Any hoopla experts? Or in general audiobooks free?

[badatmath]

But to have multiple hoopla accounts it seems not only do I need separate card, separate email, and separate copy of hoopla app so I can have 2 books downloaded & in progress at once. Apparently to get 2nd copy of an app I need of course another app.

IDK why I would be the only person who might listen to one thing while doing a task and another book at another time of day but apparently I might be.

The library can't/won't answer a question like this though they did confirm my preferred option of overdrive is going away.

I added the libby app and set up my various library cards but have not tried to select more than one at a time there yet.

Having multiple apps and multiple cards seems overkill so I wondered if i was missing something.

Kind of a long shot for this forum but I figured never know.

As I re-read this I think it does not really make a lick of sense especially if you have not run into it. . . .

But we do have a lot of smart and helpful people so I will hope for the best and apologies if this was too long winded.

 

[scfr]

Hello - While not an expert, I am an avid Hoopla user. I have 1 app installed, and only 1 library card linked. I frequently have more than 1 item borrowed at the same time. Right now I have two audioooks, 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction. At other times it might be one music album and an audiobook. Here's how I have access to 2 audiobooks at the same time. I search for the title, borrow, then download. Repeat with the second title. When I want to listen to a book, I click on the My Hoopla icon and it shows me all the items that I have borrowed. I push play for the one that I want to listen to. The only thing I have to keep in mind is that I only get 10 borrows per month, so I have to take it easy on the music album borrowing or I might run out before the end of the month. I really hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

P.S. - editing to add that I use Hoopla on my Android phone.

 

[badatmath]

Thank you. Good to know I can use 2 titles from the same library and I definitely want to download and not stream. Do you use Libby at all, and if so, better or worse?

Not thinking I can get through a whole month on 10 downloads . . .

In the old fashioned days of overdrive I didn't have those limits, used different cards, and could put things on my mp3 and not my phone. Much much better IMO but "progress". . .

I just tried Libby - it completely hates my 3 cards. . .

 

[scfr]

Yes, I use Libby also. There are pros and cons to both. The best thing about Hoopla is that everything is instant borrow, no need to put things on hold only to have it become available at an inconvenient time. However, Hoopla doesn't always get the hot new best sellers right away. I usually search on Hoopla first, and if they don't have it then I check Libby. Also, Hoopla has things other than books, like music.

 

[badatmath]

Yeah I can't get by on 10 things. Right now I got an audiobook from overdrive from library 1 and and a hoopla from library 2 but to add libby library 3 on the phone it doesn't like. Works on the laptop but not the phone. IDK why.

 

[scfr]

Yeah I can't get by on 10 things. Right now I got an audiobook from overdrive from library 1 and and a hoopla from library 2 but to add libby library 3 on the phone it doesn't like. Works on the laptop but not the phone. IDK why.

I'm afraid I can't help with that, outside of my field of knowledge.

 

[badatmath]

Thanks. Yeah I have a lot of digital books and some audio at any given time though since you mentioned music i might try that if i can figure out how to add more checkouts.

 

[Kroeran]

Yes, I use Libby also. There are pros and cons to both. The best thing about Hoopla is that everything is instant borrow, no need to put things on hold only to have it become available at an inconvenient time. However, Hoopla doesn't always get the hot new best sellers right away. I usually search on Hoopla first, and if they don't have it then I check Libby. Also, Hoopla has things other than books, like music.

I use Libby mostly for 1940s +- detective novels, which are mostly available without holds.

I prefer reading on discarded obsolete iPads rather than kindle.

 

[badatmath]

Joining multiple libraries solved the quantity problem with hoopla audiobooks but I really dislike trying to read a book "in my web browser".

I was ready to throw the device across the room on the last book I read that way - issues with formatting that I simply don't have on kindle. Can't say it is true of all books of course.

 

[cathy63]

... In the old fashioned days of overdrive I didn't have those limits, used different cards, and could put things on my mp3 and not my phone. Much much better IMO but "progress". . .

I just tried Libby - it completely hates my 3 cards. . .

You can still use Overdrive if your library subscribes to it. They are pushing people towards the Libby app, but that's just a different interface to the same book collection, so if they have Libby they have Overdrive and you can still use the old website. Here's the Overdrive sign-in page: https://www.overdrive.com/account/sign-in If you create an account there and link all your cards from libraries that have Overdrive, you can search across all of them at once and when you find a book, it will take you to the checkout page at whichever library you want.

Two of my libraries have switched from Overdrive/Libby to "YourCloudLibrary" and one has "Axis360" in addition to Overdrive. Those collections are not as useful because they mostly require Adobe Digital Editions to read their books due to DRM. If you do find a book without DRM you can email it to your Kindle account and Amazon will convert it and deliver it to your device for you. If your libraries have dropped Overdrive, they may have picked up one of these other apps in addition to Hoopla, so you might want to look at your library's main website to see what else they offer. Even if it's a pain to read Adobe Digital Editions, it's not as bad as Hoopla's app and the number of checkouts allowed is usually much higher.

Another useful search tool is the "Library Extension" for the Chrome browser on a computer. You install it and choose all the libraries you want it to search, then whenever you visit a book page at Amazon it will tell you which of your libraries has a copy.

 

[badatmath]

Thanks, Cathy63. I do have the library extension app installed. I have not heard of axis360 or anything but I am not a fan of digital editions at all. I will go back to paper if that becomes all the rage I think!

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I use Libby mostly for 1940s +- detective novels, which are mostly available without holds.

I prefer reading on discarded obsolete iPads rather than kindle.

I cannot get enough 1940s +- detective novels. Could I interrupt this thread to ask for some names of authors? Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Earl Stanley Gardner (A.A. Fair) are a few. Or should we start a new thread to discuss?