How to Read C.S. Lewis Audiobooks For Free

We can agree that reading is a seminal part of our internal growth. We are called to continually learn about our faith, to continually grow. One of the Great Commandments is for us to “Love the Lord with our Whole Mind”, and we do so through many tasks, among which is reading.

But our lives can be very busy; we always have something to do. Reading takes effort. Even when we sit down to relax, we are more prone to watch television or play computer games, than actually read.

Which is why I have warmed to audiobooks. With audiobooks, I am able to multitask effectively. I can perform a rather mundane task (i.e. mowing the lawn, house-chores, or driving to work) and complement it with the insights of great theologians who lived before me.

For myself, I’ve picked up my exercise regimen and listened to audiobooks then.  There’s nothing like doing a long morning walk and complementing the scenery with fresh perspectives from some of the greatest religious thinkers of our day.

Frugal Approaches to Audiobook Listening

How to do this without breaking the bank?

One option is to pursue your local library. This should always be the first option for pursuing growth. Unfortunately, you are entirely at the mercy of your library’s selection, and you may run out of options shortly.

Another option is to subscribe to Audible. They have a fantastic selection of many great works, and their prices are affordable. But since my headline is about how to read for free, this is only applicable for their trial period, for which new members get two free books, which is a deal, but rather limited.

But there is a third option, one that I just discovered recently. Yes, you can read certain C.S. Lewis titles for free, and yes, there is a catch.

Discovering Amazon Unlimited

I recently became attuned to Amazon Unlimited. This, too, is a subscription-based platform. People equate it as a “Netflix” for readers. The impetus is that, with an Amazon Unlimited subscription (which runs cheaper than Audible, at $10 a month), you have access to borrow ten books at a time for your Kindle device or apps.

Is it perfect? Not yet. Like Netflix, not every title you want is available for download. You cannot download just any book. And while their selection boasts hundreds of thousands of titles, it’s not as rich as it could be.

But if you are comfortable browsing their selections, you can still find some great reads there. And among those reads are quality books from C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Thomas Merton, and many others.

Amazon Unlimited Has Audiobooks Too

Here’s where it gets interesting: they have a number of quality audiobooks included in their program. If you have the audible app on your device, amazon can automatically download the book right to your device. That means you can download up to ten quality audiobooks within their libraries, at a time.

If you have a higher quality Kindle device, you can also employ the text-to-speech feature. In it, a computer will sound out the words. It’s not perfect (in my listening, it’s about 90% there), but it has come a long way since WarGames (”Greetings, Professor Falken…”).

But even if you don’t have a higher-quality Kindle device, you can still listen to those audiobooks that were properly narrated by professionals.

The Free Trial Period

Amazon Unlimited is a subscription based model, so, yes, it does cost money. But like all other great programs, they give you your first month for free, to see if it’s right for you. And during that month, you can front-load your subscription with as many audiobooks as you can read, within their selections, ten at a time.

It is in this period that you can download those aforementioned C.S. Lewis audiobooks, or those from Thomas Merton, G.K. Chesterton, St. Thomas Moore, etc. And you have one month to listen to all that you are able to. After the month trial ends, you have a decision to continue your Amazon Unlimited subscription, or you can end it. If you end it, all your audiobooks will be removed from your device.

What audiobooks are in this program?

• Surprised By Joy – C.S. Lewis
• Till We Have Faces – C.S. Lewis
• Letters to Malcolm (Chiefly on Prayer) – C.S. Lewis
• Reflections on the Psalms – C.S. Lewis
• No Man Is An Island – Thomas Merton
• Utopia – Saint Thomas More
• What’s Wrong With the World – G.K. Chesterton
• Orthodoxy – G.K. Chesterton
• In His Steps – Charles Sheldon
• Concerning Christian Liberty – Martin Luther
• The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer

The Text-to-Speech Books in the program:

• The Four Loves – C.S. Lewis
• The Business of Heaven – C.S. Lewis
• The World’s Last Night – C.S. Lewis
• Spirits in Bondage – C.S. Lewis
• A Mind Awake – C.S. Lewis
• Present Concerns – C.S. Lewis
• The Dark Tower (And Other Stories) – C.S. Lewis
• The Seven Storey Mountain – Thomas Merton
• The Sign of Jonas – Thomas Merton
• The Last Of The Fathers – Thomas Merton
• The Waters of Siloe – Thomas Merton
• Manalive – G.K. Chesterton
• Essay for the Development of Christian Doctrine – John Cardinal Henry Newman
• Essays of a Catholic – Hilaire Belloc
• How to Converse With God – St. Alphonsus Liguori
• Uniformity with God’s Will – St. Alphonsus Liguori
• The Way of the Cross – St. Alphonsus Liguori
• Devotion To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus – Rev. Fr. Jean Croiset
• A number of religious biographies by Wyatt North publishing

After this, there are many other books you can read, such as the LORD OF THE RINGS series or any number of books on subjects that appeal to you. I just wanted to draw attention to the best of the religious classics.

Don’t Forget to Cancel

If you like Amazon Unlimited, then you can continue to keep it. $10 a month is comparable to other subscription services, and is cheaper than the service at Audible.

But if you have finished what you want to read in this time, then you should cancel the services. It’s not that you can’t have access to these books; many of these Kindle books are either free or low cost, and if they come with Whispersync (their own audiobook) or Text-to-Speech, you can access the book through headphones at a lower cost than a monthly subscription.

If you do decide to just try this service for a month, and then cancel afterwards, note that this will give you an incentive to actually tackle these books in a short period of time. You will find yourself making time to read these books at every moment of your day where there is a possibility to do so. It may just give you that incentive to make reading about your faith a habit.

The Benefits of Reading

There have always been books I had been meaning to read, but stopped due to time constraints. Now that I am reading these through Amazon’s Unlimited program, I am personally enjoying the journey. In just a few days I finished C.S. Lewis’ Surprised By Joy, which is his testimony from atheism to Christianity. There’s some weighty material there, but fascinating and pertinent to today.

I am currently reading Thomas Merton’s No Man Is An Island, a book I actually own, but never read until now. And… I simply love this book. It is extremely profound and relatable, one of the best I’ve ever read.

I’m looking forward to reading another Lewis (Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer) is next, and if I finish that in time, maybe Chesterton.

And perhaps I will continue this membership, perhaps not. I haven’t decided yet. But one thing is for certain, I greatly enjoy getting more reading done in my life.

What are you reading? What are the books that you plan to discover with this approach? Share your responses below.

Amazon Unlimited

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