Forget Audible and Amazon – I'm switching to these 5 alternatives for audiobooks and e-books in 2026

Like many people I'd like to spend my money more ethically, and as an author that's particularly true of buying books. Rather than contribute to Jeff Bezos's "let's send Katy Perry slightly into orbit inside a giant space rocket" fund, I try to buy most of my books from local indie bookshops, at book festivals and directly from small publishers.

That often costs a bit more, but as someone in the indie book industry I'm very aware of the difference that even small sums of money make when that money is spent locally or with small publishers. It really helps bookshops, publishers and authors alike, and that keeps the good books coming.

So, instead of throwing coins into the gaping maw of global e-commerce, I'm trying to do with digital what I do with printed books: eschewing Amazon and ...