listening to audiobooks while quilting

I appear to be addicted to audiobooks – I listen while working on textile crafts, driving, walking, cooking, housecleaning, etc. I know it has truly become an addiction because I am currently listening to three (3) audiobooks at the same time:

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
Beyond Willpower by Alexander Loyd
Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Alright, I am not actually listening to three (3) audiobooks at once (that would be insane) but I have three different audiobooks loaded on my iPhone and I juggle between the three of them depending on my mood.

It is all the fault of my local library (in true addiction you are supposed to blame someone else, right?) for providing an endless supply of downloadable audiobooks through the Overdrive app. If your library has digital downloads, and you enjoy audiobooks, you should take advantage of this free community resource.

Disadvantages of free audiobooks from the library include only being able to keep them for 14 days (they expire from your device after 14 days) and your library may not have exact book you want. I like the pressure of 14 days though – it makes me actually finish up the audiobook. Usually I have books going at various staggered intervals where one expires in 5 days while the other expires in 11 days.

I have been in the middle of a thrilling audiobook and then boom – it expires – and there are other library patrons who have it on hold so I cannot renew it. I end up having to put the audiobook on hold and wait my turn to finish up my book. But that is okay – it is worth it (and it is free!)

Happy Listening!

Please see Sassy’s blog in Schnauzer Snips for an update on her (and her new brother Mike’s) adventures.

I like to multitask – even though I once saw a magnet that read (and I bought it for my fridge) : “Multi-tasking: Screwing a lot of things up at once”.

I could never just work on a quilt, in the quiet, I have to be also watching a movie, listening to music or an audiobook. When I was primarily working on traditional quilts from a pattern, I would watch what I call “Quilting Movies” – movies or documentaries that do not require my full undivided attention, just an occasional glance at the screen an listening to the dialogue. I have discovered that when I work on non patterned quilts – art quilts – glancing at a screen breaks my creative thought. Instead, a couple years ago I developed the habit of listening to audiobooks while I quilt.

My next discovery was that I enjoyed to listening primarily to nonfiction audiobooks and over the past 2 years I have listened to one nonfiction audiobook right after the other – while quilting, while walking my fellow blogger Sassy (and her new brother), in the car (audiobooks are exquisite for long drives), and while gardening, cooking, or cleaning. The nonfiction audiobooks I am drawn to are those that expand my view of the world, bring new insight and understanding, and contribute to helping me be a better version of myself. There are moments listening to these types of books that I had to stop sewing a moment, pause in my power walk or sit for a quiet moment in my garden when a big “Ah Ha Moment” came upon me.

Over the next couple of weeks (or more) I will share a little about audiobooks that I have found meaningful over the past 2 years. I will provide a brief summary of the book and share what were the key insights I gained from the books listed below.

Life is nonfiction.

Favorite Nonfiction Audiobooks (alphabetical by author)

Brown, Brené (2012). Daring greatly: how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. New York, NY: Gotham Books.
Burroughs, Augusten (2012). This is how: proven aid in overcoming shyness, molestation, fatness, spinsterhood, grief, disease, lushery, decrepitude & more – for young and old alike. New York: NY: St. Martin’s Press.
Cain, Susan (2012). Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. New York: Crown Publishing.
Fey, Tina (2011). Bossypants. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Gilbert, Elizabeth (2010). Committed: a skeptic makes peace with marriage. New York, NY: Viking.
Gordon, John (2007). The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Gladwell, Malcom (2009). What the dog saw and other adventure stories. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Gladwell, Malcom (2013). David and Goliath: underdog, misfits, and the art of battling giants. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Duhigg, Charles (2012). The power of habit: why we do what we do in life and in business. New York: Random House.
Fiore, Neil (2007). The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play. New York, NY: Tarcher/Penguin.
Guillebeau, Chris (2010). The art of nonconformity: Set your own rules, live the life you want, and change the world. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Heath, Chip (2013). Decisive: how to make better choices in life and work. New York, NY: Crown Business.
Heath Chip & Health, Dan (2010). Switch: how to change things when when is hard. New York, NY: Books on Tape.
Huffington, Arianna (2014). Thrive: the third metric to redefining success and creating a life of well-being, wisdom, and wonder. New York, NY: Random House.
Kelly, Matthew (2011). Off balance: getting beyond the work-life balance mouth to personal and professional satisfaction. Ashland, OR: Blackstone Audio.
Kingsolver, Barbara (2007). Animal, vegetable, miracle: a year of food life. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Kornfield, Jack & Siegel, Daniel (2011). Mindfulness and the brain. Louisville, KY: Sounds True.
McKeown, Greg (2014). Essentialism: the disciplined pursuit of less. New York: Crown Business.
Robinson, Ken (2013). Finding your element: how to discover your talents and passions and transform your life. New York, NY: Viking.
Singer, Michael (2013). The untethered soul: the journey beyond yourself. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
Taleb, Nassim (2012). Antifragile: things that gain from disorder. New York, NY: Random House.
Tolle, Eckhart (2005). A new earth: awakening to your life’s purpose. New York, NY: Dutton/Penguin Group.
Tolle, Eckhart (1999), The power of now: a guide to spiritual enlightenment. Novato, CA: New World Library.
Weber, Lauren (2009). In cheap we trust: the story of a misunderstood American virtue. New York, NY: Little, Brown.
White, Jennifer (2004). Work less, make more. Ashland, OR: Blackstone Audiobooks.