5 Best Audio Books
that will Enrich your Life
Non Fiction books with Audible
I’ve always loved books, my mother would take me to the local library on a Saturday morning and me and my brother would pick out a couple of books each for the weeks reading. I developed a love of escaping into alternate worlds and fictional universes, from Jaqueline Wilson to Malorie Blackman I was hooked and I would often disappear upstairs to my room where I would lose myself into my book for hours and hours.
In the past years I’ve developed a connection to non fiction, finding the education of new and fascinating subjects to be highly rewarding. I can really hear the writers voice through their words and I’m fascinated by their angle of the world. However, takes me a very long time to read a non fiction book, I think I read Sapien’s by Yuval Noah Hariri over a year or so, little ,and not that often. Not because I wasn’t interested, much the opposite, but because I would try to read before bed when my brain was sadly fried from using it all day.
One day I downloaded an audio book instead, using the app Audible. It was perfect, I could listen to a chapter whist I was getting ready for work and when my brain fresh for information, I could listen on the bus or tube or walk to work, I could even listen whilst I was cooking dinner on a Sunday afternoon. Suddenly I found myself flying through books, and the information I could gain in a really short space of time was highly productive as well as life enriching.
Here, I would like to share with you some of my recently listened audio books, that I have found most rewarding.
Most works I will discuss are read by the author which I really love as the book becomes elevated to a more personal level. Their voice reveals the tone that they want their words to truly represent, aiding the angle of their argument or description. All accents and tones are unique and beautiful and listening to someones words through their own voice is something quite special.
You’ve got this by Dr Michaela Dunbar (Self Help)
I began following Dr Dunbar, a clinical psychologist, on instagram last year after finding her infographics eye-catching as well as easy to read and relate to. Her work helps people with a strong sensitivity to the world around them, so called ‘highly sensitive people’ or HSP. I had never heard of this concept but understood that the ‘symptoms’ were things that I had definitely experienced.
In Michaela’s book ‘You’ve Got This’ there is a whole chapter on being highly sensitive, she notes 27 statements and if you say yes to 14 then you probably also are a HSP. Things such as being easily effected by the moods of others, intently moved by the arts or music, require relief on busy days where you need to be alone, easily startled and have a serious change in mood when hungry.
Michaela’s voice is kind, caring and hugely informative. Beautifully, she describes having HSP as a superpower, the deep processing of situations and events that occurs means we can be naturally empathetic and understanding of other peoples needs. Many of these signs interestingly relate directly to my profession, such as being able to see and feel the subtleties in the change in light, sound, mood and temperature. My organic understanding of the relationship between mood, atmosphere and lighting in spaces now made sense.
She also discusses overthinking in great detail. Upon listening, I am reminded of being a child and visiting my grandparents, we would sit at the table for hours eating and talking with my cousins and extended family. There would be a lot of chatter, however from pre teen onwards, whenever I spoke my voice seemed amplified and silly. Maybe I didn’t fully understand the conversations as my cousins were much older but I wanted to be involved, after a while of saying things and feeling misunderstood, feeling the change of air temperature, I became more introverted and shy. I would reflect on uncomfortable situations for a long time after, catastrophizing an event that probably wasn’t even thought about by anyone else.
The ruminating continued for years, but Michaela’s book helped, she has wonderful tools to ensure your thoughts don’t run away when you are under the pressures of everyday life. Things such as writing down your worries throughout the day and then giving yourself a time in the day where you look back and come up with logical solutions to your fears.
A Visible Man by Edward Enninful (Biography)
The voice of Edward Enninful is velvety and enchanting. He reads his memoirs himself, transporting you straight into his world. One afternoon I stumbled upon an interview with Enninful and learned quickly that he was the Editor in Chief of British Vogue, but was so far from a Devil Wears Prada that I was sold.
His warmth, passion, fierce love of style and creativity resides deep within his words; born in Ghana and moved to London as a child his creative voice encompasses both the dresses that his mother designed and made as well as the street style of his City’s surroundings. Working and partying with friends such as Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell this book is rich with 90’s and 00’s nostalgia; it will reignight a love of fashion and style, and beautifully breaks through the stereotypes of who should be responsible for the content of fashion magazines of today.
One of my favourite parts of the book is when Edward is explaining that during the pandemic they decided to put portraits one month and landscapes another on the cover of vogue, uplifting the essential workers and giving people views to the outside when we were all under lockdown.
As a creator and designer myself, I am drawn to others with the courage to break the mould, and stepping away from high fashion and making people question and see outside of the box is truly magical.
Period Power by Maisie Hill
(Self Help)
This book is life changing.
So life changing in fact that I bought the paper copy to highlight and make notes on and another copy for my flatmate to read.
Maisie Hill’s brain and voice are vital reading for anyone that has a menstral cycle or knows someone that does. She walks the reader through the anatomy and genitalia, then the stages of the cycle (not just your period but also all in between) and then how to use those stages to elevate your life and experiences within it. For example she explains that typically around ovulation people with periods are at their most sociable and most likely to be able to take criticism, so this is a great time to enjoy a night out or even ask for a promotion at work. Post ovulation the hormones shift and its usual to become more introspective and you may want to stay in with a takeaway.
Hill’s voice and teaching are diamonds, since reading the book I track my own cycle each day, that information helps me to plan my month with the understanding of how I will be feeling. I will ask myself, do you really think its a good idea to go out two nights in a row when your period is due? Probably not, move it to a few weeks later when you are feeling more sociable.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah(Biography)
Being British I hadn’t watched the daily show, or really knew who Trevor Noah was.
The first time I heard him talk was on Meghan Markle’s podcast Archetypes where she discussed with him his upbringing as a bi-racial person in segregated South African society, but also in a matriarchal society, brought up by his mother, aunties and grandmother.
I immediately found him intelligent, funny and honest with a wonderfully matter of fact tone which was compelling. So I bought and listened to his book which I was very pleased to know was read by him.
Trevor’s storytelling describes the struggles of his mother, a black woman having a baby with his father, a white man in a country where doing so was considered illegal. Throughout the book the overarching take away for me was the love between Trevor and his mother. He paints a picture of someone who wasn’t afraid to live the life that she wanted for herself and her children. She defies huge challenges throughout their lives with both a never wavering love of God, and a sharp sense of humour, which is illustrated beautifully at the end of the book.
Trevor’s humour also is woven within his stories and there is numerous moments that you will find yourself in disbelief and giggles at the same time.
For example, in childhood he had to go to the bathroom in an outside toilet which he found highly unpleasant especially the day when it was pouring with rain outside, so, when his family was out he had an idea to take a poo in the kitchen on some newspaper. He realises halfway through however that his blind great-grandmother is sat in the same room and starts shouting asking who is there, wondering what the smell is. He manages to finish and put the wrapped up stool in the bin, but when the rest of his family arrive home his mother uncovers his shit. Then, believing it to be the work of a demon and this was the talisman of the family being bewitched, Noah finds himself in a circle with his neighbours singing and praying around his burning poo, as the only way to kill the demon was with fire and prayer.
Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera (Historical)
An emotive and fresh perspective of the history of the British empire.
As a British person, or British subject, from childhood the history of what happened during empire rein is shrouded and whitewashed.
This creates a very narrow minded view of what colonisation in fact consisted of, and school history lessons rather stayed away from the subject. Better to teach the children about the first and second world wars and the UK as a hero, rather than their villainous role in the creation of one of the largest empires.
This book unveils much of the ugly in language that is carefully crafted but sharp. An example of this can be found close to the start of the book in which Sathnam discusses the concept of bringing back ‘Empire day’ 2.0 version in schools. Instead of celebrating all things empire though, as was in early 20th Century, it raises awareness for how imperialism is so intrinsic in our current society. With foreign language lessons the children could be taught how the English language ‘exists as a living monument to Britains deep and complex relationship with the world, through empire’. Providing an understanding of the etymology of words and phrases such as ‘not giving a dam’ or ‘not giving a damary’ coming from the Indian copper coin or 40th part of a Rupee.
Sanghera’s chapters cover countless ways that imperialism is ingrained into British society today, things that have over time become ordinary. In the British museum people travel from far and wide to see artefacts that have also traveled from far and wide. Thanks to books such as this one, as well as countless social media posts some serious others steeped in irony, since the black lives matter movement of 2020 it is much more common knowledge that much of the contents of the British museum has been stolen with no plans for return. One thing that Sathnam shone a spotlight on though, was that a huge amount of the stolen collection that has been denied return is sitting in storage, seems we would rather keep it underground than give it back to the true owners.
I really loved this book, it is raw with beats of satire and a truly vital read.