OT: Audiobooks / podcasts
All,
An off-topic discussion to help me out prepare for a road trip. I'm going to Educause in Denver this week, and will be taking the Amtrak for the first time ever. The Chicago -> Denver leg is 18.5 hours of travel time and looking for ways to kill time. Heard great things about audiobooks and podcasts for years now, figured it is now the time to go for it. I'll be on the train for over 40 hours of travel time between getting there and back in the next week.
1. Any audiobooks you recommend for someone that has never listened to one before? I'm pretty open to genre, just looking for interesting content and will keep my ear.
2. Any podcasts? I've recently listened to a few TED talks from Malcolm Gladwell, going to try Revisionist History.. but open to any interesting sports / technical / pop culture.
I appreciate any recommendations, or even any comments, on Amtrak travel (motion sickness going to be a problem?). Or, just use this as a time to insult me. Either or. Thanks for reading.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:20 PM ^
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast is awesome if you are a history buff. They are very long, detailed, and entertaining in my opinion
October 28th, 2018 at 12:47 AM ^
And anything from Mike Duncan. The History of Rome or Revolutions. I've really enjoyed Revolutions. Really interesting how we see the same patterns over and over. Somehow an educated liberal class gets agitated and some become leaders. Poor, exploited folk get agitated too and do most of the real fighting/demonstrating. Splits happen within. I didn't actually know a ton about The French Revolution before listening. I'd really like to read a book on it now. 1848 was also incredibly interesting and complicated.
October 28th, 2018 at 7:22 AM ^
I like Dan Carlin, but he does make quite a few little historical errors.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
Dan Carlin WW1 series is the best podcast ever
October 27th, 2018 at 11:21 PM ^
If you've watched The Good Place, the accompanying podcast is great. If you have not watched The Good Place, watch The Good Place.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:28 PM ^
Audible has great discounts for new customers. Whats your favorite genre?
Here are books ive loved:
Legal: any John Grisham
Conspiracy theory/drama: dan brown inferno.
High science fiction: Branden Sanderson (many of his books are 20+ hour commitment). Maybe start with the mistborn trilogy.
Ready player one if you are into 80s nostaligia.
I am pilgrim is a great novel about the hunt for a terrorist.
Under the dome by Stephen King pretty entertaining.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:31 PM ^
Excellent, just saw today that Audible basically gives new customers 2 free books even if you cancel after first free month. Certainly going to take advantage of that! Very surprising audiobooks are not cheap.
October 28th, 2018 at 8:27 AM ^
If you have a library card, the Overdrive app can let you “check out” audiobooks and e-reader versions of books from your local library. Obviously dependent on your library partnering with Overdrive. If they are though, you’ll have hundreds to choose from, though newer releases and super popular books like Harry Potter or A Song of Ice and Fire May have a waiting list. I always check on Overdrive to see if a book I’ve heard about is available and get on the waiting list if it is.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^
I’m listening to book 3 of the Mistborn trilogy during my commute. Sanderson is a fantastic world builder and makes the best use of magic of any fantasy author I’ve ever read. I second this recommendation.
October 28th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
I too can vouch for Brandon Sanderson. The Stormlight Archives are incredible.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:27 PM ^
A few podcasts I’d recommend to pretty much anyone:
Reply All
99% Invisible
Serial (Season 1 is the grand daddy of all podcasting. Seasons 2 and 3 are fine but not necessary.)
This American Life
Radiolab
Mystery Show (Only one season but it was amazing)
October 28th, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^
Serial season 3 has been excellent so far IMO.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:25 AM ^
Our justice system is really unfair
October 28th, 2018 at 12:37 AM ^
Agreed. Ending was extremely anticlimactic
October 28th, 2018 at 12:39 AM ^
This was in response to S-town. I’m not sure how it ended up here. User error, I suppose
October 28th, 2018 at 2:16 AM ^
Radiolab is so over hyped. They treat the audience like morons. Robert Krulwich is constantly like "OMG what!? The sky is blue? You don't say!"
October 27th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
All mich podcasts
1. Attack each day
2. In the Trenches
3. Sports talk 1050 uploads to podcasts
October 27th, 2018 at 11:36 PM ^
You could probably get there faster by horse and buggy.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:37 PM ^
Audiobook: Shantaram
October 27th, 2018 at 11:39 PM ^
Nick Offerman - Gumption
October 27th, 2018 at 11:39 PM ^
Audiobook:
Born a Crime - Trevor Noah (He narrates it himself and it's hilarious and enlightening)
Podcasts:
I'll second "Hardcore History" by Dan Carlin. Great narration and keeps my attention throughout.
"American Fiasco" - Fun, easy, short. About the USMNT crash out of the 1998 World Cup. If you don't like soccer then perhaps not.
"Serial." Specifically season 1. It's a must. Start here honestly.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:50 AM ^
I haven't watched much Daily Show with Noah since he's been on. Maybe I should give it another shot. He may have found his footing. I didn't find it too funny, but any time I've heard an interview with him it's been great. Really interesting to listen to. That sounds like a great audiobook.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:40 PM ^
If you are on this blog and have not listened to podcasts before, I would recommend the mgo podcast. Brian and co. do a good job recapping the games and previewing opponents.
If you are into comedy podcasts, check out Spontanianation. It is a podcast where Paul F. Tompkins interviews guests and then they improvise a story together. I would also recommend the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast. They are well written stories performed live in the style of old timey radio. It may sound a little strange but it is very entertaining.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:43 PM ^
I LOVE Mike Rowe's podcast, "That The Way That I Hear It". You won't be disappointed.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:43 PM ^
Audiobooks:
"Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer.
"Demon in the Freezer" by Richard Preston
"A Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson
Two other books by Krakauer are worth the reading, although I haven't done them as audiobooks:
"Into the Wild" and "Under the Banner of Heaven"
If you like non-fiction with a focus on the intersection of natural history with human civilization/culture/food, I'd recommend Mark Kurlansky:
"Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World "
"The Basque History of the World"
"Salt: A World History"
"Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man"
October 28th, 2018 at 12:40 AM ^
I listened to Into Thin Air during the summer of 1999 when I was driving to start school in Ann Arbor. For me, that is still the most riveting audiobook to which I have ever listened.
I like reading Krakauer's books but Into Thin Air was amazing as an audiobook.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:55 AM ^
I read that when I went to Nepal (it's everywhere in bookstores there, unsurprisingly). Such a great read that had me hooked from the beginning and really cool being in the country while reading it.
Side note: The Himalayas are mind-blowing in scale. It's almost hard to really appreciate it because all the mountains are so big and you're already at elevation in a city like Kathmandu or Pokhara. I've done a lot of hiking on much smaller mountains. There was one day we were finished and I was looking all around and really noticed how we were on a giant mountain but that mountain was really just a notch along a ridge to an even bigger mountain. I was used to hiking and being on a ridge where there's a few rocky outcroppings and what not to climb over instead of that outcropping itself being a large mountain. That was a big holy shit moment.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:44 PM ^
#1 truly long form history podcast has to be The British History Podcast. For one 18.5 hour trip, Dan Carlin's 5 part series on WW1 will get you through it, and is the best short series of podcasts I've ever encountered.
Audiobooks is a little harder. Audible has a massive library and you will get 1 free book a month, so you will get more mileage from looking for a book you've wanted to read and listening to that.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:09 AM ^
All of Dan's stuff is pretty good but yeah, Blueprint for Armageddon is one of the greatest things I've ever listened to.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:55 AM ^
Agreed. That's probably my favorite. The Mongol one was also great.
October 27th, 2018 at 11:51 PM ^
John U. Bacon’s books are on available on audio. Enjoy the trip!
October 28th, 2018 at 12:03 AM ^
S-Town and Crimetown are two must listens imo .
Dirty John is a good podcast series too
October 28th, 2018 at 12:27 AM ^
I wanted more after S-Town, at the end it’s like “What the fuck?”
October 28th, 2018 at 12:19 AM ^
My first audiobook for fiction stories was The Martian, and I really liked that one.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:21 AM ^
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - Classic novel. Great narrator. Very long.
Joe Rogan Podcast- Fantastic moderator. Very interesting guests. Very long.
October 28th, 2018 at 8:02 AM ^
Joe Rogan, definitively. The Fountainhead if you're in high school.
October 28th, 2018 at 8:18 AM ^
When I first signed up for Audible I choose Atlas Shrugged because it was 55hrs and I’d never read Ayn Rand. The story was ok, but the writing was cheesy at times and the philosophy was flawed.
I’d heard Dan Carlin was great and downloaded a random episode. It felt like a motivational seminar where they spend half the time telling you how great the stuff they are going to tell you is going to be. I quit after an hour.
Famous historian Will Durant has a series of books that cover the history of the world. They were written in the [30’s through 50’s] but are jam packed with info. I found myself drifting off not because I was bored but because I was thinking of the material. First book is 50+ hours. Second is ~40.
The Great Courses has one called “Building Great Sentences.” Fantastic book on writing. I was an ECB writing tutor and English major and I never fully got what writing was about until I listened to this book 20 some years later. Highly highly recommend.
October 28th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
Thanks for the recommendation about the course, “Building Great Sentences.” I definitely love to her recommendations like this one.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:31 AM ^
I love podcasts and Audible. Below are some of my favorites. Most of my interests have to do with history, especially with World War I and the Middle East. Elation to many of the books listed below, many of the classics in business and language have been great to listen to on Audible, such as the E-Myth, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Paul Collins language learning (I have done French, Spanish, Swedish, and German), Crucial Conversations, Start with Why.
For podcasts,
- Hardcore History
- This American Life
- Serial
- Startup
- Homecoming
- Planet Money
- History of England
- Crimetown
Audible Books
- Endurance. Great book about Shackleton.
- Guns of August. About the start of WWI.
- Girl on the Train. Fiction story that is much better than the film.
- Lawrence in Arabia. Amazing life of TE Lawrence with information about WWI in the Middle East. Gives good insight into many of the problems of the past fifty years.
- Washington: A Life. Inspiring and amazing bio.
- Hamilton. The inspiration behind the musical.
- The Fall of the Ottomans. Story of the fall of the empire and provides background on the current Middle East.
- Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to 2011.
- Directorate S. About the Pakistani secret service.
- Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.
- Anything by Erik Larson
October 28th, 2018 at 1:29 AM ^
If you're big on Ghost Wars and Directorate S, you should check out Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner.
October 28th, 2018 at 7:43 AM ^
Thanks for the recommendation! Will definitely check it out.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:34 AM ^
Couple of obvious ones.. Attack Each Day and the MGoBlog Podcast.
I really like the Jordan Harbinger show. Great personal/professional development stuff there.
Shattered is a good true crime podcast, only 2 seasons though.
I love Snap Judgement as well.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
Audible is great. But if you want to save a little cash OverDrive is a nifty little app that lets you download audiobooks (and ebooks) from various library networks. If you have a library card, you can access the collection. Of course selections are much more limited than Audiobooks, but there’s usually stil plenty to choose from. And you can join multiple libraries.
October 28th, 2018 at 1:26 AM ^
I endorse this comment. Your local library has a ton of audiobooks that you can rent for free with your smartphone.
October 28th, 2018 at 2:41 AM ^
Overdrive is great for getting free audio books. One downside is that it's still a library service so sometimes certain books are "checked out" and you may have to several weeks to get a very popular book. Another is that you only have a few weeks to finish them before it goes back, so if the book is super long it may be difficult. But yes overall it's a better service because it's free.
October 28th, 2018 at 12:51 AM ^
Im a huge comedy buff and a recovering alcoholic (19 months sober and never going back) so I enjoy the WTF Podcast by Marc Maron. He is a great interviewer and his openness about his past drug use and sobriety was a big help to me during my darkest times.
You said you were into pop culture. This would be right up your alley.
October 28th, 2018 at 1:24 AM ^
Sorry to plug my own podcast, but we did a special episode on our show FOUND that actually takes place on an Amtrak train... could be nice for your train trip. My Dad (lifelong UM fan) and I interview people on the Ann Arbor to Chicago route, where we went for a Tigers game. The episode is Season 1, Episode 12:
October 28th, 2018 at 1:37 AM ^
If you are into history, lots of great audio books by David McCullough: 1776, Wright Brothers (though the end is depressing), John Adams [I have listened to all of these; he was the reader on the first two!!]
Others on my list by him that I have not yet gotten to: The Path Between the Seas (building of Panama Canal), Truman, Mornings on Horseback (Teddy Roosevelt)
Also: Bo's Lasting Lessons! ^_^
October 28th, 2018 at 1:52 AM ^
If you're a Seinfeld fan I'd suggest Seincast they go thru each episode in excruciating detail. It's ran by two guys who can barely run their own lives
October 28th, 2018 at 2:31 AM ^
I would recommend sampling the audio prior to downloading. If your ears don't like the reader's voice it can ruin a good story.