About nine months ago, I switched my audiobook membership from Audible, which I had used on and off for about 10 years, to Libro.fm. If you’ve never heard of Libro.fm, you’re not alone — I had also never heard of it until a friend in my book club mentioned that I should check it out, since I love both our local bookstore AND audiobooks so much. A brief minute on the Libro.fm website was enough to convince me to switch, and I haven’t looked back since. Read on to see an unsponsored review of our Libro.fm experience, why we love it, and some of the titles we’ve enjoyed listening to with our Libro.fm account. If you make it all the way to the bottom, I have a (nonsponsored, normal) referral link for you to try Libro.fm out!
So what is Libro.fm? It’s an audiobook platform that supports a local bookstore of your choice! That means that a portion of my purchases goes straight to the lovely local children’s bookstore that I selected, therefore helping a local, independent shop thrive! Even more uniquely, the Libro.fm website has a whole “Bookseller Recommended” section, so that you can see what audiobooks amazing independent booksellers would recommend if you were to walk into their stores and ask for in-person recommendations.
When I first went to the Libro.fm website to check it out, I assumed I’d have to pay a lot more for a Libro.fm membership than I had been paying for my Audible membership, or that Libro.fm would have a smaller selection of books… But I was wrong! You can sign up for a recurring monthly Libro.fm membership for $14.99 per month, which not only gives you access to their sale books and more, but also earns you a monthly credit toward a “free” audiobook (and these credits roll over, so you won’t lose them if you don’t use them). For comparison, an Audible membership is $14.95 per month. And Libro.fm has more than 150,000 audiobooks to choose from! Both platforms provide the first month for free, as a trial, and begin to charge you after that month.
And, as a bonus, if you make the switch to Libro.fm from any other audiobook provider, they’ll give you 3 free audiobooks for the price of one! That was a really nice perk for my girls, as it meant I could load their Libro.fm apps with variety quickly, instead of always going back to our well-stocked Audible library (which I did keep on my phone and the girls’ iPads — used solely for audiobooks unless we’re traveling — until very recently, when I felt like we had built up enough books).
As a quick note, I try to use my monthly credit for an audiobook that would cost more than $14.99 to buy individually. I then stock up on other books when they are on sale, and have bought a few one-offs when there was a book that my girls really, really wanted to listen to (such as The True Gift by Patricia MacLachlan, read by Aya Cash, at Christmastime!).
To make sure this review is well-rounded and fair, I do have to say that the Libro.fm interface isn’t nearly as user-friendly as Audible’s, but that’s to be expected when comparing to an Amazon app. Once I played around with the Libro.fm app for a few days, I was able to figure out how it works, and I no longer miss the ease of my Audible app.
So, what have we listened to on Libro.fm that we love?
- A wide variety of Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne, read by Osborne herself (of course! If you’ve followed me for any bit of time you likely know of our girls’ obsession with this series…). As an added bonus, you can use your one Libro.fm credit per month for collections of 8 Magic Tree House books in one! Eight audiobooks for one little credit!
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater, read by Nick Sullivan. Definitely listen to this one before watching the Jim Carrey movie, as the stories are quite different!
- Ribsy by Beverly Cleary, read by Neil Patrick Harris — This one is bound to have you and your children laughing at the adventures and antics, as recounted from the dog’s perspective. And yes, Neil Patrick Harris is as delightful an audiobook narrator as you might expect!
- The Adventures of Danny Meadowmouse by Thornton Burgess, read by multiple narrators. At only $2.09 for members ($2.99 for nonmembers), this is a great one to buy when you need something new and fresh but don’t have a credit to use!
- The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection by Beverly Cleary, read by Stockard Channing. Another terrific use of a credit, as this includes every single Ramona book! If you’re wondering why Channing’s voice sound familiar, you may recognize her as Rizzo from Grease!
- The BFG by Roald Dahl, read by David Walliams — I’m just glad I don’t have to read this one to the girls myself. There’s no way I could do all the different voices as well as Walliams did!
- Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins, read by Melanie Martinez. This was one of the three free books I got when I switched from Audible to Libro.fm, and almost nine months later, my younger daughter still listens to it at least once a week!
And for me personally? I loved:
- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, read by Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber. The voices on this one are amazing!
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris, read by Richard Armitage
Now don’t get me wrong… I love Amazon, too… But it does feel nice that for the same price, I can get the same books, and my beloved bookshop gets a kickback!
Do you want to check Libro.fm out? Use this link (not sponsored, but a normal referral link that anyone can share if they have a Libro.fm membership) to check it out! If that link didn’t work, then you can simply copy and paste this website into your browser of choice: http://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm111368.
What about you and your family? Do you love audiobooks as much as we do? Had you ever heard of Libro.fm before, and would you consider making the switch?
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