Where’s my Wednesday crew at?!
Welcome back, everyone! I am tired. Anyone else? I swear, February brings the weirdest vibes.
I record a podcast episode with Sarah on Monday. Recording with her is always so much fun. I believe that one is going up this Friday. I’m reading a book I’m actually enjoying (what?!) and I mention it in the episode.
Yesterday, I spent my afternoon looking at YouTube videos at how to mend a hole in a bed sheet. Because, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I had a terrible hole in my bed sheet. I’m honestly so annoyed I can’t just buy this same fitted sheet from Target without needing to buy a full bedroom set.
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This was an eyeopening thread about Audible and audiobooks.
Hello Audible subscribers and audiobook listeners out there!
Audiobooks [AB] are a really handy way to absorb a book without sitting down to read. I, for one, would be lost without them.
But… there is an unfortunate truth about Audible which is virtually unknown.
THREAD
— Dr Zack Twamley (@wdfpodcast) February 13, 2022
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Tor has three highly recommended books/novellas that are free until the 18th! The assortment includes Witchmark by C.L. Polk, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and All Systems Red by Martha Wells. All three have been favorably discussed on the site.
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Look at these!! I’m obsessed. The detail is so good that at first, I thought they some how printed out the covers and like shrink wrapped them on the rocks. But nope! All done by hand.
https://twitter.com/TamaraAmsdt/status/1492400190036525058
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In more “Dolly Parton is just the greatest” news, she’s offering employees at Dollywood free tuition. From what I’ve read, this opportunity is open to all employees (full time, part time, and seasonal), and they’re eligible to apply from day one.
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This dad mic’d up their daughter during a snowboarding session and it’s just the cutest.
@chasing.sage We mic’d up our 4 year old while snowboarding.🥰 #fatherdaughter #dadlife #snowboarding #micdup #cuteness #wholesome #familytime #raddad #fatherhood ♬ original sound – chasing.sage
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
When I say eat the rich, I really mean eat Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk first. This Audible story is infuriating! In less infuriating news, I saw The Hating Game (movie) based on Sally Thorne’s novel which I really like. The movie was… surprisingly good? Great chemistry, leads exactly as I picture them, and some of the H’s toxic traits in the original have been wisely erased. Without giving too much away i enjoyed the first half a lot more, the second half messes with one of the original story’s conflict a bit to its detriment but I recommend for a fluffy good time! You can stream it online on most platforms.
I am tired too, sooo freaking tired. Music sort of brings me to life, or to some level of functioning.
The Pomplamoose rabbit hole led to Kevin Olusola from Pentatonix. (He shows up on their mashup of Every breath you take / 500 Miles.) He can really sing! and beatbox, and play cello, and is easy on the eyes. https://www.kevinolusola.com/
Eurovision 2022 is ramping up with various countries selecting their songs. Albania really understood the assignment, delightfully weird with folk beats and warrior princess vibes. https://youtu.be/FuLIDqZ3waQ (the fun part starts about 55 seconds in)
Also, the American version is finally coming, creatively titled American Song Contest and hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. https://eurovision.tv/stories
Guess my comment ended up in moderation limbo because of length or too many links… trying one more time without the links.
The Pomplamoose rabbit hole led to Kevin Olusola from Pentatonix. (He shows up on their mashup of Every breath you take / 500 Miles.) He can really sing! and beatbox, and play cello, and is easy on the eyes.
Eurovision 2022 is ramping up with various countries selecting their songs. Albania really understood the assignment, delightfully weird with folk beats and warrior princess vibes.
Also, the American version is finally coming, creatively titled American Song Contest and hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg.
#Audiblegate is a nightmare for creators, one I hadn’t even contemplated. I read the entire thread, hoping someone had a solution for Audible members (not so far). The one service that makes listening, buying and storing audio material so easy is the one that is cheating the people who supply that material. Definitely retweet the thread and add the #. Bad publicity seems to be the only recourse (lawsuits are pending).
In better news, I would absolutely re-think a TikTok account just to see more of the “stuck-asaurus”. Watching little-little kids skiing and snowboarding is witnessing pure joy. Years ago on a run, I heard a man’s voice calling with increasing concern, “Slow down. Slow down. SLOW DOWN.” And a giggling four-year-old skier came flying down the hill, absolutely in control and having the ride of her life. I wanted to be her right then.
And the book cover rocks? Amazing. Hopefully the artist will start selling them one day and take requests.
My goddaughter saw the pitiful state of the local library when she moved to NC. Dolly’s Imagination Library to the rescue. That woman is on example to us all.
There’s a movie of THE HATING GAME?!?!
See ya later. Yes, that is popcorn you smell.
Dolly offering free tuition! And I thought I couldn’t love her any more than I do. She is so gracious, funny and thoughtful.
YouTube videos about regional differences don’t usually do it for me, but I found Charlie Berens’ channel and it is a delight. If you are from Wisconsin or have loved ones in Wisconsin it’s very funny. https://youtu.be/xOvMUSje8BE
I’ve been following Audiblegate on FB for over a year now.
https://www.facebook.com/Audiblegate
They are fighting the good fight. My family is figuring out how to lessen our use of Kindle and Audible. I’ve started scouring Authors Direct for authors who I read who are participating. Much more money goes to the authors and narrators. Scribd has started some dubious practices as well. I’m starting to buy more on Chirp(even when the books aren’t on a big sale) and am looking into Audiobooks.com.
This didn’t make the cut for the official post, but I thought y’all’d enjoy this late Valentine’s gift: Titanic…with a Cat.
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/ss6psr/thats_one_hell_of_an_edit_lol_source_owlkitty/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x
^I probably should have posted the original link that has a final scene…
https://youtu.be/kEPfM3jSoBw
@Susan
The OwlKitty Titanic made my Valentine’s Day! The video creators are so talented. I also love the Jurassic Park one.
I understand the problem for authors, but if I switch to some small audiobook company or Bookfunnel(?), what happens to my purchases if the company fails? Serious question.
I need lots of DRM transparency from smaller providers. I’ve lost content before because a store failed or the platform was no longer supported. For consumers, the big appeal of Amazon/audible is that they’re stable.
(I’ve considered an audiobook through bookfunnel before, and it had zero technical details – no length, no narrator name, no instructions for a listening platform.)
Question- the only audio books I listen to are through the Libby app; anyone know where those come from? When I check out ebooks for kindle, I get routed through Amazon, but the audio books don’t do that. So who am I (via my library’s budget) supporting? Thanks!
I SO feel the separate bedsheet thing because I use a duvet with cover instead of a top sheet and trying to track down just the fitted sheets is a lesson in frustration. I used to sew the extra top sheets together on 3 sides to make duvet covers but no longer have a sewing machine.
@Lauren: library audiobooks from Libby are usually distributed through Overdrive (which owns Libby) and are produced by one of a few companies.
I get my audible books using Chirp quite a bit. It’s owned by Bookbub but is the audible version. It’s an app on your phone or laptop. And they notify you of daily sales which saves you money as well. At least I don’t THINK Amazon has anything to do with it.
Libro.fm has drm free audiobooks. It’s a one credit a month system, $14.99/month, but of course you can also just buy books without a membership. They generally have a decent sale section as well as the “kiss club,” a set of romance novels that are $3.99 each that changes month to month. You can either use their app, or download a zip file of mp3s that you can play on your app of choice. You can choose a bookstore to support, much like bookshop. And every so often they will do a thing where if you buy a book from your chosen bookshop you’ll get a free audiobook (I got wildseed by Octavia Butler free this way last year). Worth a look!
I will chime in to agree with JudyW and Penny. I’ve been very pleased with Libro.fm and Chirp as audiobook sources and alternatives to Audible.