How to Listen to Audio Audible Books with Amazon Echo/Tap/Dot Alexa Device
image credit: the verge
Alexa is the name of Amazon’s voice-controlled smart assitant, at the moment, Amazon’s Alexa device includes Amazon Echo, Amazon Tap, and Amazon Echo Dot.
The Alexa device is the best seller of both 2015 and 2016’s Black Friday promotion event.
I bought an Amazon Echo this year, after two weeks usage, I primarily use it to listen to music and audio books.
As this blog is focusing on eBooks and eReaders, in this post I will introduce how to listen to audio books (especially books from Audible) with Alexa device.
Set up your Alexa device
- Download Alexa app on your cellphone. (iOS/Android)
- Power up your Amazon Echo.
- Open your cellphone’s WiFi settings, and choose the network “Amazon-XXX”, this network is generated by your Amazon Echo, it’s just for setting up your Echo, not connecting to internet.
- Run Alexa app to begin the set up procedure.
- In Alexa app, regiser Amazon Echo with your Amazon account, and choose the real WiFi network which has access to the internet.
- Now the basic settings are finished, you are set to enjoy your Amazon Echo now.
- Amazon Tap and Amazon Echo Dot can all be set up as the steps above.
How to use Alexa device
Every Alexa device can be woken up with the word “Alexa”, Amazon calls it the wake word. By the way, “Alexa” is the default wake word, you can change it to any work you like. Just avoid the word you would frequently say in your home.
Below are some basic daily usage example:
- Play a specific band’s songs – Alexa, play [band]
- Play a specific genre of music – Alexa, play [music genre]
- Ask for whether – Alexa, what’s the weather today/tomorrow?
- Ask for news – Alexa, what’s the news today?
- Ask for fact – Alexa, who won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature?
There are far more ways to play with Alexa, you can just ask it everything you want to know.
How to use Alexa device to listen to Audible books
- You need an Audible account, you can try it for free for 30 days and unsubscribe anytime.
- Buy the audio book you want to listen from Audible.
- Make sure you register your Amazon Echo with the same Amazon account which buys books from Audible.
- Say the voice command to your Amazon Echo：“Alexa, play the book [title].”
Here are more voice commands you can use when listening to Audible books with Alexa devices.
- Pausing your Audiobook – “Alexa, pause.”
- Resuming your Audiobook – “Alexa, resume.”
- Go back or go forward in the Audiobook by 30 seconds – “Alexa, go back/forward.”
- Skipping chapters – “Alexa, next chapter.” or “Alexa, go to chapter [number].”
The Alexa device does’t read book for you?
There are 3 possible reasons:
- Your Amazon Echo is short of power. You shall see a blue light if the power is sufficient.
- The account registered to Amazon Echo doesn’t have the Audible book.
- Network issue. You can diagnose it in Alexa app, if something is wrong in the network connection, you shall see an error message in Alexa app.
