Simply Audiobooks is modeled after the Netflix style of renting: Pay the monthly fee for a certain number at a time, but then you can get as many as you want throughout the month. And so if you are able to run through a fair number of audiobooks — say, if you have a considerable commute or spend a lot of time in airports, shelling out the current online price of $15 for one at a time or $25 for two is a good deal compared with the audiobook companies that charge $22-$25 for two total a month. Simply Audiobooks also has a download program, but the downside is that iPod is not on its list of compatible players yet — a slightly humorous aside on its website allows customers to send an e-mail to Steve Jobs asking him to help with that — but you can join the download program instead, put them on CD and then transfer them to your iPod. It did take a week to get my first book, the riveting “Into the Wild,” by Jon Krakauer, from their extensive selection — which can be searched by a variety of methods, including best-seller lists, Oprah’s picks, new titles, authors, age-appropriate and staff picks — but subsequent selections came faster. The website is tidy and user-friendly. $15 for one audiobook at a time, $25 for two, up to $41 for four, .
– Kyle Wagner
