One of the main reasons that people with ADHD struggle with reading is not due to a lack of effort, but instead a lack of an ability to keep a sustained amount of attention. Whether you choose to audiobooks alongside a written copy of a book through Immersive Reading, or whether you prefer to just listen to them as a stand-alone, audiobooks are a vital tool within an ADHD reader’s arsenal.
However, in the current market, we face one vital issue – audiobooks are expensive. Sure, there are many audiobook subscription services out there, but most hit a price point of £8 a month and only offer 1 audiobook credit before you must start paying full price. So, for those who want to read more than 1 book a month, what are some more cost-effective solutions?
LibriVox
LibriVox is a completely free service that provides audiobooks for books that are already within the public domain. So, while you won’t find the newest titles on there, if you are interested in reading the classics (or if your children have been assigned them for school reading) this is a great option. Their audiobooks are completely free for anyone to listen to and can even be downloaded onto a variety of devices. You can even download them onto a CD, if you so wish!
Through your local library
Many people do not know this, but you can access audiobooks through your public library! Almost all libraries in the UK offer some sort of eBook/Audiobook service that can be accessed through their library card, using services such as Libby and BorrowBox. While these are great services, the catalogues do depend on your local library and can often have long waiting lists for audiobooks. However, it is still an amazing free resource to check out!
Listening Books
While some libraries do not offer access to Libby, this does not mean you’re out of luck. Listening Books is a wonderful charity that gives disabled readers access to a collection of over 11,000 audiobooks, including titles for both children and adults alike. I have found that, in comparison to my local library, listening books has had a much wider collection, with much smaller waiting lists!
Membership fees are currently around £25 per year, which is already much cheaper than a lot of the audiobook subscriptions out there. However, if you cannot afford the membership fee, do not worry. Listening Books also offers free memberships through their Sponsored Membership Scheme, for those living with disabilities who cannot afford the costs of a membership.
Calibre Audio
Like Listening Books, Calibre Audio is also an audiobook charity that offers audiobook services for disabled individuals at a heavily discounted membership fee. Calibre Audio hosts a catalogue of over 23,000 audiobooks. These can be accessed through their website, on phones and tablets through the Libby app, or even downloaded to a USB stick and sent to your door!
Membership fees are currently £3 per month or £30 for the year, so slightly more expensive than Listening Books. However, the catalogue hosts almost double the selection of audiobooks, with a lot of these titles not having waiting lists at all!
For parents looking for services for their children, Calibre Audio currently offer their services to Under 18s in the UK for free.
Spotify
For those with a Spotify subscription, you may not already know this, but audiobooks are also included in your library! There is a wide variety of books within their collection, with some even including audiobooks that have been published that same day! You are given 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, so while this most likely will not cover you for all your audiobook listening, it’s a nice little tool to have. I mainly use Spotify for books that have not yet hit the shelves on Listening Books or Calibre Audio, especially when I have a book that I have been waiting to be released!
