By EricPosted on

We are a family of readers, so how do we read on the road? This seems like a simple issue, but due to weight and space the standard collection of books really doesn’t work. For most of us digital or ebooks are the answer, but some of us (Emily) really prefer having a paper book to read so there are some special books along with us.

Other than that small collection of books, we don’t keep anything else with us regularly. So what do we do? We’d Well, one way to solve the ebook and paper book problem is to visit a local library.

One trick we learned early on, was to join libraries as we traveled. Most libraries will let you sign up for a card if you can provide proof of residence. In most cases a shipping label, delivered locally, will serve as proof of residence. That’s right, it pays to shop online! By bringing in that shipping label, we have been able to sign up for multiple library systems which allow us to check out print and ebooks. We also found that most library systems have tickets you can check out for local museums, attractions and events. Joining the library helps us in a few different ways. In addition to being able to check out paper books, and get tickets for local events, we are also able to use the library card to access ebooks, videos, and music. Overdrive is affiliated with most public libraries and allows you to check out all of their electronic media. While Overdrive is preferred for movies, music and tv shows, their reading app Libby, really steals the show for ebooks and audio books.

Libby lets you add all of your library cards and then lets you search those libraries for ebooks and audio books. The benefit of having multiple cards from multiple libraries is that you won’t have to wait as long or at all to get the book you want. The ebook and audio book interface in the app is very user friendly and ends up being where we consume our electronic media from directly.

If we can’t find the book at one of our libraries, or we don’t want to wait for it to be available (each library has so many electronic copies and checks them out like a physical copy. They eventually expire and then the next person in line can check it out), then we go to Scribd, Kindle, or Audible.

Scribd is a subscription service for ebooks, audio books, manuals, and PDFs. Currently 8.99/mo, Scribd has been a go to for us for quite a while now. The selection of books available is fantastic. We have run into a few obscure titles that we could not locate, or more often, they have the audio book, but not the ebook or vice versa. Like Libby, the reader and player in the app works well and is what we use to consume anything from Scribd. If you click the link at the end of this article you can use our referral code to get 2 months free to try it out.

Kindle has been the go to for a long time for us. Though we now tend to lean a little heavier on Kindle for new titles, our digital library of purchased books is extensive. We have a few Kindle readers, but we all tend to pull to our iOS devices to read more often than not. The Kindle library appears to be limitless. If there is a title we cannot find at the library or on Scribd then we can almost certainly find it on Kindle. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you have access to around 1000 different current and classic books, or you can join Kindle Unlimited for 9.99/mo to get access to over 1 million ebooks and thousands of audio books. You can always just buy the books outright as well.

Audible was our go to for a long time, before we found out about Scribd. Our audio book library is extensive and is pretty random (which is fun). The Audible subscription is 14.95/mo and gives you one credit. The credit can be used for any audiobook they have on the platform. Once you get the audiobook with the credit or by buying it outright (the books are pricy, but they have some great specials and super deals) then you own it forever.

One trick we discovered a few years back was to buy a book on Amazon, and then you have the option to “add narration”. Basically, if you purchase the book, you get a discounted audio book along with it. Often times the Kindle book is discounted as is the narration, so you can end up with an ebook along with an audio book for less than if you bought the audio book outright. Amazon utilizes “whisper sync” which is an amazing feature. It basically links the Kindle book and Audible book together. So if you finish reading the Kindle book, when you get in the car, the Audible book will pick up exactly where you left off. Again, buying the Kindle and Audible book is the priciest of all of the options we are sharing here, but the Whisper Sync feature is pretty amazing and has hooked me into paying for more than once set of ebooks and audiobooks.

All in all we tend to use the digital versions of books much more often than print, but as I mentioned there are some special books that each of us have. The various libraries around the country allow us to get our paper fix when we need it, and our collection of library cards along with other ebook and audio book subscriptions fill in the bulk of our usage.

We read a lot and feel like we have a pretty good handle on that with these different programs. Let us know in the comments what you do for books on the road, or if there is a different program that we should be aware of.

Here is a list of links to the apps and programs mentioned above. Some of these are affiliate links and will result in money or credit for us if you use them. We only endorse or recommend products or programs that we actually use and think would be helpful for others.

Learning Well