How to share Audible books: a step-by-step guide
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If you’re wondering, “Can you share Audible books?” you’ve come to the right place. This article will explain how to share audiobooks on Audible.
Whenever a friend asks you for a book, you can always lend it to them, or vice versa. But what about audiobooks? If you’re listening to audiobooks on Audible, you might be wondering if there’s a way to share your audiobook recommendations with your friends and family. The good news is that there are several ways to share Audible books, which is exactly what we discuss in this article.
The benefits of sharing Audible books
If you're already an Audible subscriber, you can share your favourite books by using Audible's "Send a Book" feature. This allows you to send a specific book or series to someone else for free, even if they're not an Audible subscriber themselves. Additionally, you can use Audible to listen to books as a group, sharing your thoughts and reactions with others who are also listening.
Sharing Audible books can also be a great way to save money. Instead of purchasing multiple copies of the same book for a book club or study group, you can simply share one Audible account and listen to the book together. This can be especially helpful for students who need to read multiple books for a class, as they can split the cost of one Audible subscription among several classmates.
Use Family Library Sharing
One of the easiest ways to share Audible audiobooks is with Family Library Sharing. Amazon Audible lets you share content with the Amazon Household sharing feature.
Amazon Household is a type of Amazon family account used for sharing Amazon Prime benefits, including Audible audiobooks. This is how you can share books from Audible with members of your Amazon household:
- Log into your Amazon account.
- Head to “Content” and choose “Manage Your Content and Devices.”
- Open “Households and Family Library.”
- Go to “Show Family Library.”
- Continue to “Audiobooks” and find the Audible audiobook you want to share.
- Click on the “Add to Library” button.
- Choose the Amazon Household account you want to share your audiobook with.
- Choose the “Share” option.
Remember that you can’t share audiobooks from the Audible Plus Catalog. If you want to make an Amazon Household family account, there can only be two adult accounts and up to four children accounts. If you want to add someone to your Amazon Household, you have the option to add adult accounts and accounts for children.
The “Send This Book” feature
There’s a built-in sharing feature on Audible.com that lets you share Audible content with other Audible accounts. This is how you can use it to share Audible files with your friends:
- Open Audible on your device.
- Proceed to “My Library” and then the “My Books” category.
- Find the audiobook you want to share and tap on the three dots on the right side.
- Tap on the “Send This Book” feature.
Choose how you want to send it – via message, email, or WhatsApp.
Keep in mind that the share book option still requires the friend or family member to pay for the audiobook.
Give the book as a gift
Another way to share Audible books with someone is by giving them as gifts. However, this method requires you to buy the audiobook for them. To do so, follow the steps below:
- Visit the Audible website and log into your account.
- Go to the “Browse” tab and proceed to “Audiobooks.”
- Find the audiobook from your Audible library.
- Click on the title and find the “Give as a gift” option on the landing page.
- Enter the person’s name and email address.
- Send the audiobook to them.
Audible will then ask you to buy the book for that person. The great thing about this method is that you can buy books as gifts for people who don’t have Audible accounts. You can even add a note and choose the date the recipient will get the book.
What you need to know before gifting an Audible Audiobook
If you're interested in gifting a specific audiobook, you'll need to keep a few things in mind. First, you'll need to make sure that the recipient has an Audible account. If they don't, you can purchase a gift membership instead. Additionally, you'll need to know which audiobook or books you want to gift. You can either choose a specific title or a gift card that the recipient can use to buy any audiobook they choose.
Another important thing to consider when gifting an Audible audiobook is the recipient's device compatibility. Audible audiobooks can be listened to on a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. However, some older devices may not be compatible with the latest Audible app, so it's important to check the recipient's device before gifting an audiobook.
Finally, it's worth noting that Audible offers a variety of membership plans, including monthly and annual subscriptions. If you're unsure which plan to choose for your gift, you can always opt for a gift card instead. This allows the recipient to choose their own membership plan and audiobooks, giving them more flexibility and control over their listening experience.
Use an Audible to mp3 converter
Another way your friends can access free audiobooks on Audible is by converting the audiobooks into mp3 files. For this method, you’ll need a good audiobook converter that will be able to convert DRM-encoded files into mp3 files. For the purposes of this article, we’ll be using ViWizard.
You can install this Audible converter on your Windows and Mac computer. Once you download it on your device, this is what you have to do:
- Launch the ViWizard app on your device.
- Click on the “Add Files” button.
- Choose the Audible AA/AAX file you would like to convert.
- Go to the “Format tab” option and select the “MP3” output format.
- Click on the “Convert” button.
If you want to convert audiobooks into different formats, this app also lets you convert audiobooks into M4A, AAC, OGG, and FLAC file formats.
Note that getting free Audible books using this method isn’t approved by Audible.
Other ways to share books online
If you're interested in sharing books online but you don't want to limit yourself to audiobooks, there are plenty of other options to consider. For example, you could give a gift card to a digital bookstore like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Alternatively, you could purchase an e-book subscription service like Kindle Unlimited or Bookmate. Ultimately, the key is to choose a gift that the recipient will enjoy and that reflects their interests and preferences.
Whatever your approach, an Audible gift card can be a thoughtful and meaningful gift for the book lover in your life.
Another option to consider when gifting books online is to purchase a membership to a book club. Many book clubs offer online memberships that allow the recipient to receive a new book each month based on their interests. This is a great way to introduce the recipient to new authors and genres they may not have discovered on their own.
Additionally, some online bookstores offer personalized book recommendations based on the recipient's reading history and preferences. This can be a great way to ensure that the gift is tailored to the recipient's specific tastes and interests.
Speechify – experience books in new ways
As one of the most popular text-to-speech platforms in the world, Speechify lets you listen to audiobooks in new ways. Speechify offers thousands of public and free-domain books, making it a great alternative to Audible. You don’t even need a subscription to listen to audiobooks with Speechify.
You can install Speechify as a desktop app on your Mac or use it as a browser extension on Google Chrome. If you want to use it on your phone, it’s available on Android devices and iPhones, iPads, and other iOS devices.
Better still, you can try Speechify for free today.
FAQ
Can I share an audiobook I purchased?
You can share an audiobook you purchased using your Audible account with the Family Library sharing feature.
Why can't I share a book on Audible?
You can only share a book on Audible with members of your Amazon Household. You can also check to see if you have purchased the audiobook before trying to transfer it to another Audible member.
Can I transfer an Audible book to someone else?
If you want to transfer an Audible audiobook to someone who also has an Audible account, you can make them a member of your Amazon Household.
What does "shared" mean in the Audible app?
If you want to share a book from your Audible library, you would basically be forwarding the audiobook to someone.
Can I share an Audible book with someone who isn't an Audible member?
The only way to share an Audible book with a non-Audible member is to purchase the audiobooks as gifts.
Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.