Like many readers these days, I sometimes listen to audiobooks while doing other tasks.  A good source for free audiobooks in the public domain is LibriVox. You can download or stream audiobooks from the web site, or you can install an app on your phone or tablet to do the same thing.  Here is the basic description of LibriVox from its web site:

LibriVox Objective

To make all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet.

Our Fundamental Principles

  • Librivox is a non-commercial, non-profit and ad-free project
  • Librivox donates its recordings to the public domain
  • Librivox is powered by volunteers
  • Librivox maintains a loose and open structure
  • Librivox welcomes all volunteers from across the globe, in all languages

Some books are read by multiple volunteers; others are read by only one. The more popular titles have several versions, so if you start one and aren’t crazy about the reader or readers, just keep trying until you find a version that appeals to you. For example, the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has seven versions in English.

I prefer to read books one at a time, which means that I will move back and forth between reading and listening to a book before I move on to the next book. For that reason, I rarely listen to an audiobook in its entirety. I listened to significant portions of the six audiobooks below and enjoyed them all very much.

Audiobook cover of ,The Idiot (Part 01 and 02), by Fyodor Dostoevsky, read by Martin Gleeson at LibriVox
Read by Martin Gleeson
Audiobook cover of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather, read by rachelellen at LibriVox
Read by rachelellen
Audiobook cover for Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens, read by Mil Nicholson at LibriVox
Read by Mil Nicholson
Audiobook cover of Persuasion (version 4), by Jane Austen, read by Karen Savage at LibriVox
Read by Karen Savage
Audiobook cover of Fathers and Sons, by Ivan Turgenev, read by Roger Melin at LibriVox
Read by Roger Melin
Audiobook cover of Democracy in America Vol 1, by Alexis de Tocqueville, read by LibriVox volunteers
Read by LibriVox volunteers

I’ve told several people about the LibriVox app recently and have been surprised by how many readers don’t know about it.  If that describes you, check it out! With over 10,000 files in its catalog, you’re certain to find something you will enjoy.


The featured image came from Pixabay.