diff --git a/cmd/silo/main.go b/cmd/silo/main.go
index 487745f7..d57810de 100644
--- a/cmd/silo/main.go
+++ b/cmd/silo/main.go
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import (
 	pluginv1 "github.com/Silo-Server/silo-plugin-sdk/pkg/pluginproto/silo/plugin/v1"
 
 	"github.com/Silo-Server/silo-server/internal/activitylog"
+	"github.com/Silo-Server/silo-server/internal/audiobooks"
 	"github.com/Silo-Server/silo-server/internal/adminjob"
 	"github.com/Silo-Server/silo-server/internal/api"
 	"github.com/Silo-Server/silo-server/internal/api/handlers"
@@ -1286,6 +1287,12 @@ func main() {
 		slog.Info("task manager started")
 	}
 
+	// Scaffold audiobooks service (sub-plan 1: kill-switch reader only).
+	// audiobooksSettingsAdapter (defined at package level below) bridges
+	// catalog.ServerSettingsRepo.Get to audiobooks.SettingsReader.GetString.
+	audiobooksService := audiobooks.New(&audiobooksSettingsAdapter{repo: settingsRepo})
+	_ = audiobooksService // sub-plan 2+ will register routes / scheduled tasks
+
 	if deps.DB != nil && pluginInstallationStore != nil && pluginRuntimeConfigStore != nil && deps.PluginService != nil {
 		userRepo := auth.NewUserRepository(deps.DB)
 		sessionRepo := auth.NewSessionRepository(deps.DB)
@@ -1827,3 +1834,14 @@ func mapFolderTypeToMediaType(t string) string {
 		return "mixed"
 	}
 }
+
+// audiobooksSettingsAdapter bridges catalog.ServerSettingsRepo (which
+// exposes Get) to the audiobooks.SettingsReader interface (which
+// requires GetString). The two signatures are identical modulo name.
+type audiobooksSettingsAdapter struct {
+	repo *catalog.ServerSettingsRepo
+}
+
+func (a *audiobooksSettingsAdapter) GetString(ctx context.Context, key string) (string, error) {
+	return a.repo.Get(ctx, key)
+}
diff --git a/internal/audiobooks/doc.go b/internal/audiobooks/doc.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..29011914
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audiobooks/doc.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+// Package audiobooks owns silo's first-party audiobook + podcast feature,
+// absorbed from the historical silo-plugin-audiobooks. Sub-plan 1 lands
+// only the package scaffold and the kill-switch reader; ABS-compat REST,
+// Socket.io, scanner branches, podcast feed refresh, and the silo SPA
+// pages arrive in later sub-plans.
+//
+// See docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-24-audiobooks-absorption-design.md
+// for the design and docs/superpowers/plans/2026-05-24-audiobooks-*.md
+// for the staged implementation plans.
+package audiobooks
diff --git a/internal/audiobooks/service.go b/internal/audiobooks/service.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a8b6cf7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audiobooks/service.go
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+package audiobooks
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+// SettingsReader is the minimal slice of the server-settings store that
+// the audiobooks service needs. The production implementation is
+// internal/catalog.ServerSettingsRepo (or whatever silo names that helper at
+// wiring time); tests pass a fake.
+type SettingsReader interface {
+	GetString(ctx context.Context, key string) (string, error)
+}
+
+// Service is the audiobooks feature's top-level orchestrator. Sub-plan 1
+// exposes only Enabled(); subsequent sub-plans hang additional methods
+// off Service as new capabilities (scanner branches, ABS handlers, etc.)
+// come online.
+type Service struct {
+	settings SettingsReader
+}
+
+// New constructs a Service. The constructor takes the dependencies it
+// will actually use; current sub-plan needs only the settings reader.
+func New(settings SettingsReader) *Service {
+	return &Service{settings: settings}
+}
+
+// Enabled reports whether the audiobooks feature flag (set by migration
+// 142 and toggled by operators) is currently true. Any value other than
+// the literal string "true" reads as false; this matches how silo
+// treats other boolean server_settings rows.
+func (s *Service) Enabled(ctx context.Context) (bool, error) {
+	if s == nil || s.settings == nil {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	value, err := s.settings.GetString(ctx, "audiobooks.enabled")
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("audiobooks: read audiobooks.enabled: %w", err)
+	}
+	return value == "true", nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/audiobooks/service_test.go b/internal/audiobooks/service_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c9fdcd1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audiobooks/service_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package audiobooks
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+type fakeSettingsReader struct {
+	value string
+	err   error
+}
+
+func (f *fakeSettingsReader) GetString(_ context.Context, key string) (string, error) {
+	if key != "audiobooks.enabled" {
+		return "", errors.New("unexpected key: " + key)
+	}
+	return f.value, f.err
+}
+
+func TestServiceEnabledReadsFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name   string
+		stored string
+		want   bool
+	}{
+		{"flag true", "true", true},
+		{"flag false", "false", false},
+		{"flag empty defaults false", "", false},
+		{"flag garbage defaults false", "yes-please", false},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		tc := tc
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			svc := New(&fakeSettingsReader{value: tc.stored})
+			got, err := svc.Enabled(context.Background())
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Enabled returned error: %v", err)
+			}
+			if got != tc.want {
+				t.Fatalf("Enabled = %v, want %v", got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestServiceEnabledPropagatesError(t *testing.T) {
+	wantErr := errors.New("db down")
+	svc := New(&fakeSettingsReader{err: wantErr})
+	_, err := svc.Enabled(context.Background())
+	if !errors.Is(err, wantErr) {
+		t.Fatalf("Enabled error = %v, want %v wrapped", err, wantErr)
+	}
+}