Audible Comes to Canada

Hands up, if you don’t make enough time for reading in your life! …Guilty, as charged.

I’ve shared on my Instagram that reading isn’t something I’ve typically made time for, but I aspire to do more of. I know, I know, the benefits of reading are innumerable – like reducing stress, stimulating the mind, and generally carving out time for yourself to escape your daily stresses and pressures. You don’t have to sell me on it! But I truly get caught up in the ‘go, go, go mentality’, especially as a self-employed person, that I find it difficult to justify sitting down for a couple hours to read, when I feel like I could be crossing so many other things off the never-ending to-do list!

Launch of Audible.ca

Photo courtesy of Evan Bergstra

Thankfully, Audible has now officially launched its Canadian marketplace! As the world’s largest library of audiobooks, it’s finally given me a solution to this problem that fits my every day life! I’m alllll about things that make my life easier, so it’s nice to know that I can enjoy lots of the same benefits as reading, while having the flexibility to do other things. I can listen while driving, taking the subway or streetcar, cleaning the house, or even walking! Or if I wanted, I could just sit and listen to completely escape, while having someone tell me a story (like being a kid again)!

Founder and CEO of Audible, Don Katz, together with Margaret Atwood and Elisabeth Moss at the launch of audible.ca in Toronto on September 13th

The September 13^th launch of Audible’s Canadian marketplace kicked off with an event at Toronto’s Union Station. Margaret Atwood was there to speak, as was Elisabeth Moss, who read a moving passage from The Handmaid’s Tale. George Stroumboulopoulos even made an appearance!

Margaret Atwood speaking at the audible.ca launch

Elisabeth Moss reading a passage from The Handmaid’s Tale

George Stroumboulopoulos joining in for a quick selfie

If the crowd at Union Station was any indication of Audible’s reception into Canada, then it’s definitely off to a good start!

The Audible Train

Following that, it was ‘All Aboard the Audible Train’, as I was invited along with my friends, Sabrina and Didier, to join Audible.ca on an immersive train ride experience from Toronto to Montreal (and back).

We enjoyed tasty bites and cocktails during the ride, while mingling with members of the Audible team.

But the best part was, each of us was given a pair of Bluetooth headphones and a personal iPod, already equipped with the Audible app and 7 audiobooks. Naturally, I dove right in to You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, which inspired me on the train ride to and fro!

O Canada

During the train ride, Jon Fleming (Country Manager, Canada) sat down to personally give us an explanation of the Audible.ca launch and answer our questions. Fleming explained that the emphasis in the Canadian marketplace is to “help elevate Canadian voices” and “help support the development of the professional creative class”, such as Canadian authors and actors.

With over 50 titles being produced in Canada, Audible.ca will offer loads of quality Canadian content, like The Handmaid’s Tale (which is free for the next month). There are many New York Times best sellers to choose from as well, and thousands of new audiobooks being added every month.

There is absolutely no downside to checking it out. You can try the app, risk-free, for 30 days. After that, it’s only $14.95 per month, which will get you one free audiobook and 30% off all other audiobooks. If you don’t like a book, you can swap it for another at any time for free.

I can’t wait to continue my journey into ‘reading’ with Audible.ca and dive into many more audiobooks!

*This post was sponsored by Audible.ca, but as always, all opinions are my own.