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Listening to audiobooks while driving
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JudoJeff
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:09 pm    Post subject: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

Long drives in my Westfalia pass quickly listening to audiobooks! Does anyone else love these things?

My main listening is history, either factual or fictional. My uncles fought in the Pacific, (grew up thinking 'fuckinjap" was one word,) Dad was a B-17 tailgunner, so lots of World War II. My hobby was civil war reenacting, so listen to a lot of those.

Audio CDs are your basic format. This is being surpassed by MP3. The entire book is on one CD, no juggling CDs to continue the story. Older players won't work with MP3 format, though. I have a state of the art player in the Westfalia.

Plugging in an iPhone, iPod, iPad via a USB port gives you hours and hours of books. It's very easy using iTunes to transfer an MP3/DVD audiobook into one of these devices. A software app called "Join Together" ($5 fee) makes it even easier. I have over 500 hours worth of books on one iPod!

There's a new format called "MP3 DVD" that packs up to 50 books on one CD!
These will NOT play on an MP3 or audio CD player. You use iTunes to easily move the book over to your iPod, etc. I've bought the entire Sharpe series of adventures by Bernard Cornwell this way. Very inexpensive compared to buying titles separately.

Where to find the audiobooks that interest you? Local libraries, eBay, Amazon, all have them. Librivox.com provides FREE downloads of public domain books. Jules Verne, Dickens, et al are on the very long list of titles. Check them out.

I have a box of titles I have to sell, not sure the best way to go about it.

If you have questions about how to make this work for you, feel free to ask. Just remember:
1)Audio CDs will play on any machine that plays music disks.
2)MP3 will only play on more modern players, these often have a USB port and BlueTooth.
3)MP3/DVD won't play on a machine, the books have to be uploaded to a device or into iTunes, then downloaded to a device or audio CD.
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FullFender
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

Though not in my VW, when I drove to Idaho for the Eclypse I rented my library's collection of Stephen King AB's. Needless to say it was a great trip.
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Fish
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 9:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

I spend at minimum an hour each way on my commute so I started listening to audio books too. Now I don't mind sitting in traffic. You should join the Samba Book Club.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=337665
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Malokin Martin
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:27 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

I do a 100 mile trip over the pass listening to audio books and sometimes it scares me how quickly the trip goes.

If you can tether your phone to the car, "This American life" is streamable on YouTube along with David Sedaris', "Me Talk Pretty One Day." (There's multiple sedaris books on there)

Also, you'll have to buy it, but Henry Rollins "Get In The Van" is a completely engrossing listen and is like a teleporter for long trips. Well worth it. There's cheaper CD sellers on amazon, but you have to look around. They deleted part 1 off YouTube, but part two is still up for now (below).

https://youtu.be/vlixj7k9oOA
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JudoJeff
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:06 am    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

Fish, thanks never knew about it. FYI I have all of Ken Follett's books on tape.
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Fish
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 12:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

JudoJeff wrote:
Fish, thanks never knew about it. FYI I have all of Ken Follett's books on tape.


Neither did I until I post almost the same thing as your first post.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=665331&highlight=
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candyman
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 6:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

Love audio books and pod casts. We do a lot of miles and it really helps pass the time. Like yourself I love anything history, factual or biographical.

This spring/summer i/we listened to :

Undaunted courage (lewis and clark)
Al franken giant of the senate
Live from NY history of saturday night live
I must say martin short
Nevertheless alec baldwin memoir
At home: brief history by bill bryson
Born standing steve martin
Unbroken: world war 2 survival story
Born to run bruce springsteen
The republic of pirates
Based on a true story norm macdonald
Almost interesting david spade
The rainbow comes Anderson cooper
The great escape world war 2 prison of war
Hero found vietnam war pilot pow
Benjamin frankilin biograpghy
Thomas jefferson bio
John adams bio
Bossy pants tina fey
Yes please amy poehler
Jfk bio
Secret race Tyler Hamilton story

With the kids we listen to :

all the harry potter books
Stuff you should know podcasts
Alec baldwin podcasts
S town
This american life


We do a lot of road trips and these books/podcasts are all awesome. A little tip, if you are an amazon prime member you get credit towards free audio books on audible.com. I use my iphone conncted to bluetooth in my syncro westy
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74 Thing
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 9:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

I have never done it, but that is a good idea with the crap commute I have.
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JudoJeff
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:16 am    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

Candy man,
I've listened to a lot of those!
Right now:
A Higher Calling- B17 shot to pieces is spared by German pilot sent to shoot it down. (My Dad was a tail gunner, became friends with a German fighter pilot here after the war.)
Common Solder in Civil War- right now he is at Shiloh, trying to follow orders.
Diary of a German Desserter- World War I no holds barred.

The last two are free downloads off librivox.com

I use iPods into my radio via USB. Each holds about 30 books.
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candyman
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:33 am    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

A higher calling is next thanks for the tip! Another podcast im really into is Dan carlins Hardcore history. Episode 50-55 Blue print for Armageddon is a really intense synopsis on WW1.
Any suggestions on a good Russian revolution audio book?
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JudoJeff
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 8:25 am    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

No, all the Russian Revolution books are smaltz like Doctor Zhivago.

Follett's Century Trilogy deals with it as one of the subplots. Not one I have on audio, though.
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coad Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:09 am    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

Audio books are too long. I like the old-time radio shows better. 100 miles equals a couple Dragnets then maybe a Gunsmoke and you're there.

Dragnet and Gunsmoke are the best just because there's so many episodes of them, but the old Suspense, CBS Mystery Theater, Lux Radio Theater, Escape, and a great detective show called Yours Truly Johnny Dollar are all worth a try.


Last edited by coad on Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bob Loblaw
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

coad wrote:
Audio books are too long. I like the old-time radio shows better. 100 miles equals a couple Dragnets then maybe a Gunsmoke and you're there.

Dragnet and Gunsmoke are the best just there's so many episodes of them, but the old Suspense, CBS Mystery Theater, Lux Radio Theater, Escape, and a great detective show called Yours Truly Johnny Dollar are all worth a try.


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chickengeorge
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:40 pm    Post subject: Re: Listening to audiobooks while driving Reply with quote

My wife and I travel a lot and we love doing this. We've listened to Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Codes and Inferno, Monster of Florence, Hugh Howey's "Wool", The Graveyard Book (traveling with kids this last summer) and a few others.

It makes traveling (which I already love) that much better.
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