Audiobook Tip

[PianoAl]

On one drive that I make frequently, there is zero coverage for many miles. I want something more entertaining than music, so I'm going to try audiobooks. Before configuring my Audible account to work in that situation, I'm trying this:

1. Find free audiobooks on YouTube (for example,

)
2. Convert the YouTube videos to MP3 files (for example, 320YouTube )
3. Put the resulting audiobooks in a folder on a USB drive
4. Plug the USB drive into the car.

I'm a little concerned, because I often use audiobooks to fall asleep.

 

[skygraff]

Definitely don’t want to fall asleep!

That’s what I did with the original Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy radio show when I went on my grand road trip through the desert and mountains. Made a separate folder so they were easy to find via the interface.

 

[AxlxA]

The downside of this method is no chapters. Let's say you decide to switch over to music. Then back to audio book. You have no idea where you left off.

I've done audio book drives for many years. None in my Tesla but it's the same concept.

 

[MODEL+]

Have you considered getting YouTube premium for this? It allows you to download videos and can run in the background all while never showing you an ad ever again. I use this feature a lot when I drive. Usually to listen to educational stuff that only exists in YouTube.

 

[pts260]

With a work around, you can play youtube on mobile in background (on Android that I know). Use chrome, go to youtube, select "desktop site", play video, go to home screen, then select play on drop down in notification panel.

 

[Transformer]

You can use a mobile podcast app like Pocket Casts to stream podcasts to the car. There's a huge array of podcasts available including regular radio programs, interviews, and science explainers. That'll also let you store audiobooks on the phone and stream those. It'll remember the position in each one, but the playback UI is designed for playing them in sequence while driving (with pause/play/skip), not selecting podcasts while driving.

Also you can use an audiobook player app, e.g. 8 best audiobook apps you can use on your Android phone or tablet

 

[ucmndd]

You make it sound like you already have an Audible account. What’s the problem with using that? Bluetooth audio to phone + Audible app + download the damn book has worked for me for 10 years now.

Much less hocus pocus than trying to scrape YouTube files onto a USB drive.

 

[PianoAl]

Good points.

Remember, there's no coverage for most of the drive I'm talking about. That eliminates YouTube and Pocket Casts, yes?

You make it sound like you already have an Audible account. What’s the problem with using that? Bluetooth audio to phone + Audible app + download the damn book has worked for me for 10 years now.

Much less hocus pocus than trying to scrape YouTube files onto a USB drive.

Good to know. I've never actually used Audible (I have an account because I've written books that are on it), so I'll have to try that. Can I control the app via the car's screen, or do I need to fiddle with the phone? Guess I should just get off my butt and go to the garage and try it out, huh?

The downside of this method is no chapters.

Yes, I realized that yesterday when listening to the above audiobook. I also listened to some Jim Gaffigan recordings, which was more amusing.

 

[Pemple]

The downside of this method is no chapters. Let's say you decide to switch over to music. Then back to audio book. You have no idea where you left off.

I've done audio book drives for many years. None in my Tesla but it's the same concept.

I use Bound (iOS app) to listen to MP3 audiobooks because it remembers the last played location. You might want to try that, it’s very good.

 

[Aellinsar]

Libravox is also a good source for audiobooks that ar ein the public domain. You can download freely. (Many are read quite well, though certainly not all.)

It migt be worth the price of an Audible subscription not to deal with the hassle, however.

 

[PianoAl]

Can I control the app via the car's screen, or do I need to fiddle with the phone? Guess I should just get off my butt and go to the garage and try it out, huh?

Well, I did that, and it is indeed controllable from car's screen (play, pause, jump ahead, jump back). Works great even with my el cheapo phone. Thanks for the tip! I'll look at the other apps as well.

 

[GenralSpecific]

I actually use Audible, Pocket Casts, and YouTube Premium. I’m in a similar situation as you, and I think any one of them will work fine for you.
All allow you to download ahead of time. When I choose the “phone” option with any of them, the car picks up the cover art and allows next track, play/pause, etc from the car. Pretty sure the steering wheel controls work the same as other music options.
Pocket Casts also has a “skip ahead” feature that jumps ahead 15 seconds (configurable) but that doesn’t work with the car, so I use my watch instead (Apple watch). Useful for podcasts with especially long advertising breaks (such as “how did this get made”)
Audible shows the chapter information and cover art, works fine.
YouTube Premium I’m not using much but it does allow you to control play/pause. I forget if it shows anything besides title info.
I use an iPhone XR and an Apple Watch series 3, for reference. I don’t know if Android behaves the same way.

 

[Luudcrs]

You can also borrow audiobooks from most public libraries. Download them to an app like Overdrive, Libby or Hoopla before you start your trip.

 

[Transformer]

Pocket Casts also has a “skip ahead” feature that jumps ahead 15 seconds (configurable) but that doesn’t work with the car, so I use my watch instead (Apple watch).

In some cases (I forget which) the steering wheel's button skips to the next podcast rather than skipping forward 15 secs. The skip buttons on the car's touch screen will still skip forward/backward 15 secs.

Anyway, Pocket Casts needs the network only to download. It's easy to queue up more stuff than you'll ever get to. YouTube Premium lets you download and also play audio with the screen off or another app on screen.

 

[Klagio]

Have you considered getting YouTube premium for this? It allows you to download videos and can run in the background all while never showing you an ad ever again. I use this feature a lot when I drive. Usually to listen to educational stuff that only exists in YouTube.

Pretty cool. Can it substitute also Spotify?

 

[MODEL+]

Pretty cool. Can it substitute also Spotify?

Yes the membership comes with YouTube Music which has a huge catalog like Spotify. It just comes down to preference of interface for music at this point. I have a separate Apple Music subscription because I'm pretty deep in the eco system with apple devices so things just work better together with Apple Music but I could easily get away with YouTube music if I just need to listen to music.

 

[PianoAl]

I'm finding one disadvantage with using Audible.com is that I can't switch to a different book without getting out my phone (which is illegal while driving here in California).

You can also borrow audiobooks from most public libraries. Download them to an app like Overdrive, Libby or Hoopla before you start your trip.

Great idea! I use Libby for eBooks and have always ignored the audiobooks.

Since audiobooks and driving go together like love and sex, some kind of dedicated Tesla app would be great.

 

[Asheville Guy]

I assume that the reason that Audible is not covered is because it’s owned by Amazon and Jeff Bezos. This has been two years that this discussion has been going on and nothing has changed so I suspect nothing will change. Any thoughts on that?

 

[puckpurnell]

Get Alexa for the car. Then, no problem getting all things Amazon plus more.

 

[ggray]

You can also borrow audiobooks from most public libraries. Download them to an app like Overdrive, Libby or Hoopla before you start your trip.

I have done this for years using Overdrive from the Library. The latest Tesla update has removed the time bar from the display and now I can't write down the time where I stopped listening (so I can enter it manually when I want to resume the book). This is frustrating, since it makes audiobooks much less useful. Does anyone know how to get back the time bar?