March Community Newsletter Competition - Closed

  • 26 February 2020
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March Community Newsletter Competition - Closed
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If you went to school in the UK or Ireland, you’ll probably remember celebrating World Book Day every year. This charity event is all about the joy of reading and gives millions of schoolchildren free vouchers to spend on books and audiobooks.

 

To mark this year’s World Book Day, on Thursday 5 March, we’ve put together a list of our favourite audiobook websites. Why not celebrate World Book Day by diving in and finding something you haven’t read before?

 

And to celebrate World Book Day the iD way, we’re running a competition for all you bookworms out there. Comment below and tell us about a book you love, and you could win an Amazon Kindle e-reader! Find out more below.

 

Top audiobook websites

Audible

Audible, owned by Amazon, is the world’s biggest audiobook provider, with hundreds of thousands of titles available to download. The subscription fee gives you one credit a month, which you can use to buy any audiobook, regardless of the price. If you don’t like a book, you can exchange it for free, and you can also cancel your subscription at any time.

Download the Audible app here.

 

Rakuten Kobo

KoboeReaders are one of the main rivals to Amazon Kindle, but did you know that Kobo (owned by Rakuten) also specialise in audiobooks? They offer a free 30-day trial, followed by a subscription package. As with Audible, the fee gives you one credit a month, which you can use to buy any audiobook.

Listen to Rakuten Kobo audiobooks on Android and iOS.

 

Downpour

Like Audible and Rakuten Kobo, Downpour is a subscription site where you use credits to buy an audiobook every month. All of its titles are DRM-free (which means they have no digital lock), so you can listen to them on as many of your devices as you like. Downpour also offers a rental service, which is cheaper than a monthly subscription. You can borrow audiobooks for up to two months, and pay to extend the loan if you need to.

Check out Downpour on Android and iOS.

 

Google Play Books

Google Play Books sellsaudiobooks individually, so it’s ideal if you don’t want to commit to a monthly subscription. You can buy several titles in one go, and listen to a free sample before you buy. If you’re listening on a Google Home device, you can use voice commands to control the playback – great when you don’t have a hand free to press buttons. Another nice feature is the Google Play Family Library, which lets you share audiobooks with up to 5 other people.

Listen to Google Play Books on Android or iOS.

 

LibriVox

If you don’t want to pay for audiobooks, then why not try LibriVox? It has a huge selection of titles – more than 13,000 at the last count – and they’re all available for free. The books recorded have to be in the public domain, so you won’t find the latest bestsellers here. And the readers are all volunteers, so the audio quality can be uneven. But if you love classic literature and don’t mind the odd bit of background noise, then LibriVox could be the best site for you.

Check out LibriVox here.

 

Win an Amazon Kindle!

To celebrate World Book Day, we’re giving away two Amazon Kindle e-readers. To enter the competition, all you need to do is comment below this post and answer this question:

 

What is your favourite childhood book, and why?

 

The two lucky winners will each receive an Amazon Kindle 6" e-reader (2019) - 4 GB, White.

Don’t miss out! The competition ends on 8th March 2020 so get commenting. T&Cs apply

Good luck!


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70 replies

I used to collect Peanuts (AKA Snoopy)  books when I was little. I loved the artwork, the humour which was often, I think, aimed at adults, and Snoopy himself. I used to collect them from second hand shops and I still have a few that are special :)

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This can surely be a tricky one to answer. I would probably have to go for ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’  it was my childhood favourite.  The reason for being my favourite book would be because I enjoyed planning tea party with my teddies. 

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I don't really remember books that I read in primary school but in high school my favourite was "Witcher" which at that time wasn't even translated to English and the game wasn't even planned to be released. I think the first book of novels was released around 1995 but I started reading them around 2000 thanks to my high school friend who introduced me to them. Another books that I was really enjoying to read are part of The Trilogy and were written at the end of 19th Century by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Especially second book stuck in my memory to this day. 

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Can’t really remember from my childhood, but for the teen years it would be any Terry Pratchett Discworld book - Mort comes to mind. Also Lord of the Rings!

These days it’s MY kid’s childhood favorites I remember  - Dinosaur ROAR & We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Incidentally I don’t need the books to recite them. :joy:

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I used to collect Peanuts (AKA Snoopy)  books when I was little. I loved the artwork, the humour which was often, I think, aimed at adults, and Snoopy himself. I used to collect them from second hand shops and I still have a few that are special :)

Shout outs to the Peanuts franchise ^_^
 

When I would be stuck indoors, I spent most of my time playing my Nintendo’s or Sega’s.  Though I did collect the “Mr. Men” books, and a few of the “Goosebumps” series.

It was always intriguing to see the source material for any of the Disney films I was familiar with too.

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I loved all of the Ladybird story books when I was a girl, from The Magic Porridge Pot, to Rumplestiltskin, when I see pictures from them now, they are still familiar and make me feel a bit sentimental.

 

As an adult I also love the modern funny versions of Ladybird books - The Hangover, Mindfulness, The Mid-life Crisis etc... so funny :D 

My favourite childhood book was Stig of the Dump. I remember loving in as a child, the mystery of the boy who lived in the dump and invented things! I recently read it to my seven year old and he loved the same things about it as I remember liking. A timeless classic!

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Richard Scarry's ‘Cars and Trucks and Things That Go’. There is so much detail and humour on every page and I always wanted a pickle truck. Brilliant. I’ve kept the hard back copies because they still make me smile.

When I was 15 I read Catch 22. It changed my life and made me the man I am today

Moby Dick by Herman Melville. A gripping and exciting adventure in which the determined Captain Ahab’s quest is to track down the giant white sperm whale who who a previous voyage bit off his leg at the knee.

I used to love the Famous Five ...all the adventures were so exciting and I so wanted to be George !

For me it would have to be A Wizard of Earthsea. I was recommended it by a school teacher in year 5 and was bought the Earthsea Quartet for my birthday. It was probably the first proper "grown up" novel book I read to myself and I absolutely loved it, the description of magic and how it was used just captured something in me.

Handa's Surprise by Eileen Brown. I loved reading this book to my children. The magic of the colour on each page and the idea of exciting fruits really captured our imaginations. The rhythm of the words walking through Handa's journey to her friend. The cheeky animals pinching the fruit from the basket was so funny each time we read it. The twist at the end left a smile on our faces and the message of kindness and friendship was so warming. My children were fascinated that Handa carried the fruit on her head and I'd catch them trying to carry things on their heads and laughing when it all fell to the ground. A book with very loving memories for me.

My favourite book was Pinocchio , grandad bought it for me and used it to teach me to read.

The first books I remember are Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales from a collectible boxset I had, with The Ugly Duckling being my favourite - I loved the resilience of the little swan (and to this day I seem to have a thing for underdogs) !

My favourite childhood book was Harry Potter and Philosopher' Stone, I loved all the Harry Potter books, I was enthralled by the world created in the book and I was always secretly hoping I would get my letter to go to Hogwarts!  I was only one year younger than the main characters and felt like I grew up with them through all the books. 

One of my favorite books (there were a lot:) was ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

It’s about friendship. It’s about the world(s) It’s about responsibility. It’s about love. It’s about human nature. It’s about self-sacrifice It’s about … everything that is important in our life.

This (relatively short) novel was one of the most important readings in my life.

I loved it. I love it...

...and I didn’t forget that a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant - is not a picture of a hat: as a grown-up I remember I was a child.

My dad used to read 'The Prince who never smiled' to me ....many times, as it was my favourite. I've tried to get it since, but I think it must be out of print. I've loved a good book ever since!

The owl who was afraid of the dark was definitely mine. I still have my copy and now I read it with my children.

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Famous Five series

My favourite children’s book is The Gruffalo by Julia  Donaldson. I love spending time with my 4 year old granddaughter, she has all the characters and we use them to act out the story together. 

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Old enough to have grown up on Enid Blyton,  Biggles and later LOTR

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There could be a few favourites. Famous Five and Secret Seven were always popular. I also loved Dr Who books. In the end though, I'll have to go for The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. A brilliant book about a small boy's adventures in a land of words and numbers.

I loved reading Beauty and The Beast when I was a child. I still sometimes read it now to my daughter. It was always my favourite as it's my favourite Disney Film and Belle is my favourite Disney Princess. 🥰📙👧🏰👸

My favourite book was tell the time with pooh! It had a clock you could turn to go with each page

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