How Do I Listen to Books with an iPod?

by Andrew Mikael
CDs are a common audiobook format and can be transferred to your iPod.

CDs are a common audiobook format and can be transferred to your iPod.

mp3 player and cd image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com

Read a book in the gym, in the dark or at work without visiting the bookstore. Your iPod will play audiobooks as easily as music, so you'll be catching up on the classics and skipping out on eyestrain. Audiobooks have been around on tape or CD for years, and transferring them to an mp3 player takes only a few minutes of tinkering.

Step 1

Find an audiobook. Audiobooks are available for sale at most bookstores and online book retailers in CD form.

Many books are also available in digital form. The website www.librivox.org has a repository of free audiobooks for download that are ready to be transferred to your iPod. If you want to listen to one of these books, save the file to your computer. The book may have multiple files, be sure you download the entire set.

Step 2

Digitize the book. If your book is on CD, rip it to your computer. Place the disc in your computer's CD tray, and use the "Import CD" button in iTunes to place the disk in your music library.

If your book is already in digital form, note the file's location on your hard drive.

Step 3

Transfer the book to iTunes. If you ripped the book from a CD using iTunes, it should already be in your music library. If not, press Ctl+O in iTunes to add the file. Browse to the audiobook's file and click "Open."

Scroll down to the file in your library, and right click on it. Click the "Info" tab. In the "Genre" box, choose "Books & Spoken." You may also change the title and author details from this window.

Step 4

Transfer the book to your iPod. If your iPod automatically syncs with your music library, plug the iPod into your computer and the audiobook will be added.

If you manually update your iPod, scoll to the audiobook file in your music library and drag it to the iPod icon in the left-hand pane.

Step 5

Listen to the audiobook. Audiobooks on your iPod act just like music and may have chapters that function like individual songs. Browse to the audiobooks section of your iPod and select the file to listen to the book.

About the Author

Andrew Mikael began writing in 2010. His articles appear on various websites, where he specializes in media and related technology. Mikael has a Bachelor of Arts in film from Montana State University.

Photo Credits

  • mp3 player and cd image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com