In between my daily podcasts, I still manage to listen to a few audiobooks, almost at the rhythm of one per month... sometimes helped by a roadtrip or two ;) The last review was a long time ago, time for the next one!

1. Off to be the wizard 1, 2, 3, from Scott Meyer

I dedicated a full post to the Magic 2.0 series. Very nice fiction perfectly served by a great narrator (for the audio version).

2. Master of Formalities, from Scott Meyer

From the same author as the Magic 2.0 Series and the same narrator . I also wrote a blog post about it.

3. The Phoenix Project, from Gene Kim, Kevin Behr & George Spafford

Again, I wrote about the Phoenix Project in length here recently. It is an absolute must read!

4. The subtle art of not giving a F*ck: a Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, from Mark Manson

I caught this book recommendation from David Heinemeier Hansson on Tim Ferriss's Podcast. A really good episode bythway... with a sequel. But enough with the plugs and links :D

Here's the pitch:

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it."

The idea behind the book is simple: the constant search for happiness is in itself bound to make you unhappy whereas living with what you have is in itself happiness. If you truely want something, you have to love the way to get there. Because if you just love the reward, you'll feel miserable all the way and might even never get there. Behind many funny and eye opening stories, the book tries to place mindfulness and responsibility for the own happiness at the center of our lives.

I swallowed this audiobook while driving to France. It was really fascinating and engaging.

5. I'm juging you from Luvvie Ajayi.

For the drive back from France, I needed another happy-go-merry book to keep me engaged while the family slept in the back of the car. I chose "I'm juging you".

The book is simply a long list of "speak out loud all those things that bother us but decency usually encourages us to Keep to ourselves" topics. Luvvie just goes on and on about what bothers her and I kept myself smiling and nodding the whole way.

A few months down the line I must admit I don't remember much about the book beside that I had a good time.

6. Mentoring 101 from John-C-Maxwell

Preparing more talks on the topic of mentoring, I figured I should dig a bit deeper and expand my horizon on the subject and started listening to this book.

I couldn't listen to it on my bike because I wanted to take too many notes. The book gives a pretty solid introduction on why mentoring is a good idea, what to expect going into it and how to proceede as a mentor or a mentee.

Note: it's only 2 hours long.
Note2: I gave the talk for the first time at the TopConf conference a couple days ago and it went really well.

7. The age of absurdity from Michael Foley

I had a really good time listening to this book. The tone is absolutely not at all cynical (and this statement is almost not cynical in itself) and the result very entertaining. Here's the pitch:

The good news is that the great thinkers from history have proposed the same strategies for happiness and fulfilment. The bad news is that these turn out to be the very things most discouraged by contemporary culture. This knotty dilemma is the subject of The Age of Absurdity - a wry and accessible investigation into how the desirable states of wellbeing and satisfaction are constantly undermined by modern life.

Michael Foley examines the elusive condition of happiness common to philosophy, spiritual teachings and contemporary psychology, then shows how these are becoming increasingly difficult to apply in a world of high expectations. The common challenges of earning a living, maintaining a relationship and ageing are becoming battlegrounds of existential angst and self-loathing in a culture that demands conspicuous consumption, high-octane partnerships and perpetual youth. In conclusion, rather than denouncing and rejecting the age, Foley presents an entertaining strategy of not just accepting but embracing today's world - finding happiness in its absurdity.

Again like in "I'm judging you", it feels nice to hear someone point out the crazy contradictions of our modern world. A good read to accompany you along the way.

In der Pipeline

I'm currently listening to It can't happen here from Sinclair Lewis and will then go on with The power of when from Michael Breus.

And you? What have you been listening to/reading?

PS: the Amazon links present in this post are affiliate links. It is not much, but the few € they occasionally bring, contribute to paying for the services I use to create more value: this blog on Ghost, the DevJourney Podcast on Buzzsprout or Zapier with which I automate many background processes. Thanks for your understanding!​

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