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This Book Depot is LIT (Cheapest Audiobooks & Ebooks)

This Book Depot is LIT (Cheapest Audiobooks & Ebooks)

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Scribd: Cheapest audiobooks and ebooks

I’ve got news and it is the best news ever. Yes, it is bookish news. And… Okay, stalling never did anybody any good. How does unlimited audiobooks + e-books + magazines at an affordable price sound like? That’s Scribd for you. I have been enjoying their collection of books for a while now and I think you might too.

 

Earlier this year, Scribd announced an unlimited book plan which gives its users access to thousands and thousands of books. In fact, Forbes called Scribd as the ‘Netflix for books’ after this new decision. I heard the words ‘books’ and ‘unlimited’ and jumped on the bandwagon. Reporting back, it has been a pretty good ride so far.

 

Getting personal, the Indian way

I live in India. And Indians love to read. According to the NOP World Culture Score Index, India bags the first place in terms of reading habits around the world. Statistics show an average reading time of more than 10 hours per week per person in India ( source1, source2). But readers in the Indian subcontinent have their share of disadvantages.

  • Severe lack of accessible, affordable and well equipped public libraries
  • The subcontinent paperbacks may not be released for all books and often may be released after a long period of time, say more than a year.
  • Sometimes the Kindle copies are as expensive as the physical books in case of some imprints.
  • The foreign editions (which are often prettier) often come under the category of Import editions. So more expensive.
  • Audiobooks are almost a no-no. There is no India specific Audible branch; so the international rate of $15 (Rs.1029) for a single book is quite on the steeper side.
  • Not sure how big of a disadvantage this is – but Netgalley has been limiting its review copies to International bloggers

 

Audiobooks are expensive for Indian #bookworms. Here is a great deal for an unlimited supply of audiobooks & ebooks that your wallet will thank you for Click To Tweet

 

What you get

As much as I wanted to be swayed away by the nice and clean look and books on display in the Scribd app, I knew the best way to go about it was to see if I could get the ones that I’ve been craving for. I checked my wish list of books and did a quick search for four books that were on high priority. And guess what? I found them ALL!

 

1.Florida by Lauren Groff

2.Kintu byJennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

3.Frankenstein in Baghdad byAhmed Saadawi

4.All the names they use for God by Anjali Sachdeva

 

Deconstructing the money bits

Let’s talk money. It is nearly impossible to put together a calculation that accommodates all readers world wide. So I came up with a rough comparison using the 4 books from my wish list that I had searched for. Since a majority of readers prefer Book Depository to place their orders, I’ve chosen Amazon India and Book Depository as the choices for physical books. I’ve also included the prices of Kindle versions of books for comparison.

Cheapest audiobooks and ebooks

 

Now, the final round up. There are Indian readers who use Audible and international book sites similar to Book Depository and readers in other countries who use Kindle (India) copies. So here is a table comparing all the rates. Again, this is by no means a comprehensive comparison (approximating Audible books to cost $15 each). But it will help you get a rough estimate.

Cheapest audiobooks and ebooks

 

Note : All prices are rounded off to the nearest decimal. Prices of online retail sites and conversion rates hold true today but may vary in future.

 

If you are convinced already about giving it a try, read no further. You can sign up for a free trial using my Invite Link and this comes at no extra cost to you. And you can cancel any time you like if you think Scribd doesn’t suit you. Scribd also has an annual plan if you choose to pay for a whole year upfront. This comes even cheaper and adds to approx. $7 per month (Rs. 480/month) for the same benefits.

 

Perks

Quick outline of some of the perks about the app:

  • It works on both iPhone and Android
  • a membership perks for students (sadly, US only).
  • There are also a variety of magazines such as Time’s magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, New York Magazine, Apple magazine, Lonely Planet magazine, The Atlantic and more.
  • You can use Scribd in more than one device (3 browsers or 4 devices (source faq))
  • Titles can be downloaded if the publisher permits it; but you can open it only within the app. The book file will not be shared with you.
  • You can save books for later and make your own reading list categories; just like a digital library.
  • Authors are paid when you access their books (source- faq)

 

Scribd: Cheapest audiobooks and ebooks

Unlimited with an asterisk?

The terms and conditions say Scribd provides an unlimited supply of books to the user. However, they can restrict your access if they suspect abnormal activity. Frankly speaking, I don’t think anyone would reach that level unless you are trying your way around the system, as the Scribd editors point out here. Personally, I have faced no problems in my choice of books or reading habits.

 

All you ever wanted to know about Scribd - the good, the bad and the math. Also, shining, spanking and cheapest hoard of audiobooks & ebooks Click To Tweet

 

Scribd is definitely handy for the modern reader. I’ve been loving listening to audiobooks while travelling, while doing chores and in place of my night time reading since I am too tired to actually read a book these days. The app cannot be used on Kindle (except Kindle Fire) or other e-reader gadgets. So I span out my e-books on Scribd for a long period of time so as not to strain my eyes. Also, I wish there were audio versions of all the books in the catalogue, some books are limited to the e-books. As I browsed the shelves more, I realized they don’t have every new release out there; but they certainly have the books making waves that might be a bit pricey to acquire as soon as they are released. So this service is definitely a win for me as of now.

 

I love it.

 

Now the best part – You can try out Scribd free to help you decide whether you want to continue with their service or not. You can make a wise decision based on your personal reading habits, which vary greatly from person to person.

 

If you found this post useful, it would be very kind of you to use my Invite Link to sign up for a free trial. This comes at no extra cost to you. Happy reading. x

 

Unlimited audiobooks & ebooks to satisfy your book loving soul and grow that monstrous TBR. Here's all you need to know about this bookish plan Click To Tweet

 

Let me know if you love the app, hate it or anything at all.

View Comments (14)
  • This is such a well-written piece, Resh! I don’t live in India, but man am I convinced anyway! Loving this.

    • This isn’t for India. Oops, did I make the wrong impression? Scribd is available for all countries. x

  • Definitely seems like a worthy app. One question: what if we use Kindle Unlimited subscription? How much price difference is there?

    Well I would definitely try this app. But sadly, I don’t have any tablet and reading in phone, well no But it is a good option for Audiobooks. Thank for sharing!

    • I don’t have a Kindle Unlimited subscription so I am not sure; but you can compare the rates. And then decide between the two. Yes, this is good for audiobooks – this also depends on what kind of audiobooks you prefer and whether they are available here. Hope you reach a good decision x

  • This is the first I’ve heard of Scribd– I’m so glad a service like this exists! I feel blessed to live in an area in the United States where I have incredible library access. What I like about Scribd, as you’ve described above, is that it has ebooks and audiobooks. I love the *idea* behind Audible and Kindle Unlimited (if that’s youy platform, that is), but I don’t like paying separately for two services when my library provides both!

    Do you have a library system you also use?

    • I used to part of a private library years ago. I no longer am. I gave up when I couldn’t manage reading the books I already own.

  • What a brilliant idea! I’ve vaguely heard of Scribd before but I thought it was more so a fanfiction website and not for published authors. Books are typically pretty expensive if you live outside of the US or UK I’ve noticed. In Australia, a paperback will set you back around $20 – $22.00 AU for a new release, an eBook around $10.00 and to find a hardcover is a rarity in most stores, I think because paperback novels are so expensive that they don’t bother producing hardcovers, or they would retail at $40.00 and upwards. It’s a shame the eBooks can’t be sent directly to Kindle though, reading on the PC or a tablet causes eye strain for me but it’s well worth the membership for the audiobook aspects. Will definitely be checking it out. Thank you so much for sharing sweetheart, such an amazing deal! ♡♡♡

    • Yep! I’ve heard so much about how expensive books are in Australia. Yes, not being able to send ebooks to Kindle is such a pain. Kindle really helps in reading with no strain to the eyes. I hope they give an option in one of the updates. As for me right now, being in India, audiobooks are a steal real through Scribd

  • Nooo don’t tempt me. I’m currently with audible, but I only sign up when there’s like a sale or something?! Because the full price is insanely expensive (and everything gets inflated in Australia ) but I kind of want to check out Scribd further. I wonder if they keep up with all the new YA releases?! *goes off to investigate while TBR screams at me*

    • Haha.. hope you found some good ones Cait.. With your reading speed I think you’d exhaust the Scribd library soon enough

  • Love how you’re bringing this one to our attention. You’d make a wonderful seller. 😛 The money comparison was definitely insightful. It’s definitely good to know, even if I don’t read ebooks or do audiobooks. At least for now. 😀 Thanks again for sharing this!

    • I am glad you found it helpful. It is super useful to me since there aren’t many public libraries with new releases around here. I used to do classics with audiobooks. I am enjoying trying out newer books on audio.

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