Audio Round Up — Naptime Inspirations

It was a grand day in the kingdom when I discovered that I could listen to audiobooks while I was sewing. When Tom was in seminary we created a free student Audible account and that’s how I began. I no longer remember the login for that account so I can’t go back to see what books I listened to way back then. I do recall listening to the abridged version of Ron Chernow’s Hamilton (cut me some slack—that book is long!) and most of Erik Larsen’s books. Devil in the White City still haunts me but his books are SO good! I mostly listen to non-fiction because for me it’s more difficult to audibly attend to fiction. But I did listen to Marilynne Robison’s Lila.

My preferred genre is definitely “History” but in the last few years I’ve branched out into more “Christian Life” kinds of books. I prefer to read (paper copies) of those kinds of books because I don’t retain information very well if I only listen to it. For this reason, sometimes I buy the physical book after listening to the audio book. You can’t take notes on an audio book! If I do steal some moments to read a book during the day or at bedtime, I only last a few minutes before I fall asleep. So it can take me months to finish a book. That’s where audio books have an advantage for me. Summary: I can finish more books but I don’t retain the information very well.

This is affectionately known as “The Peanut Butter and Jelly Book” in our home. It’s so good! I need to read it again. Did you know that making your bed can be a spiritual discipline? Check it out!

Fascinating true story of a white man who lived a double life as a black man. Which also goes to show how utterly ridiculous racial purity laws are.

When my access to free Audible ended I moved to Overdrive, offered through the public library. I found this option to be extremely limited. New and popular books often have a waiting list. And any book can only be checked out for 2 weeks. It can be difficult to finish it within that amount of time. But it’s free! My favorite book by far that I listened to on Overdrive was Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line by Martha Sandweiss. A few years ago I stumbled upon Scribd, another audio book app. After my free trial I learned they offered a lower-tiered paid subscription that, for me, offered almost all the books that I searched for. Sadly, they raised that price about a year later, but it’s still cheaper than Audible. Looking over my downloads, I see that many books that I’ve listened to are missing. So maybe they don’t keep them forever?

Another subscription I pay for is Spotify. I mainly use it to listen to podcasts, though I do occasionally listen to music. I have a few favorites that I rotate through but there’s not one that I’m completely loyal to. I’ve listened to my fair share of business podcasts—tips for marketing, etc., but they can get repetitive after a while. I enjoy How I Built This for the stories of how familiar companies came to be successful. Some days I binge on Throughline for historical background on current events. I had been caught up on The Michelle Obama Podcast, but I’ve fallen behind. This American Life is usually intriguing. I’ve dabbled in Language of God, the Biologos podcast. I intend to listen to CMDA Matters (the podcast of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations) to get a better handle on issues that Christian medical professional are grappling with (disclosure: Tom works for CMDA). Often when friends post a link on Facebook to a podcast they recommend, I often save the post, and eventually I get back to it and listen. I have quite a long “Saved” list on Facebook. I wish more print articles were podcasts! I will even, occasionally, listen to a podcast or video that I know I don’t support, just to try to understand the perspective it’s coming from. But I sweat about what that will do to the algorithm! I listened to a podcast series on the algorithm. It was fascinating! The first podcast I listened to was Serial, Season 1. Oh. My. It was so captivating. That led me to listen to 2 more podcast series and an audio book all on the same topic. BTW, did Adnan ever get freed? Get that man out of jail!

Although it’s not strictly audio, I will also binge on TV shows. I haven’t done this much since March because I don’t like to have the TV on when the kids are home, and hey, at least some kids have been home all. the. time. since. March. My go-to binge is American Experience, but I’ve watched almost all that are available on Netflix and Prime. American Experience is the gold standard for documentaries. It’s just so good. I’ll watch other documentaries but they feel more like 60 minutes or bad reality TV (that’s redundant). Having totally missed Gilmore Girls when it aired on network TV (I had newborn twins!) I binged that beauty a few years ago. And then again a few years after that. I don’t know why, but fall makes my heart turn toward Gilmore Girls. I watched Parenthood the series after I finished Gilmore Girls the first time. A little edgier, but enjoyable. I thought the last episode was really well done! Parks and Rec and Arrested Development round out my comedy genre. I’m currently close to finishing The Office. These were all watched while I was sewing, as if I need to justify my time to the blogosphere. I need to.

Noise canceling Beats. Thank you, Jesus.

This blogpost has left me feeling unexpectedly vulnerable. I guess I was just honest about my preferences and didn’t “curate” my selections. Take that, Blogosphere! What about you? Do you enjoy audio books and podcasts? What are your favorites?