to be 13 or older to join this community. If you are not quite old enough ask your parents to take a look and join for you, if they agree. The books presented are chosen with the 13+ age group in mind.
IMPORTANT POINT: You will need to download a free software program, Overdrive Media Console. This enables you to download the mp3 files. This program itself is quick and simple to load and leaves a shortcut on the desktop. When you download a book to the media console it is simple to transfer to your device or add it to iTunes if you prefer. There are also versions of the console for handheld devices.
VERY IMPORTANT POINT: Territorial copyright means that not all of the titles will be available to us in Aus. Ten of the eighteen titles will be available and are labelled with AUS below. (Updated on July 1 from list on the SYNC group site.) Australian dates will be roughly a day later than those quoted below – always ahead of the Americans aren’t we 
In fact the files are available at 9am US EST, which is about 11pm Sydney time on the same date, and remain available to download for 7 days.
SYNC Titles & dates (from 9am US-EST; 11pm AUS-EST)
Audiobook downloads available as MP3s
Available July 1 – July 7
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
AUS Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Available July 8 – July 14
AUS Over the End Line by Alfred C. Martino
AUS The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Available July 15 – July 21
AUS Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
AUS Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Available July 22 – July 28
AUS The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
AUS Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Available July 29 – August 4
AUS The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Available August 5 – August 11
AUS Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Available August 12 – August 18
AUS Beastly by Alex Flinn
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Available August 19 – August 25
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
AUS A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Available August 26 – September 1
AUS Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
