Adam's bike challenge. Stage 7: Free audio books while you cycle

Adam Bradbury

02 December 2011

When I get into racking up the training miles - ahead of next year's 500-mile cycle challenge - I fear it could become a tad, um, boring. I don't have an indoor cycle trainer - the human equivalent of hamster playballs - so no chance of keeping the mind off my aching legs with Frozen Planet or Match of the Day that way.

And although I have lots of music on an MP3 player, I'm beginning to think the hours in the saddle would be a chance to catch up on some good books. Audio books, that is.

So I asked my colleague and download guru Chris Graham how to turn those lonely training sessions into a trip to the library - for free. 

Here's a list of some of his fave freebies:

LibriVox
Excellent source of free classic audio books. More than 1,000 published and they're adding new titles each month. Or you can find a slightly nicer way to browse much of the same material here.

The Spoken Alexandria Project
Classic books professionally read in MP3 format (zipped to reduce file size). The Spoken Alexandria Project benefits from Telltale Weekly regularly donating commercial recordings free for the rest of us to download. Each recording is well tagged.

LiteralSystems
A group of Santa Fe actors and technicians has put out a small but growing collection of professionally produced readings of classic and contemporary books.

ThoughtAudio.com
Seems to be pretty much a one-man band reading classics. Great narration and the beautifully designed quirky covers for each audio book make it well worth a look.

RadioLovers.com
If you're a nostalgia fan, then Radio Lovers is for you. Hundreds of classic radio broadcasts covering everything from drama to science fiction.

Escape Pod, Pseudopod and PodCastle
A collection of audio magazines covering science fiction (Escape Pod), horror (Pseudopod) and fantasy (PodCastle). They regularly publish short stories in MP3 format for free download.

Miette's bedtime story podcast
Occasional expletives and a barking dog punctuate, and add to the magic of, Miette's enchanting readings of modern and classic short fiction. You don't have to subscribe to the podcast to download the MP3 files. Stories are organised by author.

Speak the Speech
Audio readings of some of Shakespeare's classic plays produced by a company of actors.

peopleTalk
Free audio books, interviews and even tours from a group of British actors, writers and film makers. It is certainly varied. Most books are serialised. All files in MP3 format.

One last thought - whatever you're listening to, being able to hear the world beyond your earphones can be part of staying safe.

Adam Bradbury, Publishing & New Media Team