Help & FAQs

Will your books work with my computer & my iPod?
Yes! We’ve designed our site and our books to make it easy for anyone with any type of computer to download and enjoy our recordings. So whether you have a Mac, a PC or a Linux machine and want to use an iPod or any other personal player we are confident that you will quickly be able to enjoy our audiobooks.

I don’t live in the UK – how can I buy your downloads?
We accept credit card payments from all over the world. Please note though that our prices are GB Pounds sterling and include all applicable UK taxes. Your credit card company will convert this at the rate in force at the time of your purchase. silksoundbooks.com has no control over what you will be charged, so please check with your own credit card issuer if you have any concerns at all.

The download is in ‘Zip’ format – what’s that all about?
To make the download as simple as possible we combine all the separate chapters of the book you’ve chosen into one zip file. This is what you’ll actually download. Remember – these are full-length books, some of them with 30 or more chapters – downloading 30 individual files would not really be enjoyable. There is a big running-time difference between an entire book and a three-minute single!

Mac Users:
On most Mac computers the zip file will download to the desktop. Clicking the file will then automatically unpack it and save all the chapters to a folder called silksoundbooks. You can then drag all the mp3 chapters at once into your iTunes library, which will copy the book into the iTunes folder.

PC Users:
When the download has finished on a PC running Windows you’ll need to double click on the file to launch the program that extracts all the mp3 files to a folder called silksoundbooks. You can then drag all the mp3 chapters at once into your iTunes library, which will copy the book into the iTunes folder.

Most PCs will unzip the files automatically with software that is already installed. If the file is unrecognised, it’s likely that you don’t have the unzip software installed. Click HERE for a link to download a free program, which will enable you to unzip your book. If the files aren’t unzipped, no device will be able to play the audio, so this is an important point to bear in mind. Dragging a zip file into iTunes just won’t work!

I’ve downloaded the book but it’s disappeared. Where do I look?
We can’t control where your computer downloads files to - but if the download completes you can be pretty sure that is on your computer! Your internet browser software normally has an option to set the folder that all your downloads are saved in and this is where your zip file will be. If your software asks for a location to save in, be sure to remember what you told it!

My internet connection dropped out … can I download again?
Yes, of course! We know that things don’t always work perfectly first time. So if, for any reason, your download fails, don’t worry. You can login to
“my silksoundbooks” with your email address & password and download your book again for 30 days following your purchase.

Why do you use mp3 files ?
We want to reach the widest audience for our recordings. We don’t think that you should be tied to any particular hardware or manufacturer and since mp3 has the widest acceptance, this is the format we’ve chosen.

What about other formats ?
We’re looking at providing ogg formatted downloads – if you’re interested, drop us an e-mail at support@silksoundbooks.com - if there’s enough demand we’ll do it.

Why only 64kbps ?
Have you listened to the recordings?! We’ve found that by recording our works to the highest possible quality in professional digital studios we can offer incredibly high fidelity recordings at manageable file sizes. We think you’ll be amazed at the quality.

Doesn’t mp3 invite piracy?
To put that another way – why don’t you use DRM protection?
At silksoundbooks we believe that we should trust our customers. After all, anyone can get round DRM if they really want to – and it just ends up being a huge inconvenience to legitimate users who want to use their downloads on their own personal players. Having said that, if we find our works being sold or shared by others in a commercial way we’ll put our attack lawyers onto them without hesitation – we know exactly who bought what and when.

How do I contact Silksoundbooks.com?
If you have an enquiry or a question that isn’t answered here, please feel free to contact us at support@silksoundbooks.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.