Alas, my flip phone’s inner screen is broken. I decided to cut my losses and buy a refurbished iPhone 13 Mini. This means I needed to figure out which iOS audiobook app I want to use. I scoured the internet to come up with a list of potential audiobook apps and then made a spreadsheet to compare features. All these apps were tested on my iPhone 13 Mini which is currently running iOS 18.1.1. Carplay was tested on a 2018 Subaru Impreza. Below are my thoughts on the apps.

Audience

iPhone users who

• Want to read a long post about iOS audiobook apps
• Want to use something other than Apple’s native iBooks app
• Own non-DRM audiobooks from places like Libro.fm (i.e. not Audible) ¹
• Want the audiobooks locally on their phone, not in the cloud, for situations when internet access is spotty
• Don’t want to run their own media server².

Audiobook Apps

I downloaded 10 audiobook apps but had to exclude two because they were no longer functional. I’ve listed the remaining eight audiobooks below in order of preference. However, we all have slightly different audiobook needs so my favorite may not be yours. In my view, the two best audiobook apps are BookPlayer and MP3 Books. Both can be downloaded for free to compare functionality. If you like the functionality of MP3 Books best, I recommend paying the small one-time fee to upgrade to the Pro version. If you plan to use BookPlayer, you can contribute to the optional tip jar.

Important: To my knowledge, none of these apps work with DRM content. This includes audiobooks bought through Audible and Apple.

BookPlayer

Book list

Playing an audiobook

Price

• Free for most features
• Optional Tip Jar to show appreciation
• A subscription is required for some beta features including Cloud sync

Pros

• Regularly updated
• Good UI
• Very configurable
• Multiple ways to import books
• Easy to batch-add M4B and zipped MP3 audiobooks
• Ability to search audiobook collection
• Great organization options for large collections
• Can retrieve the embedded audiobook cover or replace with a custom cover
• Optional Auto Sleep Timer
• Excellent Carplay features
• Voiceover support (not tested)

Cons

• No Wi-Fi upload
• Sleep timer doesn’t pause when the book is paused and movement doesn’t restart the sleep timer
• Not easy to batch add audiobooks made up of multiple MP3 files

BookPlayer is an excellent audiobook app. The organization options are one of its biggest strengths. While multiple apps, including this one, have the ability to search for audiobooks, this is the only app that offers the option of nested folders. It allows me to group my books by authors and then by series. So, if I want to easily browse all my Bujold books, I go to my Bujold folder, and then choose either the Vorkosigan Saga or the World of the Five Gods folder. In addition, within the folders I can drag the books to the order I want them to appear. This is particularly useful when you have BookPlayer’s AutoPlay toggle turned on which automatically goes to the next book in the list. If I finish all the books in the Vorksigan saga, it’ll start playing the first book I have in my World of the Five God’s folder. In addition, BookPlayer has a select feature that lets me organize multiple audiobooks at once rather than one-by-one.

For me, one of the most exciting features BookPlayer has is its optional Auto Sleep Timer feature. This restarts the sleep timer whenever playback is started again until you explicitly turn the sleep timer off. This means that if I don’t fall asleep before the first sleep timer expires, I can simply tap my earbud to start the audiobook again, without needing to open my eyes, and it will remember I want the sleep timer to engage again. It looks like this is a new feature as of 2024 and I am very excited the developer added it. The sleep timer does work a little differently than in the Android Smart Audiobook Player. In BookPlayer, it doesn’t pause when the book is paused and it seems to be a global setting. That is, the timer continues to count down even if I switch to another book. This works fine for me but may be a problem for others. One other really nice feature of the sleep timer is it fades before stopping completely. It’s a shorter fade than I had for Smart Audiobook Player. However, it’s smooth enough that I don’t wake up from the sound suddenly stopping.

BookPlayer’s CarPlay experience is also excellent. Most of the apps I tested had some basic CarPlay functionality if I started the audiobook playing from my phone. However, very few of the apps let me open them from the car’s screen. On long drives I might want to easily switch from my podcast player, or Libby app, to my personal audiobook collection without stopping the car and BookPlayer makes this very easy. In addition, there are an amazing number of options while playing audiobooks. Besides the basic pause and skip buttons (both short skips and chapter skips), you can also choose tracks from a menu, add bookmarks with one touch (there is no annotation option in CarPlay mode), boost volume, and change playback speed.

CarPlay

For me, the biggest downside to BookPlayer is how it handles multiple MP3 files for the same book. To be fair, this is something that most audiobook apps seem to struggle with. If you try importing multiple individual MP3 files for multiple books at the same time, you either have the choice to leave them all ungrouped or to group them as one audiobook. Either option could require significant cleanup after the import. Copying a folder, zipped or unzipped, does work but unlike Smart Audiobook Player you can’t choose which folder it ends up in ahead of time³. When batch importing, it’s best to either stick to M4B or organize MP3 files into individual audiobook folders before importing.

MP3 Audiobook Player

(also called MP3 Books)

Book list

Playing an audiobook

Price

• Free with ads for books under 12 hours
• $1.99 to remove ads
• $3.99 for audiobooks over 12 hours
• $5.99 one-time for everything above and more (Pro)

Pros

• Regularly updated
• Decent UI
• Many advanced features
• Many supported file-formats
• Multiple ways to import books
• Easy to batch-add M4B and zipped MP3 audiobooks
• Ability to search audiobook collection
• Can retrieve the embedded audiobook cover or replace with a custom cover
• Graphical overview of listening statistics
• Optional always on sleep timer

Cons

• No organization options⁴
• Couldn’t play from CarPlay screen
• Cannot manually reorder individual MP3 files within a book
• Minor things don’t always work as expected
• Free limitations are annoying, but cheap to remove

Both MP3 Audiobook Player⁵ and ListenBook, its sibling app, are the most configurable of any of the apps I tested. They’re created by the same developer and have similar functionality so unless I say otherwise, all features I mention are relevant for both. The developer mentions they listen to audiobooks all the time and it shows in both of these apps. Almost every setting can be customized. For example, the auto-rewind customization has different settings for very short pause, short pause, and long pause.

As you can tell, sleep timers are near and dear to my heart and this sleep timer can be extensively customized. In addition to the typical duration options, like BookPlayer the sleep timer has an optional setting to be “Always Enabled”. It also has a setting for automatic volume control which can reduce the volume as the sleep timer runs out. Unfortunately, this reduced volume is persistent so if you start the audiobook again, it starts at the reduced volume. One really nice set of sleep features this app has is several “restart timer on” options. For example, you can have it restart the sleep timer when the phone moves and even set the shake sensitivity. The timer also pauses when you pause the audiobook. Like BookPlayer, the sleep timer is persistent regardless of which book you’re listening to.

This app has a number of advanced features that BookPlayer doesn’t. It has a nice graphical statistics page that displays how long you’ve been listening in the app and includes a separate page with detailed info on your listening history. MP3 Player also has advanced sound quality settings. When choosing the universal audio engine you also get an equalizer option. This app also works with the widest range of audiobook file types: MP3 (tested), MP4, AWB, OPUS, OGG, FLAC, AWB, AAC, WMA, M4B (tested), and M4A.

Statistics page

Sound options

For me, the biggest downside of MP3 Audiobook Player is that it doesn’t have robust organization options. In addition, the Always Enabled sleep timer didn’t consistently work for me. The other bug I noticed is when I tried to select the app on my Carplay screen, it would open but the audiobook wouldn’t play. When I started the book directly from the phone, it worked fine and in addition to basic functionality, did allow bookmarking. In the reviews, several people noted that sometimes the app would revert to the “free” version and it was sometimes difficult to restore to the paid version. This was not a problem I had while testing.

ListenBook and ListenBook Pro

Book list: three books per row

Book list: detailed view

Price

• $0.99 monthly subscription
• $7.99 annual subscription
• 17.99 one-time

Pros

• Same features as MP3 Player
• Additional UI customization options
• Has a music mode
• More sound customization options

Cons

• Same as MP3 Books
• Expensive compared to most book apps

Listenbook and ListenBook Pro is from the same developer as MP3 Books and the main difference between the two is the user interface and additional customization options. This app has two subscription options: monthly and annually via ListenBook. You can also pay a higher one-time fee by going to ListenBook Pro instead. As far as I can tell, they’re the same app, just different payment options. I bought ListenBook Pro back in 2022 for $4.99 and had no problem installing it on my new iPhone. ListenBook is more expensive than the other options on the list but if you want a long-term option with a nice interface, this may still be a good choice.

Playing an audiobook

Playing an audiobook with expanded control options

Music mode

As I mentioned above, the look of the user interface is a fair amount different than MP3 Books. ListenBook allows you to view books three different ways: 2 covers per row, 3 covers per row, or a more detailed list. When playing the audiobook you also have more view options. There’s the condensed play view, the expanded play view, and the music mode. The expanded play view allows you to change a number of settings without having to leave the play area. This includes book marks, sleep timer, book/music mode changer, airplay, and sound options. The sound options are where ListenBook has more customization than MP3 Books. It also has the ability to change pitch, enable noise cancellation, convert to mono or change your channel mix, or enable Bauer stereophonic-to-binaural.

Overall, this is a really nice audiobook app and if I didn’t like the organization of BookPlayer more, I would probably use this one.

Bound

Book list

Playing an audiobook

Price

• $4.99 one-time

Pros

• Simple but well-designed
• Regularly updated
• Handles individual MP3 files well

Cons

• No search
• Cannot boost volume
• Can’t transfer directly from computer via USB
• Only available in English

This is a relatively simple audiobook that still includes essential audiobook features such as changing playback speed, bookmarks, and a basic sleep timer. It even has a couple of moderately advanced features such as being able to reorder individual MP3 files. In fact, unlike the other apps above, it easily handles importing multiple MP3 files at a time and correctly groups by the audiobooks they belong to based on the file metadata.

However, the app does not have as many advanced features as the other apps above. The lack of a search may be a deal breaker for people with large audiobook collections. In addition, the Web Uploader did not work when I tried it⁶.

Little Ape Audio Books

Book list

Playing an audiobook

Price

• Free

Pros

• Simple but nice interface
• Can organize by collections
• Handles individual MP3 files well
• Regularly updated

Cons

• Fewer features than many apps
• No search
• Can’t transfer directly from computer via USB
• Only available in English

This is a good app if you want something really simple that’s free. Like Bound, it reads the file metadata and correctly groups individual MP3 books together. You can also rearrange tracks if it gets the order wrong. One unique feature is you can add audiobooks to collections and color code the collections. When you look at the audiobook list you can see the collection color to the right of the book. Or you can click the top drop down menu to limit by collection. This app is currently very simple but it’s being actively updated and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets new features in the future.

CloudBeats: Audio Book Player

Booklist

Playing an audiobook

Price

• Free for streaming and basic features
• $9.99 one-time for more features
• $8.99/year subscription to sync across devices

Pros

• Designed to directly connect with cloud storage
• Search
• Can handle playlists

Cons

• Fewer features than many apps
• Carplay seek buttons didn’t work correctly
• Can’t import files already on the iPhone

This app is only worth considering if you want to directly connect to Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Mediafire, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, ownCloud, pCloud, webDAV, or My Cloud Home (I only tested Google Drive). In some ways it feels more like a music player than an audiobook player. For example, it supports m3U playlist, you can set tracks to repeat, and remembering playback position is an optional setting.

Audiobook Player SmartBook

Book list

Playing an audiobook

Price

• 2 Books Free
• $9.99 for unlimited books

Pros

• Can boost volume 3x

Cons

• Fewer features than many apps
• Was last updated in 2020
• Some features were buggy
• Does not display embedded cover from file
• Free version includes ads

This app hasn’t been updated since 2020. There are better options available.

Audo

Book list

Playing an audiobook

Price

• Basic features free
• $1.99 one-time

Pros

• When playing audiobook can see bookmarks and chapter tracks on the same screen

Cons

• Fewer features than many apps
• Was last updated in 2020
• Some features were buggy

This app hasn’t been updated since 2020. There are better options available.

Audiobook Apps That Didn’t Work

I already had Book Mower and Bookmobile from prior years. However, I didn’t include them because the free versions are limited, they were last updated more than four years ago, and trying to upgrade to the full-featured option now returns an error for both apps.

Footnotes

In January 2024 I took a reading vacation. It was amazing and I want to do it again. 2025 is already fully booked, among other things I’m going to Worldcon in Seattle, but maybe I’ll be able to squeeze another one into 2026. Because of the reading vacation, I finished 18 books (5,491 pages) in January. I read the fewest books in May (4 books/1,356 pages). Even though I started January off strong, I read 14 fewer books in 2024 compared to 2023 but only 283 fewer pages¹.

Half of my books were science fiction and/or fantasy but mystery was my second highest genre. I had trouble finding science fiction I wanted to read this past year. I like reading escapist science fiction and, understandably, a lot of the science fiction right now is pretty depressing. The opposite of the depressing fiction is cozy SFF but it often falls flat for me. After some thought, I believe my very favorite plot is cranky (or angry) person goes on a rampage² and ends up making the world a slightly better place.

Here are my StoryGraph stats for 2024. Speaking of StoryGraph, this year I started logging when I started a book in addition to when I finished the book. In addition, just last month StoryGraph added a “paused” feature that I like because if a book isn’t immediately working for me I can set it aside and try again a bit later. This year, I have a goal of rating the books I read. I expect most of my ratings will be pretty high, because I rarely pick up a book unless I think I’m going to enjoy it, but I think it may be interesting to see the distribution.

As far as reading goals for 2025, I don’t think I have any major new ones. 2025 does not seem like a good year to do any stretch goals. However, like normal I am going to try to read the Hugo Award Nominees. In addition, I’ve joined a local book club. They’re picking books that I normally wouldn’t read myself so it’ll provide some interesting diversity to my list. February they’ll be discussing Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, March There There, and April will be Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table. Of those three, Ruch Reichl is the only author I’ve read before. I enjoyed Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise but just recently gave up on The Paris Novel.

Favorite 2024 Reads

• I re-read A Deadly Education in January and The Golden Enclaves in October. Remember how I said I like cranky people who make the world a little bit better? That’s describes this series’ protagonist in a nutshell.
• Book of Night – Holly Black is a very good writer and I thought the premise interesting.
• Iris Kelly doesn’t Date – A delightful sapphic romance.
• The Housekeepers – A fun historical heist.
• Loki’s Ring – Space Opera!
• Designing History: The Extraordinary Art & Style of the Obama White House – This was a bit different than the normal interior design books I read but it was really interesting. There were all sorts of tidbits I learned such as that the oval office has three sofas in rotation because nervous visiting guests tend to leave sweat marks on the sofas and they have to be cleaned often. Also, this book definitely invoked a bit of nostalgia because I miss having a president who has a yearly recommended reading list.
• Paladin’s Faith – The fourth in a the Saint of Steel fantasy series. I was particularly fascinated by how depictions of demons in this universe changed.
• Pride and Prejudice – I got the 2021 edition illustrated by Marjolein Bastin and it’s beautiful. I read a little bit every night right before bed.
• Soul Taken (February) and Winter Lost (September) – Patricia Briggs writes very engrossing stories. However, I think half the fun of these books is it being set in the Tri-Cities, close to Walla Walla. In fact, in this universe Walla Walla is a fey reservation.
• Encore in Death (February) and Payback in Death (June) – These days I get a little cranky with the woman marries rich man trope (honestly, I’m a little cranky with rich men in general). Also, Roarke’s help in Eve’s cases is often illegal which bothers me. However, the relationships in this series are wonder to watch.
• The Deep Sky – Another space opera. I particularly liked the scenes in the ship itself but the flashbacks were interesting.
• Starling House – I love houses. I can spend hours browsing Zillow house listings so having mystery that revolved so much around the house was a great combination for me³.
• The Tainted Cup – This had a definite Sherlock Holmes feel to me. It was a good mystery in a very unique world.
• The Late Mrs. Willoughby (read in March) and The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh (read in August). – Jane Austen inspired mysteries. Both of these I listened to the audiobook versions.
• The Husbands – This book has a delightfully bizarre premise. The ending didn’t quite work for me but I really enjoyed everything else about the book.
• Unraveller – This is a YA book but it manages to avoid some of the relationship drama a lot of YA can have. This was a really good story with a lot of depth.
• The Bezzle – A short book with a lot to think about.
• Some Desperate Glory – This book took me two tries to read. The first time I put it down after one chapter because I just couldn’t deal with the opening scenario. However, it was a Hugo nominee so I managed to push through and really enjoyed it by the end.
• Diving the Deep – This series is a bit hit or miss for me. I enjoyed the first and couldn’t get through the third book. This is the second book and it is my favorite of the three I’ve read.
• The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate & Live Well – I didn’t read as many interior design books this year as last which I suspect means I’m feeling a bit more emotionally stable. However, I read and enjoyed this one. It’s published in 2011, which is a bit old for an interior design book, but using drawings instead of photos made it feel fresher.
• The Wings Upon Her Back – Somewhat similar to Some Desperate Glory, this is the story of a woman who discovers she’s helping the wrong people.
• How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying – There’s been a spate of books recently about evil people who aren’t really evil, they’re just flawed people. This one worked better for me than several of the others I read⁴.
• The Unwedding – A multi-layered mystery set in Big Sur. I was reading this in early November when it was still way too hot so the rain in the book was very theraputic.
• The Luck Runs Out – This mystery series is about the same age as me and is sometimes a bit dated. However, I like Peter Shandy’s personality. I listened to the first book in the series but sadly it appears it’s the only one available as an audiobook so this one I read as an eBook.
• We Solve Murders – A nice murder mystery.
• The Dead Cat Tail Assassins – Well written and an interesting fantasy universe.
• Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me – Always great to hear someone talking about books.