MP3 Audiobooks & iTunes

[Mezzo]

My library lends audiobooks on CD and MP3, and permits patrons to rip a copy to play on iPods, etc. Thanks to you, I know about joining CD tracks, but what should I do with MP3s? A recent one has 158 tracks, making navigation very difficult on the iPod. When I switch from the book to a music playlist and come back, my place in the book is lost. Suggestions? Do I need to check out the MP3 from the library again and re-rip differently? I am an old(er) dog trying to learn new tricks. Thanks for your help and great articles.

[kirkmc]

See this Macworld article, where I explain how to make a smart playlist for audiobooks for the type of situation you describe:

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/1136824/audiobooks.html

[Mezzo]

See this Macworld article, where I explain how to make a smart playlist for audiobooks for the type of situation you describe:

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/1136824/audiobooks.html

Thanks. How can I re-set the play count to zero to utilize the smart playlist properly? Somehow, I have some tracks that are listed as playing multiple times, and others not at all. I am also having a problem with the "Remember Playback position" field. It is greyed out and is not selectable on some of the CDs I have ripped. Ditto for "Skip when shuffling." With multiple discs, I have to figure out which one I was on in order to have it pick up at the place where I stopped. On my Audible-purchased books, the loudspeaker icon shows which section I was in, which makes it a no-brainer. But it doesn't seem to show up on the books I ripped, so I end up hunting through a dozen disc listings. Ideas?

[kirkmc]

You can reset the play count by selecting all the tracks, right-clicking, and choosing Reset Plays.

 

You need to make sure to include the disc number when you rip each disc. You may find it easier to join all the tracks of each disc, so you'll only have a dozen or so files, instead of potentially hundreds.

 

As to why some of them are dimmed, I don't know.

 

Another really good option is <a href="http://dougscripts.com/itunes/itinfo/jointogether.php">Join Together</a>, which can splice all the files of an audiobook into a single long file.