Poems for the Ages from Audible

Every once in a while it’s nice to jump off my soapbox, leave off scolding the publishers, and simply celebrate a nice development.

On June 17 of this year, I licensed the first Audible audiobook title for Maryland and, I believe, the first Audible book ever licensed by a public library. It came, of course, through the Palace Marketplace.

I wanted it to be something memorable if not necessarily high circulating.

I’m delighted to report that Classic Love Poems as read by Richard Armitage (you know, Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy) is at once mellifluous but passionately read and sounds great via the Palace app. An Audie Award Finalist for Best Male Narrator in 2016 with pieces from Shakespeare, EB Browning, George Eliot (mercifully not T.S., who didn’t much go in for love as a theme, and when he did it was usually pretty sad), Shelley, Byron and others, it’s a listen for the ages.

I plunked for the 2 years unlimited circs but one-at-a-time model. At $25, it was a nice enough deal. I would have liked a perpetual access model, but this cost isn’t at all bad. I won’t be surprised to see it get some circ, especially at Valentine’s. I thought about the 40 circ (10 simultaneous model), but decided two years would do for now.

To those of you wondering about the schedule for Audible in Palace, titles will roll out as IBNs are added and the file formats are worked out. Some 100 titles are available now. Expect 20,000 within a year or two.

If you live in Maryland and have a card to a Palace library (there are nine of us so far), check it out. Will you like it? Let me count the ways.