Audiobooks for Dad Archives - Page 7 of 7

“Becoming Steve Jobs”, by Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli

Newly published book, Becoming Steve Jobs (March 2015) by authors Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli, is an unauthorized biography about legendary C.E.O. Steve Jobs, who died from complicated liver failure. The sub-title of the book: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart Into a Visionary Leader, gives the reader immediate insight as to the tone of the book. Jobs was known by his fellow executives as a skilled manipulator of many people, and favored those who stayed closest to his way of thinking.

The book strives to more sympathetically picture Jobs as a man misunderstood due to his early explosive years. However, critics seem to agree that this new book does not do much to help Job’s posthumous reputation. But, at least the last chapters show how he cared for his colleagues. In his final days, he especially became more melancholy. For example, just before Jobs was to be announced as a new Board Member of Pixar, he pulled aside Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger to let him know that his cancer had returned and gave him the chance to back out of the deal. Of course, he did not change the agreement and they became friends and had a productive alliance.

A film is due in October 2015 based on Walter Isaacson’s biography, Steve Jobs. The director is Danny Boyle with Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Jobs will be played by Michael Fassbender.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

The Legend….”American Sniper”, by Chris Kyle and Scott McEwen

“American Sniper” by authors Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice, and Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, is an account of SEAL Kyle’s career from 1999 to 2009 as having the most career sniper kills in U. S. military history. The insurgents in Iraq feared him more than anyone, and called him al-Shaitan (the devil). He had a $20,000 bounty placed on his head by the insurgents.

Through four combat deployments, Kyle fought alongside fellow SEALS, Marines, and Army soldiers earning legendary respect from all. He protected them from rooftops and from positions that were totally undetected. He earned seven medals for bravery with the inclusion of two Silver Stars. He was also awarded the Grateful Nation Award from the Jewish Institute for National Security. After his deployments were completed, he became a chief instructor for the training of Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter Sniper teams.

Chris Kyle’s account of his extraordinary battle experiences will rank as one of the greatest war memoirs of all time. Clint Eastwood has directed a by the book interpretation of “American Sniper”. The movie has been Academy Award nominated for best movie, actor, actress, supporting actor, and supporting actress. The end of this remarkable life will bring even the most jaded of readers to tears.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Start your new year off on the right track…”Work Simply”, by Carson Tate

Carson Tate has put her thoughts on the most productive means by which different people can work into her book, “Work Simply: Embracing The Powers of Your Personal Productive Style”. The book is a tool to use to avoid the pitfalls of “spending more time managing our calendars and to-do lists than doing actual work”.

Tate observes that we are so different in the way our brains work, and that so called “experts” who give instruction do not allow for those differences. There are four major styles of individual productivity: Prioritizers, Planners, Arrangers, and Visualizers. Her tactics allow the individual to leverage their personal style instead of fighting it.
Her informative advice shows how you can even improve workplace relationships by understanding different styles. She gives an example of “you’ll find out why it’s more effective to e-mail a Planner, but deliver the same message in person to an Arranger”.

One reviewer said that with Carson Tate’s book, she feels that she is entering 2015 inspired to adjust her time management and productivity practices to better align not only how she works, but how she lives!

Start your new year on the right track!!! Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Audiobooks On Long Trips With The Family

The art of traveling with the whole family largely consists of A) Not going completely insane, and B) Not letting on to everyone that you have, in fact, gone completely insane.

Audiobooks can help.

You just have to pick the right one. Otherwise you might just as well sing about the Wheels on the **^%$#@ bus for seven hours – this still being better than the complete recorded works of Justin Bieber that your pre-teen daughter can and will inflict on you.

What’s it going to be? It can’t be too long – check the length, because you want it to cover most of the trip, but still reach a conclusion. It has to be something that every member of the family can – at the very least – tolerate. This includes mom and dad, who are as entitled to a vacation as anyone else. It has to be read well.

Goodreads is a review site by ordinary readers for ordinary readers. Here’s a discussion about audiobooks for car trips with kids:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/140708-best-books-for-a-road-trip?auto_login_attempted=true

Here’s my own suggestion – a classic pirate adventure, not too long, with chances for your best pirate voices afterward – Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. At seven hours it’s fine for either one long trip or a there-and-back–again. It combines blood and thunder adventure for the kids (and dad) while being educational and classic literature – mom may like that part.

Audiobooks On Long Trips Alone

I once drove from Atlanta to Toronto with a pile of books-on-tape (it was a long time ago). Somewhere around Toledo I put in Shelby Foote’s account of the Battle of Shiloh. On the fourth tape, somewhere outside London, Ontario, the tape screwed up. That’s why we don’t use tapes anymore. I am still unsure how the battle came out — maybe your library has a copy:

Now, you are on your own, and can sing along with the entire recorded works of Black Sabbath if you like – but once your throat hurts badly enough, you may want to listen to something different.

The Awl has a piece where contributors make their own, um, contributions.

Audiobooks While You Cook

It’s maybe not surprising that many people say they like to listen to audiobooks when they cook. These days, dad is as likely to be cooking as mom – that was the way in my own family, showing advanced thinking for the 1960s (and possibly a recognition that my dad was the better cook).

The skills required to prepare food aren’t the same as those needed to listen to a story, so you can really listen to anything you like. But, since culinary matters are what the kitchen is all about, here’s a collection of audiobooks relating to food.

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Audio-Books/Sports-and-Hobbies/Cooking-and-Wine

And, since we are emphasizing the masculine aspect of cooking, we’ll pick Anthony Bourdain:

https://www.audiobooksnow.com/#!p=details&id=172431

Because we’d all like to spend a drunken 24 hours in Ulan Bator with Anthony Bourdain wouldn’t we?

Audiobooks At the Gym

Exercising at the gym mostly consists of doing repetitive motions for periods that are longer than we’d like, right? And usually in a place where the décor is industrial. Walking on a treadmill or riding an elliptical bike involve pretending to be on a journey, except that the view doesn’t change – and it wasn’t much of a view to begin with!

Audiobooks are great for two things. First of all, a good workout book helps with motivation, and motivation isn’t always strong for many of us. Secondly, a well-read story transports us from our actual, mundane situation to somewhere in our mind. Seattle PI discusses the value of a good narrator, with a wide variety of suggestions (not all, it should be said, manly in taste):

http://blog.seattlepi.com/happilyevenafter/2012/01/26/the-ultimate-motivation-for-working-out-audiobooks/

Julia Sweeney (who I shall assume is not anyone’s dad) has a fine piece in the Guardian about audiobooks and the treadmill:

“I own a treadmill. My treadmill goal is simple: burn 500 calories. To do this, I need to be on the treadmill for one hour; 60 eternity-long minutes. And then I have to do it again and again, four or five times a week, every week.”

Her recommendation is audiobooks – in her case, about Keith Richards!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/01/treadmill-exercise-audiobooks