Window 8 goodie grab bag: Audible

The wife and I were just talking about reading books, recently. We both love to read books, but have absolutely no time to do it.  Having four kids across a huge span of ages has a lot to do with that. I always use the scapegoat theory that, based on the number of emails I receive and content I research for writing, I read the equivalent of reams of books weekly. However, that’s not quite the same, is it? If I’m honest with myself, it’s nowhere near the same. There’s just no substitute for sitting down with a cup of tea, a good book, and nothing else to do on rainy, lazy Saturday. And even then, it’s great to get lost in a story that has nothing to do with work.

I once read that Bill Gates would take time off from Microsoft for a book vacation.  He’d set aside part of his vacation time just to read through several books he had set back for the event.  I’m not sure how true this is, but I do know that Bill loves to read, and I know this would make for an awesome opportunity to devour some written pages.

Just as I had put the discussion out of my head, I came across an offer from Microsoft and Audible. If you install the Audible app for Windows 8 or Windows Phone and sign-up for a new account, Audible is offering a free book as part of your patronage.  You can select from either The Power Trip by Jackie Collins, American Sniper by Chris Kyle, or The Great Gatsby, narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal.

I signed up and am enjoying my first Audible offering. I had completely forgotten that Amazon.com acquired Audible a while back.  This makes it completely convenient for me, as Audible will allow you to sign-up using your normal Amazon.com profile settings, including the same, stored payment options. If you do it this way, setting up an account takes only a few seconds.

To get Audible for Windows 8 or Windows Phone, just search the Windows Store for “Audible”.  Or use the links below.

For Windows 8

For Windows Phone