I almost always have a book going on my phone or on CD in my car, but I've never invested in an Audible subscription. $12.99 a month for one book that I am not sure I'll love seems like too much of a commitment, especially with other options available. So here's my 100% free 2020 audio book reading list, so far:
- Education of an Idealist. Samantha Power. Obama's UN Ambassador. Tells her story of growing up in Ireland, moving to the US at age 8 (about the time I was moving to Ireland from the US), serving as a war correspondent in Bosnia and finally being appointed UN ambassador. She covers the humanitarian disaster in Syria and her struggles with US policy in depth. From the Forsyth County Public Library.
- Measure What Matters. John Doerr. Management book on OKRs (Objective and Key Results). We are adopting this at work. Lots of great case studies from Intel, Google, Gates Foundation and others. From our company e-learning platform, Percipio. The IOS app is so-so.
- Sapiens. From the library, wanted like it, but just couldn't.
- Finish. Jon Acuff. Short treatise on finishing goals. Acuff is an entertaining writer. He was one of our general session speakers at our customer conference last year. Very entertaining narrator of his own work. From the library.
- The Obstacle is the Way. Ryan Holiday. Holiday is a modern stoicism guru. Makes you rethink challenges that get in the way. “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius. I'll definitely read more of Holiday's stuff. From YouTube. You can get lots of fully narrated audio books on YouTube.
- 1984. Orwell. A classic, now more than ever. Don't get me started on Minitrue. If you haven't read it, you should. This is my 4th or 5th time, I think. YouTube. This one actually has the text page by page so you can read along. The app is pretty good as long as you have data access. I use the free version of YouTube.
While the library branches are closed right now, most have digital audio services. I just browsed mine and checked out Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk) Never read it or saw the movie.
So, if you are looking to read more, there are plenty of free resources for audio books out there. Enjoy, and please share if you have some good ones I've missed. Stay safe and healthy.
