Escape into Meaning
Essays on Superman, Public Benches, and Other Obsessions
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Narrated by:
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Evan Puschak
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By:
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Evan Puschak
About this listen
Producer, editor, and writer behind the highly addictive, informative, and popular YouTube channel The Nerdwriter, Evan Puschak presents “a brilliant, wide-ranging essay collection that explores meaning and how we make it with the thoughtfulness and open-hearted generosity that have long been hallmarks of Puschak’s writing” (John Green, New York Times bestselling author).
As YouTube’s The Nerdwriter, Evan Puschak plays the polymath, posing questions and providing answers across a wide range of fields—from the power of a split diopter shot in Toy Story 4 to the political dangers of schadenfreude. Now, he brings that same insatiable curiosity and striking wit to this engaging and unputdownable essay collection.
Perfect for fans of Trick Mirror and the writing of John Hodgman and Chuck Klosterman, Escape into Meaning is “a passionate, perceptive” (Hua Hsu, author of Stay True) compendium of fascinating insights into obsession. Whether you’re interested in the philosophy of Jerry Seinfeld or how Clark Kent is the real hero, there’s something for everyone in this effervescent collection.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Evan Puschak. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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The Spark and the Grind
- Ignite the Power of Disciplined Creativity
- By: Erik Wahl
- Narrated by: Erik Wahl, Tasha Wahl
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Erik Wahl, a visual artist, speaker, and entrepreneur, helps us unite the yin and yang of creativity - the dynamic new ideas with the dogged effort. He shows why we won't get far if we rely on the spark without the grind or the grind without the spark. What the world really needs are the creators who can hold the two in balance. This audiobook offers surprising insights and practical advice about how to fan the sparks and make the grind more productive.
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Worth reading!
- By june d barnard on 06-01-18
By: Erik Wahl
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The Geography of Genius
- A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
- By: Eric Weiner
- Narrated by: Eric Weiner
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity.
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Very, very disappointing
- By Tamara Greer on 06-08-16
By: Eric Weiner
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The Antidote
- Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking
- By: Oliver Burkeman
- Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Antidote is a series of journeys among people who share a single, surprising way of thinking about life. What they have in common is a hunch about human psychology: that it’s our constant effort to eliminate the negative that causes us to feel so anxious, insecure, and unhappy. And that there is an alternative "negative path" to happiness and success that involves embracing the things we spend our lives trying to avoid.
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The Antidote explores the negative path.
- By Bonny on 05-15-14
By: Oliver Burkeman
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Cultural Amnesia
- Notes in the Margin of My Time
- By: Clive James
- Narrated by: Clive James
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
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From Anna Akhmatova to Stefan Zweig, via Charles de Gaulle, Hitler, Thomas Mann and Charlie Chaplin, this varied and unfailingly absorbing book is both story and history, both public memoir and personal record - and provides an essential field-guide to the vast movements of taste, intellect, politics and delusion that helped to prepare the times we live in now.
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Very enjoyable and well narrated
- By Larbi on 05-18-08
By: Clive James
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You Are Now Less Dumb
- How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself
- By: David McRaney
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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You Are Now Less Dumb is grounded in the idea that we all believe ourselves to be objective observers of reality - except we’re not. But that's okay, because our delusions keep us sane. Expanding on this premise, McRaney provides eye-opening analyses of 15 more ways we fool ourselves every day. This smart and highly entertaining audiobook will be wowing listeners for years to come.
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Not a lot of guidance
- By A. Yoshida on 02-08-14
By: David McRaney
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The Artisan Soul
- Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art
- By: Erwin Raphael McManus
- Narrated by: Erwin Raphael McManus
- Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Artisan Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus, author, thought leader, and founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles, pens a manifesto for human creativity and the beginning of a new renaissance. McManus not only calls us to reclaim our creative essence but reveals how we can craft our lives into works of art. There are no shortcuts to quality, and McManus celebrates the spiritual process that can help us discover our true selves.
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Bravo
- By Achley on 05-20-16
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William Blake vs the World
- By: John Higgs
- Narrated by: John Higgs
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A wild and unexpected journey through culture, science, philosophy, and religion to better understand the mercurial genius of William Blake.
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Best book ever
- By idamae on 11-04-22
By: John Higgs
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Big Magic
- Creative Living Beyond Fear
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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People of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear.
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Biggest Inspiration In a Long Time
- By Gillian on 09-23-15
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The Nineties
- A Book
- By: Chuck Klosterman
- Narrated by: Chuck Klosterman, Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It was long ago, but not as long as it seems: The Berlin Wall fell and the Twin Towers collapsed. In between, one presidential election was allegedly decided by Ross Perot while another was plausibly decided by Ralph Nader. Landlines fell to cell phones, the internet exploded, and pop culture accelerated without the aid of technology that remembered everything. It was the last era with a real mainstream to either identify with or oppose. The ’90s brought about a revolution in the human condition, and a shift in consciousness, that we’re still struggling to understand.
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A Very White Middle-class Take On The Nineties
- By Umar Lee on 02-10-22
By: Chuck Klosterman
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The Life We're Looking For
- Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World
- By: Andy Crouch
- Narrated by: Andy Crouch
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Our greatest need is to be recognized—to be seen, loved, and embedded in rich relationships with those around us. But for the last century, we’ve displaced that need with the ease of technology. We’ve dreamed of mastery without relationship (what the premodern world called magic) and abundance without dependence (what Jesus called Mammon). Yet even before a pandemic disrupted that quest, we felt threatened and strangely out of place: lonely, anxious, bored amid endless options, oddly disconnected amid infinite connections.
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Way too much scripture
- By Lee Nettles on 05-11-22
By: Andy Crouch
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How to Write Short
- Word Craft for Fast Times
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed - from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services.
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Ironically long
- By Amazon Customer on 03-14-16
By: Roy Peter Clark
What listeners say about Escape into Meaning
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JAY
- 04-08-23
I love the channel and hope to see more videos
But the book isn't like it. It's really interesting but I got bored on some essays. I really wanted to like it more.
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- David Rempel
- 04-22-23
Fascinating, relevant, personal essays
If you enjoy the way Nerdwriter dives into topics on his YouTube channel, then I think you will love his collection of essays. I have definitely gained some important insights and ideas to mull over in my own life.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-31-22
Incredibly Relatable
I loved this so much! it was incredibly relatable and endearing. Full of Heart.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-22-22
Longform Nerdwriter Delivers
If you like Nerdwriter, you’ll like this book. I almost wish HBO or somebody would pick this up so he could make companion videos for them.
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- Alexander
- 09-04-22
What I have expected and some more
This this an insightful, witty and highly engaging book that delivers both a strong content charged with deep, provocative thoughts and a lighthearted and entertaining narrative that keeps you in the flow.
If you ever watched Nerdwriter1 videos, and you absolutely should, this compilation of essays is exactly what you expect them to be - an episodic nosedive into wide arrange of topics you never new you would get so exited hearing about.
An all around great and well writer book that delivers on so many levels.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mourez
- 09-09-22
This guy gets it!
Evan's essays shed light on mundane topics and thoughts in a way that is inspiring and refreshing. As he said himself hearing ones's own ideas put clearly into phrases that crystallize what one thought all along is extremely satisfying. Stronk recommend, excellent additional sources to dive into more!
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- alexhp83
- 05-21-23
Great as a hike companion
Fun read
Insightful in an everyday chat with friends sort of way.
Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys journaling and coffee shop people watching
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- Xavi Fajardo Figueroa
- 09-22-22
Puschak es la onda.
La transición de estrella de YouTube a escritor publicado, imagino debe ser difícil y Puschak lo logra con el carisma y sinceridad que lo ha llevado a ser una estrella de nuestros tiempos.
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- Emily
- 01-18-23
Perfect timing
This book is full of great essays, but the last essay on writing the book is worth the price of this entire volume.
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- facundo arboit
- 11-30-22
Excellent!
After watching all episodes of the nerd writer obsessively on loop since about 2016 I am super satisfied with this book, specially the audio version. It’s like having an excellently crafted video essay playing between my ears!
Thanks Evan for the great work, and more specifically the two closing essays. Creativity is one of the hardest forms of self-critical meditation, and it’s damn hard.. forever… Thank you..
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