For over a year I’ve been commuting for almost 2 hours a day, and in an attempt to stave-off potentially lethal boredom, I’ve been passing the time listening to audiobooks. Here’s what I’ve been reading/listening
to:
Note, format is: title (year), authors (readers)
- Earth: A Visitor’s Guide to the Human
Race
(2010), Jon Stewart et al. (Jon Stewart)
- Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of
Everything
(2005), Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (Stephen J. Dubner)
- God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons
Everything
(2009), Christopher Hitchens (Christopher Hitchens)
- Fleet of
Worlds
(2007), Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (Tom Weiner)
- Juggler of
Worlds
(2008), Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (Tom Weiner)
- Destroyer of
Worlds
(2009), Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (Tom Weiner)
- Betrayer of
Worlds
(2010), Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner (Tom Weiner)
- The God
Delusion
(2008), Richard Dawkins (Richard Dawkins)
- The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for
Evolution
(2010), Richard Dawkins (Richard Dawkins)
- The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of
Evolution
(2005), Richard Dawkins (Richard Dawkins)
- The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of
Reason
(2005), Sam Harris (Brian Emerson)
- Letter to a Christian
Nation
(2008), Sam Harris (Jordan Bridges)
- The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human
Values
(2010), Sam Harris (Sam Harris)
- The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan
Hoag
(1942), Robert Heinlein (Tom Weiner)
- The Cat Who Walks Through
Walls
(1985), Robert Heinlein (Tom Weiner)
- The Integral
Trees
(1984), Larry Niven (Pat Bottino)
- The Smoke
Ring
(1987), Larry Niven (Pat Bottino)
- Inferno
(1976), Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (Tom Weiner)
- Escape from
Hell
(2009), Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (Tom Weiner)
- Ringworld’s
Children
(2004), Larry Niven (?)
- The Draco
Tavern
(2006), Larry Niven (Tom Weiner)
- Radio Free
Albemuth
(1976), Philip K. Dick (Tom Weiner)
- The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets
Nonsense
(2001), Michael Shermer (Grover Gardener)
- Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and
Other Confusions of Our
Time
(2002), Michael Shermer (Michael Shermer)
- The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care,
Share, and Follow the Golden
Rule
(2004), Michael Shermer (Michael Shermer)
- Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in
Space
(1994), Carl Sagan (Carl Sagan)
- The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the
Dark
(1995), Carl Sagan (Michael Page)
- JPod
(2006), Douglas Coupland (Marc Cashman)
While all of the books were good, the quality of the audiobook depends almost entirely on the voice of the person reading it. So far my favorites are Tom Weiner’s rich baritone and Richard Dawkins’ pleasant english accent. By far the worst, though, is anything read by Carl Sagan: I can highly recommend Carl’s plodding pace and odd word emphasis to insomniacs who don’t respond to strong drugs.