BOTNS #370: Reading While Distracted

Books on the Nightstand

Finding time to read while distracted by life. We recommend Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon, and Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig. Two people Ann spoke to recently, one a teenage boy, and one an older man, each seemed to show pride at not reading. She then caught part of an On Point interview with David Denby, whose new book, Lit Up, is about turning teens into readers. Audiobook of the week (06:04) Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, narrated by the author, is my pick for this week's Audiobooks.com Audiobook of the Week. Special thanks to Audiobooks.com for sponsoring this episode of Books on the Nightstand. Audiobooks.com allows you to listen to over 60,000 audiobooks, instantly, wherever you are, and the first one is free. Download or stream any book directly to your Apple or Android device. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and free audiobook download by going to www.audiobooks.com/freebook Reading While Distracted (08:45) Two questions submitted via our Q&A feature: "DMluvsPrufrock" told us that, now that she's a relatively new mom, she's been trying to listen to audiobooks, but finds her mind wandering. Perhaps she hasn't found the right, riveting book yet. Maybe she could try listening to smaller pieces, including short story podcasts like Selected Shorts. It could be the activities she's been doing while listening are too distracting, or maybe she's just not a person who enjoys listening to audios! Anna from Ohio has just started working on a master's degree in human genetics (wow!) and realizes that she'll have less time to read for fun (her usual fun reading includes fiction, historical fiction, graphic novels, and science writing). She's hoping for recommendations of shorter things to read. Other than collections of short stories, we mention and recommend: The Best American Science Writing series The Best American Short Stories series The Best Food Writing 2015 The Best American Comics series Daily Lit Vertigo CMYK Vertigo SFX Poetry Micro Fiction or Flash Fiction (Rose Metal Press is one of Ann's favorite flash fiction publishers) Essays Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (23:51) Ann recommends Flight of Dreams (on sale 2/23/16) by Booktopia alumna Ariel Lawhon. Her new book explores the tragedy of the Hindenburg, telling the story from the point of view of several passengers and crew. Based on fact and using real-life people as characters, the book also includes a fictional locked-room type mystery at its heart. I recommend Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig, also on sale 2/23/16. Nearly two decades ago, Matt Haig nearly took his own life. This book recounts his struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts in a way that depressives will recognize—whether or not they've contemplated suicide themselves—and every one else can understand.