Jan 10, 2021 3 min read

❄️ Freezethawed: The Newsletter #015 - Listening, your most unleveraged tool

Hello!

I hope you all are settling well into 2021, as am I.

This week, after months of procrastination I finally took the plunge into audiobooks and I already feel it is the most high leverage decision I have made in the recent past. I have never been an avid reader and with a chock-o-blocked work schedule, cultivating a regular reading habit was becoming an increasingly unreachable goal. So come 2021, (as a resolution, if you may call it) I have decided to try to consume 15 books, and I am happy to share that thanks to Audible, I am almost 2/15th of the way there!

Some quick FAQs for you all, since these were mine as well:

Where / how do I get into audiobooks?

Audible, by Amazon is the fastest and definitely the easiest way. If you’re an Amazon Prime member already, your first three months are free and then it is Rs. 199/month that also gets you one audiobook of your choice free every month. So in theory, assuming you’re an Amazon Prime member already and you’re up for completing at least one book a month, for Rs. 1791 you get to end 2021 was 12 new books consumed and added to your library forever. I think it an extremely reasonable deal, considering that some physical copies of some books cost the same as an annual subscription itself.

What is it like to listen to an audiobook?

It is a pleasant experience overall. Some of the narrations are spectacular. Often, you can listen to an audiobook while performing a low leverage task, like washing your clothes or cleaning your room, making the chore quite a pleasurable experience.

Isn’t it better to just read a physical book?

It probably is. You’re choosing an audiobook for two reasons. Either you are failing to keep up with your reading goals or you want to step them up.

Can I listen to any and every book?

No. But you can listen to most of them and that is a great start. There are quite a few book that I want to listen to but have not found the Audible narration to. However, that is no reason to not get started. There is still plenty to choose from.

So if you’re on the fence, my humble advice would be to take the plunge as well! Also, if you do, please feel free to throw any questions you may have about the same!

This week I consumed Norse Mythology – Neil Gaiman on Audible. It was a gripping narration by the author himself. If you are a massive Thor or Loki fan, or like to revel in Marvel fandom you must give this a read or listen!

Currently I am reading – The Courage To Be Disliked – Fumitake Koga, Ichiro Kishimi.

That’s all for this week

See you soon!

Anujeet.

Aggregate, the weekly quote

I think most people can learn a lot more than they think they can. They sell themselves short without trying. One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree — make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.

-Elon Musk