My theme this year is digital detoxification, and I’m already seeing early benefits. It feels refreshing to cut off the endless social media noise and swap it for self-development.
If I’m not watching YouTube videos on smart investing or strengthening personal boundaries, I’m listening to soothing music or being physically present with my hobbies.
More recently, I’ve been combining my audiophile side with the bookworm in me. I’m enjoying a podcast-style experience, but without the pressures of subscription models.
Audiobook players are my new companions and have temporarily replaced my e-readers.
Reading is for the grounded
I can’t sit still long enough to do it
My attention span has gotten shorter, as is expected of anyone juggling a thousand responsibilities simultaneously.
I’d read a book on how to broaden it, if I could concentrate hard enough to finish it.
I used to move through 10 books a month easily. Now I’m struggling to get past three. Audiobooks have become my best solution.
I listened to multiple engrossing titles last year on Audible, Audiobooks.com, and Kobo Books. Henry Cloud’s “Boundaries” and Mel Robbins’ “Let Them” are among the best ones.
While those platforms are top-tier, they’re no longer sustainable for me as I move to a subscription-free lifestyle. $15 a month isn’t outrageous for an unlimited catalog of audiobooks.
It’s a good deal if you’re fully committed and constantly listening. Personally, there was no guarantee that I could always keep up, and reading isn’t the only thing I’m doing in my life.
When I added the costs with other subscriptions across streaming, gaming, cloud storage, and more, the totals surpassed my expectations.
It’s why I’ve returned to saving and using files locally.
I hear my books every day in episodes
They have a lot to say to me
A large phone storage and 2TB of Google Drive space make it convenient to manage audiobooks. I have over 7GB worth of files waiting to be heard.
Most of them came from Google Play Books, Kobo Books, local library websites, and public internet archives. Some were shared with me by loved ones.
I use the Smart AudioBook Player app to listen to them. It’s not the prettiest app to look at because of its old-school interface. But it’s as effective as promised.
Everything is built around listening to your own collection, rather than upselling you or distracting you with a catalog.
You’ll choose a root folder, which is the location on your phone or cloud storage where audiobooks are. The app then pulls them, and you can begin playback.
I set up multiple root folders since my files weren’t all in one place.
Smart Audio Book Player is also feature-rich and allows you to sort your library by path, title, length, or date added.
The playback experience offers chapter-by-chapter file selection, speed controls, equalizer settings, noise reduction, sleep timers for night listening, and a casting option to play books on other devices.
Underneath these controls is a progress bar. It shows how much you’ve listened to, and how many hours are left. There’s even an option to convert MP3 files to the Opus codec.
It shrinks file sizes from 50kb/s to 32kb/s without losing noticeable sound quality. MP3 tends to waste bits on frequencies and details you don’t need for narration because it’s designed for layered music.
Opus, on the other hand, focuses on speech and natural tone. I recommend using it if you have a large library like mine, but not without performing a backup first. You can’t undo the process after you convert a file.
I love organizing my virtual audio bookshelves
It doesn’t cost much to do
Cover art search on Smart Audio Player is part of what makes my experience wholesome. I get triggered when my files are scattered, and I take my time arranging them.
Because some books don’t come with any artwork, it’s nice to search for and insert it with the tap of a few buttons. That way, I can recognize a book on sight before I’ve seen the title.
All these features are free under a 30-day free trial of the full version. You don’t need to enter your credit card.
The app automatically switches to the Basic version when it ends, and you’ll keep the core experience. It includes folder sorting, search, playback history, widgets, file merging, Android Auto, and a USB backup option.
What you lose are mostly advanced tools like noise reduction, full equalizer, pitch adjustment, silence skipping, and a few extra playback controls.
If you decide to upgrade, pay $2 monthly, and it’s one-time. It applies across all devices as long as you’re using the same account.
The only money you’ll probably ever spend is on buying more audiobooks.
M4B files may not play consistently on Smart Audiobook Player, especially when the free trial expires.
You may want to stick to MP3 files if you like seeing your progress chapter by chapter. Alternatively, convert M4B files to MP3 before adding them to your library.
This little e-reader has turned my phone into the dual-screen device I always wanted
It only took one accessory to recreate my most-wanted phone from a decade ago
Carry stories wherever you go
How you consume content affects how much you learn.
I’m always listening to my audiobooks when relaxing at home alone. I use noise-canceling earbuds when I’m outdoors in safe locations. I make sure to turn off notifications to avoid distractions.
That said, Smart AudioBook Player’s interface may not fit your aesthetics. Your existing subscriptions could have audiobook features built in.
If you use Spotify Premium, you automatically have access to over 200,000 audiobook titles without paying extra. It’s one of the features worth knowing. Open the app and search for them to start listening.
