At the end of February, I reflected on the fact that I had not been reading for pleasure in quite a long time and I challenged myself to try out audiobooks. I got a free library card and with that, I had access to a wide range of options on the app Libby. The fact that you are borrowing them from the library puts you under pressure so you can return under the deadline (even though you can renew the period). One month has passed and I have listened to 3 complete audiobooks, and I am in the middle of a fourth one. I decided to start with non-fiction books as I thought they would do well as a sort of a podcast, and I was completely right – it worked wonders for me! I said I would try to focus just on listening instead of multi-tasking, just as if I was reading a book. I can say that 5% of the time I spent just lying down and listening, 25% I spent doing the dishes and cleaning my house with noise-cancelling headphones, 69% I spent commuting, and 1% I tried multi-tasking but gave up quickly as I noticed I couldn’t concentrate. The final verdict is extremely positive as now I look forward to commuting and doing house chores as I associate them with listening to an audiobook.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (2019) written and narrated by Caroline Criado-Perez (approximately 9 hours)
This was the first audiobook I picked, and it started out as a really good choice. The work of Criado-Perez reflects on the importance we attribute to data regarding economic development, education and health care and the policies we adopt related to that data. The author gathers data from different fields that can attest to a bias that fails to address gender. The main premise that explains this gap in data comes from treating men as the default for humankind patterns. I enjoyed the introductory chapter way better than the rest of the chapters as while it was providing a lot of data, it would go from topic to topic without lengthening itself too much on just one thing. Additionally, in the introduction, it is developed how the bias exists in language, film and videogames which are topics that I am very interested in. I still think this was an extremely insightful book, with a good number of statistics and quite some diversity regarding the countries mentioned.
So You Want to Talk About Race (2018) written by Ijeoma Oluo and narrated by Bahni Turpin (approximately 8 hours)
Even though this was the second audiobook I picked up, it was the first I finished, since I considered it more accessible than Invisible Data. The author explains how they understand multiple topics around race and in the same line, they advise on how one can approach certain issues. As I mentioned, it is “easy” to listen to as Oluo’s writing is inviting and marked with her own experiences and examples, even if sometimes there is the occasional statistics to back it up. For this reason, it is worth listening to it/reading it. However, read from a European perspective, the book is extremely focused on the experience of a Black person in the US. While it is good to know their experience and be educated, some details on the talk of race and the issues regarding race are different in Europe. I still think it is a well-rounded book that can be a good starting point for someone that is not that familiar with how to approach the topic of race.
A Brief History of Time (1988) written by Stephen Hawking and narrated by Michael Jackson (6 hours approximately)
Stephen Hawking wrote this book with the intent of explaining in simple terms almost everything related to the universe, from its appearance to its development. The mission was to make it accessible to people that had no prior knowledge of physics but still wanted to learn something new. This book was the third one I picked and the one that I haven’t finished, but I am excited to do so. Just as a brief context, the last time I studied physics was seven years ago. From then on, I have been pretty much focused on social sciences subjects as my studies demand. Yet, I consider myself to be interested in all kinds of subjects, so I knew that this book could help me get back together with my previous knowledge regarding the universe and learn even more in the process. Since I am not as familiar with the concepts of time and space as I am with gender and race, it takes me more time to listen to this. I have to stop and fully think about the topics discussed and make sense of them sometimes. I cannot lose one sentence, otherwise, I feel the need to go back. So, I cannot be cleaning the house, I need to be extremely concentrated and challenge my brain, which I love but sometimes don’t have the time to do. From what I have listened to, the book is put together in an accessible way and it keeps the listener/reader interested. It leaves you feeling good about understanding the surface of such complex topics.
Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir (2018) written and narrated by Dolly Alderton (9 hours approximately)
Finally, this one kept me company throughout my commutes, and it was truly company. It was like listening to your friend telling you their stories (for 9 hours). Alderton talks about her experiences regarding dating, friendships and finding a sense of self. The content of the chapters varies a bit, so you never get bored. Sometimes you get a list of the things she knew about love at 21, other times it is a heartfelt summary of an important event that happened in her life and how she was shaped by it, and then there is the occasional recipe (which I must admit, must be good to have in paper or pdf, but to listen to, is a bit odd, unless you are cooking it). This was the closest I got to fiction, as I became familiarized with Dolly; I could picture her, her friends and family, and her Camden apartment – so hopefully, it will not be as hard as I am fearing to listen to a fictional audiobook.
For now, I have been happy with my choices and would recommend these books/audiobooks to everyone, regardless of their interests. As for audiobooks, for non-fiction books, I couldn’t recommend it enough!