Jeremy Thompson Catholic PhD in Biblical Languages, Programmer, Runner

I just got an e-mail from Audible.com saying that January 13th is the last day to get a free trial of their Platinum Program.  This trial allows you to download 2 free audio books over a 2 week period.  At the end of the 2 weeks (or before) you can decide if you want to keep the program or not.  They are switching to a Gold Free Trial which will allow a free download of 1 audio book.  I’ve plugged this program for a while because as someone who does a considerable amount of driving I love Audible.  I listen to audio books all the time and have been a Platinum Program member for well over a year now.  Besides that they have some great Biblical Studies resources like these three Modern Scholar Series courses:

The Hebrew Bible by Lawrence Schiffman

The Dead Sea Scrolls: The Truth Behind the Mystique by Lawrence Schiffman

The History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs through the Romans by Eric Cline


There are also a number of very good audio Bibles to choose from as well as a good number of popular level books in the area of Biblical Studies.

At any rate, if you want to take advantage of the last day to go and get an extra free audio book, this is it.  You can follow this link –

I’m not sure what will happen with the Audible UK program, but if you want to try it before they pull the program (if they haven’t already), try this link:

Now, that I have my new Kindle, I can say with certainty that Kindle’s text to speech is not like an audiobook.  It is like text to speech on a computer screen.  I with almost absolute certainty suspected that coming in, but it makes it all the more difficult to understand why some publishers spoke out so strongly against the text to speech function.  I agree with those that say this whole thing is dumb.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the text to speech.  It seems like it will be helpful to keep concentration if my eyes are getting a little weary.  But, it is nowhere near the point where I would give up my Audible subscription (which I love).  And, I think anyone who makes it out to seem like text to speech will kill audiobook sales is being silly.

This month ChristianAudio.com has Just Courage by Gary A. Haugen for free.  Here is the description of the book from their website:

International Justice Mission president Haugen has found that “the pathway out of a nearly comatose state of boredom, ineffectiveness and triviality lies in the struggle for justice.” This book describes how to break out of a ho-hum Christian life and see God’s powerful and mysterious ways at work.

You can also see a video of the author HERE.  Make sure to get your free copy.  Sometimes they get overloaded with traffic on the first day of the month, but keep trying.

HERE is a link to PodBible.com a project associated with Tim Bulkeley among others.  It is by far one of the best free audio Bible sites online.  There are a number of exceptional things about it, but one really sticks out.  There are free audio Bible downloads of a modern translation.  As I have stated on the audio Bibles page of my site, most of what you are going to get in terms of free audio Bibles online is going to have a catch.  If you are able to download it all, then it is likely going to be an old, out-of-copyright text.  Or, if you want to listen to a modern version, you are going to be tied to listening to it online through streaming.  Pod Bible looks like it is going to give you a modern translation that you are able to download.  Some of the features like Bible60 are going to be great, but they are still a work in progress.  Yet this should not stop you from clicking over to the site and checking everything out.

If you like free stuff, don’t forget to sign up for my e-mail list and my RSS feed.  You’ll find out about all kinds of free stuff like in these Related Posts and more:

16 Free New Testament Commentaries

Complete Set of Free Biblical Commentaries

Free Mini-course – The Bible and History

Free Book on Genesis by Gary Rendsburg

Free Introduction to Ezra-Nehemiah

Free Introductions to Haggai

Free Book Chapters from Israel in Exile

Free Course Guide on the History of Ancient Israel

HERE is a link to a free New Testament audio Bible download that is good only for the month of September 2009.  It is available from ChristianAudio.com and is the God’s Word translation of the New Testament.  The title of the audio Bible is the GOD’S WORD Heard! New Testament.  Don’t miss out on this offer while it lasts.