In 2021, I got into audiobooks after years of thinking them as "not for me." Then, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and my subsequent months-long unemployment led to me stuck inside the house with intrusive thoughts. It was a miracle if I read any book. Once I got into audiobooks, it opened up a whole new world and I read so many amazing books. Audiobooks are the main reason 2021 is one of my best reading years to date.
Only the problems I developed in 2020 never really went away. Five years later, I can't read a physical book without an audiobook. In the case I read a graphic novel, I'm content with having an ASMR video playing while I'm reading. For the last two or so years, gaining access to an audiobook to read along with a physical book wasn't a problem. But all of a sudden, in 2025, that's changing and it's making me frustrated and a little nervous.
I switch through four apps for audiobooks: Libby, Hoopla, Everand (formerly Scribd), and, recently, Spotify. I love, and don't, each of them for different reasons.
Libby: My favorite of the apps. Easy to use and I love how you can adjust the speed, as well as that I can use my card at other libraries on there. But I don't like it when they don't have the audiobook I want or there is a long waitlist for a book I wanted to read next.
Hoopla: My second favorite app. I like the audiobook platform and I don't mind the 10 book limit. But I don't like that they don't often have new releases and that I can't use my card on another library's Hoopla account (as far as I know).
Spotify: I haven't used it much, but I enjoy their audiobook platform and how the chapters get a green checkmark once read through. Only I'm not crazy about the 15/hour limit and potentially having to pay extra outside of my subscription if I go over that limit.
Everand (Scribd): Is the big reason I'm feeling such anxiety about access to audiobooks. I loved this app for new releases or as a backup to Libby, which is why I didn't mind paying for the subscription. Then, at the start of the year, they included this new "unlock" feature and now I'm limited to 3 audiobooks a month.
I completely acknowledge that I'm slightly overreacting. But since 2020, my mental health has been up and down due to long stretches of unemployment and family circumstances. Intrusive thoughts made it really hard to motivate myself to sit down and read, regardless of lack of audiobook. A long waitlist on Libby and the new premiums on Everand suddenly got me panicked about reading books physically again and reading books way longer than I already did because my intrusive thoughts would not leave me alone. Even with an ASMR video.
Can anyone relate to what I'm feeling right now? What audiobook apps do you like to use? Do you use different apps from me? Do you have any sort of tips or advice? If your mental health conflicted with your reading, how did you deal with it? I'll even take recommendations for your favorite ASMR channels on YouTube!
Thanks for letting me rant everyone!
by Bookish_Butterfly