
The Notebook
A History of Thinking on Paper
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $13.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Mark Elstob
-
By:
-
Roland Allen
About this listen
A Kirkus Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2024
We see notebooks everywhere we go. But where did these indispensable implements come from? How did they revolutionize our lives? And how can using a notebook help change the way you think? In this wide-ranging history, Roland Allen reveals how the notebook became our most dependable and versatile tool for creative thinking. He tells the notebook stories of Leonardo and Frida Kahlo, Isaac Newton and Marie Curie, and writers from Chaucer to Henry James; shows how Darwin developed his theory of evolution in tiny pocket books and Agatha Christie plotted a hundred murders in scrappy exercise books; and introduces a host of cooks, kings, sailors, fishermen, musicians, engineers, politicians, adventurers, and mathematicians, all of whom used their notebooks as a space to think—and in doing so, shaped the modern world.
In an age of AI and digital overload, the humble notebook is more relevant than ever. Allen shows how bullet points can combat ADHD, journals can ease PTSD, and patient diaries soften the trauma of reawakening from coma. The everyday act of moving a pen across paper, he finds, can have profound consequences, changing the way we think and feel: making us more creative, more productive—and maybe even happier.
©2023 Roland Allen (P)2024 Profile Books, LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
-
Ocean
- A History of the Atlantic Before Columbus
- By: John Haywood
- Narrated by: Ben Eagle
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dazzling and ambitious history of the pre-Columbian Atlantic seas, Ocean is a story that begins with the formation of the mid-Atlantic ridge some 200 million years ago and ends with the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century, providing a template for the methods used by the Spanish in their colonization of the New World.
-
-
Prehistory of the Atlantic
- By Sarah C on 03-14-25
By: John Haywood
-
Montaigne
- By: Stefan Zweig
- Narrated by: Tyler Boss
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"The others form the human being, I depict him; and here I present an individual who is quite poorly formed and whom I would certainly make largely differently if I had to reshape him. But now that's the way he is." This phrase from the famous essays of Michel de Montaigne outlines the character of the author and his work. Montaigne wrote his essays not from a position of certainty but from an awareness of his inadequacy. He thus reveals a level of critical self-reflection that, before his time, was rarely put on paper.
By: Stefan Zweig
-
Goethe
- His Faustian Life - The Extraordinary Story of Modern Germany, a Troubled Genius and the Poem that Made Our World
- By: A. N. Wilson
- Narrated by: A.N. Wilson
- Length: 16 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Goethe was the inventor of the psychological novel, a pioneer scientist, great man of the theatre and a leading politician. As A. N. Wilson argues in this groundbreaking biography, it was his genius and insatiable curiosity that helped catapult the Western world into the modern era. A N. Wilson tackles the life of Goethe with characteristic wit and verve. From his youth as a wild literary prodigy to his later years as Germany’s most respected elder statesman, Wilson hones in on Goethe’s undying obsession with the work he would spend his entire life writing – Faust.
-
-
More Goethe
- By Brandon Anthony on 11-29-24
By: A. N. Wilson
-
Gangster Hunters
- How Hoover's G-men Vanquished America's Deadliest Public Enemies
- By: John Oller
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
J. Edgar Hoover was the face of the FBI. But the federal agents in the field, relentlessly chasing the most notorious gangsters of the 1930s with their own lives on the line, truly transformed the Bureau. In 1932, the FBI lacked jurisdiction over murder cases, bank robberies, and kidnappings. Relegated to the sidelines, agents spent their days at their desks. But all of that changed during the War on Crime. Hunting down infamous public enemies in tense, frequently blood-soaked shootouts, the Bureau was thrust onto the front pages for the first time.
-
-
Good story, Too much clutter.
- By Amazon Customer on 02-22-25
By: John Oller
-
Superbloom
- How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
- By: Nicholas Carr
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the telegraph and telephone in the 1800s to the internet and social media in our own day, the public has welcomed new communication systems. Whenever people gain more power to share information, the assumption goes, society prospers. Superbloom tells a startlingly different story. As communication becomes more mechanized and efficient, it breeds confusion more than understanding, strife more than harmony. Media technologies all too often bring out the worst in us.
-
-
Humanity is really doomed, eh?
- By Classical Ideas Podcast on 02-14-25
By: Nicholas Carr
-
The Bookshop
- A History of the American Bookstore
- By: Evan Friss
- Narrated by: Jay Myers
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost. Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many.
-
-
Fun if you like book stuff
- By Customer - Reader on 02-22-25
By: Evan Friss
-
Ocean
- A History of the Atlantic Before Columbus
- By: John Haywood
- Narrated by: Ben Eagle
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dazzling and ambitious history of the pre-Columbian Atlantic seas, Ocean is a story that begins with the formation of the mid-Atlantic ridge some 200 million years ago and ends with the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century, providing a template for the methods used by the Spanish in their colonization of the New World.
-
-
Prehistory of the Atlantic
- By Sarah C on 03-14-25
By: John Haywood
-
Montaigne
- By: Stefan Zweig
- Narrated by: Tyler Boss
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"The others form the human being, I depict him; and here I present an individual who is quite poorly formed and whom I would certainly make largely differently if I had to reshape him. But now that's the way he is." This phrase from the famous essays of Michel de Montaigne outlines the character of the author and his work. Montaigne wrote his essays not from a position of certainty but from an awareness of his inadequacy. He thus reveals a level of critical self-reflection that, before his time, was rarely put on paper.
By: Stefan Zweig
-
Goethe
- His Faustian Life - The Extraordinary Story of Modern Germany, a Troubled Genius and the Poem that Made Our World
- By: A. N. Wilson
- Narrated by: A.N. Wilson
- Length: 16 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Goethe was the inventor of the psychological novel, a pioneer scientist, great man of the theatre and a leading politician. As A. N. Wilson argues in this groundbreaking biography, it was his genius and insatiable curiosity that helped catapult the Western world into the modern era. A N. Wilson tackles the life of Goethe with characteristic wit and verve. From his youth as a wild literary prodigy to his later years as Germany’s most respected elder statesman, Wilson hones in on Goethe’s undying obsession with the work he would spend his entire life writing – Faust.
-
-
More Goethe
- By Brandon Anthony on 11-29-24
By: A. N. Wilson
-
Gangster Hunters
- How Hoover's G-men Vanquished America's Deadliest Public Enemies
- By: John Oller
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
J. Edgar Hoover was the face of the FBI. But the federal agents in the field, relentlessly chasing the most notorious gangsters of the 1930s with their own lives on the line, truly transformed the Bureau. In 1932, the FBI lacked jurisdiction over murder cases, bank robberies, and kidnappings. Relegated to the sidelines, agents spent their days at their desks. But all of that changed during the War on Crime. Hunting down infamous public enemies in tense, frequently blood-soaked shootouts, the Bureau was thrust onto the front pages for the first time.
-
-
Good story, Too much clutter.
- By Amazon Customer on 02-22-25
By: John Oller
-
Superbloom
- How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
- By: Nicholas Carr
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the telegraph and telephone in the 1800s to the internet and social media in our own day, the public has welcomed new communication systems. Whenever people gain more power to share information, the assumption goes, society prospers. Superbloom tells a startlingly different story. As communication becomes more mechanized and efficient, it breeds confusion more than understanding, strife more than harmony. Media technologies all too often bring out the worst in us.
-
-
Humanity is really doomed, eh?
- By Classical Ideas Podcast on 02-14-25
By: Nicholas Carr
-
The Bookshop
- A History of the American Bookstore
- By: Evan Friss
- Narrated by: Jay Myers
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost. Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many.
-
-
Fun if you like book stuff
- By Customer - Reader on 02-22-25
By: Evan Friss
-
Revisionaries
- What We Can Learn from the Lost, Unfinished, and Just Plain Bad Work of Great Writers
- By: Kristopher Jansma
- Narrated by: Greg D. Barnett
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you like to write—whether it's a pastime, a passion, or a profession—you've probably found yourself reading something brilliant and thinking, "I could never do this! I might as well give up." But if there's one thing every great author has in common, it's this: they've all written some hot garbage. Revisionaries takes you on an engrossing tour through the discarded drafts, false starts, and abandoned projects of influential writers. In the process, it dismantles some of our most deeply held—and most suffocating—ideas about what it takes to produce great creative work.
-
The Impossible Man
- Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius
- By: Patchen Barss
- Narrated by: Jonathan Beville
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When he was six years old, Roger Penrose discovered a sundial in a clearing near his house. Through that machine made of light, shadow, and time, Roger glimpsed a “world behind the world” of transcendently beautiful geometry. It spurred him on a journey to become one of the world’s most influential mathematicians, philosophers, and physicists. Penrose would prove the limitations of general relativity, set a new agenda for theoretical physics, and astound colleagues and admirers with the elegance and beauty of his discoveries.
-
-
Flawed
- By Michael on 01-12-25
By: Patchen Barss
-
Meditations for Mortals
- Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
- By: Oliver Burkeman
- Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Addressing the fundamental questions about how to live, Meditations for Mortals offers a powerful new way to take action on what counts: a guiding philosophy of life Oliver Burkeman calls “imperfectionism.” It helps us tackle challenges as they crop up in our daily lives: our finite time, the lure of distraction, the impossibility of doing anything perfectly.
-
-
Outstanding everyone needs to learn
- By Lily K. on 02-03-25
By: Oliver Burkeman
-
Papyrus
- The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
- By: Irene Vallejo, Charlotte Whittle - translator
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before books were mass-produced, hand-copied scrolls made from Nile River reeds were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and pharaohs, determined to possess them, dispatched emissaries to the edges of the known world to bring them back. Exploring the deep and fascinating history of the written word, from the oral tradition to scrolls to codices, internationally bestselling author Irene Vallejo shows that books have always been a precious and precarious vehicle for civilization.
-
-
Great read
- By Hunter Pechin on 12-15-22
By: Irene Vallejo, and others
-
I Heard There Was a Secret Chord
- Music as Medicine
- By: Daniel J. Levitin
- Narrated by: Daniel J. Levitin
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind. In his latest work, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music) explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today.
-
-
Various health issues impacted by music.
- By Anne F. Oneill on 09-22-24
-
Over My Dead Body
- Unearthing the Hidden History of American Cemeteries
- By: Greg Melville
- Narrated by: Will Tulin
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The summer before his senior year in college, Greg Melville worked at the cemetery in his hometown, and thanks to hour upon hour of pushing a mower over the grassy acres, he came to realize what a rich story the place told of his town and its history. Thus was born Melville’s lifelong curiosity with how, where, and why we bury and commemorate our dead. Melville’s Over My Dead Body is a lively (pun intended) and wide-ranging history of cemeteries, places that have mirrored the passing eras in history but have also shaped it.
-
-
excellent read!
- By KJ on 03-05-23
By: Greg Melville
-
The World She Edited
- Katharine S. White at The New Yorker
- By: Amy Reading
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1925, Katharine Sergeant Angell White walked into The New Yorker’s midtown office and left with a job as an editor. The magazine was only a few months old. Over the next thirty-six years, White would transform the publication into a literary powerhouse. This exquisite biography brings to life the remarkable relationships White fostered with her writers and how these relationships nurtured an astonishing array of literary talent.
-
-
A deep dive into a literary life
- By AMC on 10-27-24
By: Amy Reading
-
On the Hippie Trail
- Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer
- By: Rick Steves
- Narrated by: Rick Steves
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the storied “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. A 23-year old Rick Steves made the trek, and like a travel writer in training, he documented everything along the way: jumping off a moving train, making friends in Tehran, getting lost in Lahore, getting high for the first time in Herat, battling leeches in Pokhara, and much more. The experience ignited his love of travel and forever broadened his perspective on the world.
-
-
Nice but a bit tame
- By Carl on 02-16-25
By: Rick Steves
-
Kokoro
- Japanese Wisdom for a Life Well Lived
- By: Beth Kempton
- Narrated by: Beth Kempton
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join author Beth Kempton on a life-changing pilgrimage through rural Japan in search of answers to some of life's biggest questions: How do we find calm in the chaos and beauty in the darkness? How do we let go of the past and stop worrying about the future? What can an awareness of impermanence teach us about living well?
-
-
Incredible sharing of wisdom
- By Shelly Neto, RN on 11-10-24
By: Beth Kempton
-
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Field Guide to Getting Lost draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Solnit's own life to explore issues of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown. The result is a distinctive, stimulating, and poignant voyage of discovery.
-
-
meditation on the 'other' side of life
- By Audy Meadow Davison LMT on 09-05-16
By: Rebecca Solnit
-
Reagan
- His Life and Legend
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 32 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this “monumental and impressive” biography, Max Boot, the distinguished political columnist, illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, revealing the man behind the mythology. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred of the fortieth president’s aides, friends, and family members, as well as thousands of newly available documents, Boot provides “the best biography of Ronald Reagan to date” (Robert Mann).
-
-
Has An Agenda
- By CC on 01-07-25
By: Max Boot
-
The Way of the Champion
- Pain, Persistence, and the Path Forward
- By: Paul Rabil, Bill Belichick
- Narrated by: Paul Rabil, David Cohen
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before Paul Rabil had become the most acclaimed lacrosse player of all time, the sport’s first million-dollar man, and started his own professional league, he knew he wanted greatness. The problem was he lacked a manual. So, he went out and created one. He asked Bill Belichick how to prepare, Steph Curry how to practice, and Sue Bird how do be resilient in the face of adversity. The Way of The Champion is the synthesis of everything Rabil learned on his path to becoming the greatest lacrosse player of all time.
-
-
Totally enjoyable
- By Lauren on 10-01-24
By: Paul Rabil, and others
Related to this topic
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
The Daily Stoic
- 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
- By: Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why have history's greatest minds - from George Washington to Frederick the Great to Ralph Waldo Emerson along with today's top performers, from Super Bowl-winning football coaches to CEOs and celebrities - embraced the wisdom of the ancient Stoics? Because they realize that the most valuable wisdom is timeless and that philosophy is for living a better life, not a classroom exercise. The Daily Stoic offers a daily devotional of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations.
-
-
Not well made as audio
- By Andreas on 12-27-16
By: Ryan Holiday, and others
-
Bad Law
- Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America
- By: Elie Mystal
- Narrated by: Elie Mystal
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times bestselling author brings his trademark legal acumen and passionate snark to offer a brilliant takedown of ten shocking pieces of legislation that continue to perpetuate hate, racial bias, injustice, and inequality today—an urgent yet hopeful story for our current political climate
-
-
my fav
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-25
By: Elie Mystal
-
The Mastery of Self
- A Toltec Guide to Personal Freedom
- By: Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.
- Narrated by: Charlie Varon
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ancient Toltecs believed that life, as we perceive it, is a dream. We each live in our own personal dream, and these come together to form the dream of the planet, or the world in which we live. Problems arise when our perception of the dream becomes clouded with negativity, drama, and judgment (of ourselves and others), because it's in these moments of suffering that we have forgotten that we are the architects of our own reality and we have the power to change our dream if we choose.
-
-
listen.. .then listen again
- By Casiano on 12-22-16
-
Ho Tactics
- How to MindF**k a Man into Spending, Spoiling, and Sponsoring
- By: G. L. Lambert
- Narrated by: Patrick Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I have discovered a group of women who refuse to be exploited, are immune to manipulation, and who never settle in the name of love. These ladies know what they want and take what they want by beating men at their own game. Utilizing the secrets exposed in this book, these women gain power, money, and status. Men call them gold diggers, women call them hos, but they call themselves winners. This is the book that society doesn't want you to listen to….
-
-
I spent $24,000 in 4 months
- By B.M. on 10-06-18
By: G. L. Lambert
-
Medieval Myths & Mysteries
- By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 10 enlightening (and often humorous) lectures of Medieval Myths and Mysteries will show you how far from the “dark” times of legend these centuries were. Uncover the facts about the Knights Templar. Reveal the truth behind the tales of legendary creatures like the Questing Beast and the unicorn. Trace the events of the Black Death and the ways it altered the world in its wake, and much more. With Professor Armstrong, you will dig deep into the ways that later generations reshaped the narrative of the medieval years and perpetuated the myths.
-
-
Interesting, but centered on Britain
- By Ximena on 04-10-20
By: Dorsey Armstrong, and others
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Nemo71 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
The Daily Stoic
- 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
- By: Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why have history's greatest minds - from George Washington to Frederick the Great to Ralph Waldo Emerson along with today's top performers, from Super Bowl-winning football coaches to CEOs and celebrities - embraced the wisdom of the ancient Stoics? Because they realize that the most valuable wisdom is timeless and that philosophy is for living a better life, not a classroom exercise. The Daily Stoic offers a daily devotional of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations.
-
-
Not well made as audio
- By Andreas on 12-27-16
By: Ryan Holiday, and others
-
Bad Law
- Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America
- By: Elie Mystal
- Narrated by: Elie Mystal
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times bestselling author brings his trademark legal acumen and passionate snark to offer a brilliant takedown of ten shocking pieces of legislation that continue to perpetuate hate, racial bias, injustice, and inequality today—an urgent yet hopeful story for our current political climate
-
-
my fav
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-25
By: Elie Mystal
-
The Mastery of Self
- A Toltec Guide to Personal Freedom
- By: Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.
- Narrated by: Charlie Varon
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ancient Toltecs believed that life, as we perceive it, is a dream. We each live in our own personal dream, and these come together to form the dream of the planet, or the world in which we live. Problems arise when our perception of the dream becomes clouded with negativity, drama, and judgment (of ourselves and others), because it's in these moments of suffering that we have forgotten that we are the architects of our own reality and we have the power to change our dream if we choose.
-
-
listen.. .then listen again
- By Casiano on 12-22-16
-
Ho Tactics
- How to MindF**k a Man into Spending, Spoiling, and Sponsoring
- By: G. L. Lambert
- Narrated by: Patrick Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I have discovered a group of women who refuse to be exploited, are immune to manipulation, and who never settle in the name of love. These ladies know what they want and take what they want by beating men at their own game. Utilizing the secrets exposed in this book, these women gain power, money, and status. Men call them gold diggers, women call them hos, but they call themselves winners. This is the book that society doesn't want you to listen to….
-
-
I spent $24,000 in 4 months
- By B.M. on 10-06-18
By: G. L. Lambert
-
Medieval Myths & Mysteries
- By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 10 enlightening (and often humorous) lectures of Medieval Myths and Mysteries will show you how far from the “dark” times of legend these centuries were. Uncover the facts about the Knights Templar. Reveal the truth behind the tales of legendary creatures like the Questing Beast and the unicorn. Trace the events of the Black Death and the ways it altered the world in its wake, and much more. With Professor Armstrong, you will dig deep into the ways that later generations reshaped the narrative of the medieval years and perpetuated the myths.
-
-
Interesting, but centered on Britain
- By Ximena on 04-10-20
By: Dorsey Armstrong, and others
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
-
-
it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
Eight Dates
- Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
- By: John Gottman PhD, Julie Schwartz Gottman PhD, Doug Abrams, and others
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin, Julie McKay
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Navigating the challenges of long-term commitment takes effort - and it just got simpler, with this empowering, step-by-step guide to communicating about the things that matter most to you and your partner. Drawing on 40 years of research from their world-famous Love Lab, Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman invite couples on eight fun, easy, and profoundly rewarding dates, each one focused on a make-or-break issue: trust, conflict, sex, money, family, adventure, spirituality, and dreams.
-
-
What the F. Robot-reader???!?!?!
- By Anonymous User on 01-21-20
By: John Gottman PhD, and others
-
Buddhism for Beginners
- By: Thubten Chodron, His Holiness the Dalai Lama - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This user’s guide to Buddhist basics takes the most commonly asked questions - beginning with “What is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings?” - and provides simple answers in plain English. Thubten Chodron’s responses to the questions that always seem to arise among people approaching Buddhism make this an exceptionally complete and accessible introduction - as well as a manual for living a more peaceful, mindful, and satisfying Life.
-
-
Amazing introduction to Buddhism
- By chad d on 07-02-15
By: Thubten Chodron, and others
-
I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t)
- Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power
- By: Brené Brown
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on seven years of ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together.
-
-
I'm sure its great if you are a mother ....
- By Leslie A Hill on 08-09-11
By: Brené Brown
-
Caffeine
- How Caffeine Created the Modern World
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Pollan, known for his best-selling nonfiction audio, including The Omnivores Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, conceived and wrote Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World as an Audible Original. In this controversial and exciting listen, Pollan explores caffeine’s power as the most-used drug in the world - and the only one we give to children (in soda pop) as a treat.
-
-
Leaves much to be desired
- By Melody H on 02-02-20
By: Michael Pollan
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Papyrus
- The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
- By: Irene Vallejo, Charlotte Whittle - translator
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before books were mass-produced, hand-copied scrolls made from Nile River reeds were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and pharaohs, determined to possess them, dispatched emissaries to the edges of the known world to bring them back. Exploring the deep and fascinating history of the written word, from the oral tradition to scrolls to codices, internationally bestselling author Irene Vallejo shows that books have always been a precious and precarious vehicle for civilization.
-
-
Great read
- By Hunter Pechin on 12-15-22
By: Irene Vallejo, and others
-
Phosphorescence
- A Memoir of Finding Joy When Your World Goes Dark
- By: Julia Baird
- Narrated by: Julia Baird
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After surviving a difficult heartbreak and battle with cancer, acclaimed author and columnist Julia Baird began thinking deeply about how we, as people, persevere through the most challenging circumstances. She started to wonder, when we are overwhelmed by illness, loss or pain, or a tragedy outside our control: How can we keep putting one foot in front of the other? Baird went in search of the magic that fuels the light within - our own phosphorescence.
-
-
Not what I was expecting
- By Amazon Customer on 09-02-21
By: Julia Baird
-
The Book-Makers
- A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives
- By: Adam Smyth
- Narrated by: Adam Smyth
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Books tell all kinds of stories—romances, tragedies, comedies—but if we learn to read the signs correctly, they can tell us the story of their own making too. The Book-Makers offers a new way into the story of Western culture’s most important object, the book, through dynamic portraits of eighteen individuals who helped to define it.
By: Adam Smyth
-
Tunnel 29
- The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall
- By: Helena Merriman
- Narrated by: Helena Merriman
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1962, a young student named Joachim Rudolph dug a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Waiting on the other side in East Berlin were dozens of men, women, and children - all willing to risk everything to escape.
-
-
Gripping
- By Matthew on 09-09-21
By: Helena Merriman
-
Just Write!
- A Calming, Realistic, and Optimistic Approach to Writing Your First Book
- By: Lauren Bingham
- Narrated by: Lynnda Nelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether you simply want to jot down family folklore to share with future generations or wish to try your hand at writing a best-selling novel, Just Write! provides gentle yet realistic guidance for those who want to write their first book. With her humorous—yet realistic—explanations of the writing process, Lauren Bingham is here to help you make your first book become a reality. You’ll receive the encouragement you’ve been craving, as well as the empathy a new writer needs.
-
-
Amazing Listen
- By Giana on 07-19-22
By: Lauren Bingham
-
Stakeknife
- Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland
- By: Greg Harkin, Martin Ingram
- Narrated by: Phillip Sacramento
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stories of two undercover agents: the man known as Stakeknife, Force Research Unit (FRU) agent and deputy head of the IRA’s infamous ‘Nutting Squad’, the internal security force which tortured and killed suspected informers; and Brian Nelson, who worked for the FRU, aiding loyalist terrorists and murderers in their bloody work. The inside story on: – How the British Secret Service uses informers – The recruitment, briefing and handling of spies – Murders and set-ups in Northern Ireland.
By: Greg Harkin, and others
-
Papyrus
- The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
- By: Irene Vallejo, Charlotte Whittle - translator
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Long before books were mass-produced, hand-copied scrolls made from Nile River reeds were the treasures of the ancient world. Emperors and pharaohs, determined to possess them, dispatched emissaries to the edges of the known world to bring them back. Exploring the deep and fascinating history of the written word, from the oral tradition to scrolls to codices, internationally bestselling author Irene Vallejo shows that books have always been a precious and precarious vehicle for civilization.
-
-
Great read
- By Hunter Pechin on 12-15-22
By: Irene Vallejo, and others
-
Phosphorescence
- A Memoir of Finding Joy When Your World Goes Dark
- By: Julia Baird
- Narrated by: Julia Baird
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After surviving a difficult heartbreak and battle with cancer, acclaimed author and columnist Julia Baird began thinking deeply about how we, as people, persevere through the most challenging circumstances. She started to wonder, when we are overwhelmed by illness, loss or pain, or a tragedy outside our control: How can we keep putting one foot in front of the other? Baird went in search of the magic that fuels the light within - our own phosphorescence.
-
-
Not what I was expecting
- By Amazon Customer on 09-02-21
By: Julia Baird
-
The Book-Makers
- A History of the Book in Eighteen Lives
- By: Adam Smyth
- Narrated by: Adam Smyth
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Books tell all kinds of stories—romances, tragedies, comedies—but if we learn to read the signs correctly, they can tell us the story of their own making too. The Book-Makers offers a new way into the story of Western culture’s most important object, the book, through dynamic portraits of eighteen individuals who helped to define it.
By: Adam Smyth
-
Tunnel 29
- The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall
- By: Helena Merriman
- Narrated by: Helena Merriman
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1962, a young student named Joachim Rudolph dug a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. Waiting on the other side in East Berlin were dozens of men, women, and children - all willing to risk everything to escape.
-
-
Gripping
- By Matthew on 09-09-21
By: Helena Merriman
-
Just Write!
- A Calming, Realistic, and Optimistic Approach to Writing Your First Book
- By: Lauren Bingham
- Narrated by: Lynnda Nelson
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether you simply want to jot down family folklore to share with future generations or wish to try your hand at writing a best-selling novel, Just Write! provides gentle yet realistic guidance for those who want to write their first book. With her humorous—yet realistic—explanations of the writing process, Lauren Bingham is here to help you make your first book become a reality. You’ll receive the encouragement you’ve been craving, as well as the empathy a new writer needs.
-
-
Amazing Listen
- By Giana on 07-19-22
By: Lauren Bingham
-
Stakeknife
- Britain's Secret Agents in Ireland
- By: Greg Harkin, Martin Ingram
- Narrated by: Phillip Sacramento
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The stories of two undercover agents: the man known as Stakeknife, Force Research Unit (FRU) agent and deputy head of the IRA’s infamous ‘Nutting Squad’, the internal security force which tortured and killed suspected informers; and Brian Nelson, who worked for the FRU, aiding loyalist terrorists and murderers in their bloody work. The inside story on: – How the British Secret Service uses informers – The recruitment, briefing and handling of spies – Murders and set-ups in Northern Ireland.
By: Greg Harkin, and others
-
The Library
- A Fragile History
- By: Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident.
-
-
Stays on point
- By Alex on 04-29-23
By: Andrew Pettegree, and others
-
Oathbreakers
- The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe
- By: Matthew Gabriele, David M. Perry
- Narrated by: Paul Bellantoni
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, had built the largest European domain since Rome in its heyday. Though they jockeyed for power, prestige, and profit, the Frankish elites enjoyed political and cultural consensus. But just two generations later, their world was in shambles. Civil war, once an unthinkable threat, had erupted after Louis the Pious’s sons tried to overthrow him—and then placed their knives at the other’s neck. Families who had once charged into battle together now drew each other’s blood.
-
-
Very interesting
- By Carl on 03-02-25
By: Matthew Gabriele, and others
-
How to Take Smart Notes
- One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
- By: Sönke Ahrens
- Narrated by: Nigel Fyfe
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organization of ideas and notes. This audiobook helps students, academics, and other knowledge workers to get more done, write intelligent texts, and learn for the long run. It teaches you how to take smart notes and ensure they bring you and your projects forward.
By: Sönke Ahrens
-
The Order
- By: Kevin Flynn
- Narrated by: Gibson Frazier
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two courageous investigative journalists deliver an insider’s account of the “silent brotherhood”—the most dangerous radical-right hate group to surface since the Ku Klux Klan. They claim to be patriots, as American as apple pie, but they are this nation’s deadly brotherhood—hate groups that package their alienation against the federal government under such names as the Aryan Nation, the Order, and other white supremacist militias.
-
-
Not very interesting
- By Anonymous User on 03-05-25
By: Kevin Flynn
-
Memories of Distant Mountains
- Illustrated Notebooks: 2009-2022
- By: Orhan Pamuk, Ekin Oklap - translator
- Narrated by: Tolga Safer
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For many years, Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk kept a record of his daily thoughts and observations, entering them in small notebooks and illustrating them with his own paintings. This book combines those notebooks into one volume. He writes about his travels around the world, his family, his writing process, and his complex relationship with his home country of Turkey. He charts the seeds of his novels and the things that inspired his characters and the plots of his stories. Intertwined in his writings are the vibrant paintings of the landscapes that surround and inspire him.
By: Orhan Pamuk, and others
-
The Tiger
- A True Story of Vengeance and Survival
- By: John Vaillant
- Narrated by: John Vaillant
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s December 1997, and a man-eating tiger is on the prowl outside a remote village in Russia’s Far East. The tiger isn’t just killing people, it’s annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs must hunt it on foot through the forest in the brutal cold. As the trackers sift through the gruesome remains of the victims, they discover that these attacks aren’t random: The tiger is apparently engaged in a vendetta. Injured, starving, and extremely dangerous, the tiger must be found before it strikes again.
-
-
Thy Fearful Symmetry
- By Mel on 02-16-13
By: John Vaillant
-
The Tin Ticket
- The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women
- By: Deborah J. Swiss
- Narrated by: Corinne Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Tin Ticket takes us to the dawn of the nineteenth century and into the lives of Agnes McMillan, whose defiance and resilience carried her to a far more dramatic rebellion; Agnes's best friend Janet Houston, who rescued her from the Glasgow wynds and was also transported to Van Diemen's Land; Ludlow Tedder, forced to choose just one of her four children to accompany her to the other side of the world; Bridget Mulligan, who gave birth to a line of powerful women stretching to the present day. It also tells the tale of Elizabeth Gurney Fry, a Quaker reformer who touched all their lives.
By: Deborah J. Swiss
-
Oliver Cromwell
- Commander in Chief
- By: Ronald Hutton
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver Cromwell found himself again at the center of events. In the second volume of his pioneering biography, Ronald Hutton traces Cromwell's career from 1647 through to his seizure of supreme power.
By: Ronald Hutton
-
A Concise History of the Middle East, 13th Edition
- By: Arthur Goldschmidt, Ibrahim Al-Marashi
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 21 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Concise History of the Middle East provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of this region. Spanning from the pre-Islamic era to the present, it explores the evolution of Middle Eastern institutions and culture, the influence of European colonialism and Western imperialism, regional modernization efforts, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the Arab–Israel conflict, the reassertion of Islamist values and power, the issues surrounding the Palestinian Question, and more.
-
-
Narration is robotic
- By Rana R. on 01-04-25
By: Arthur Goldschmidt, and others
-
Pontius Pilate
- A Novel
- By: Paul L. Maier
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning historian and best-selling author Paul L. Maier has created a compelling style of documentary fiction. He uses what is historically known of Pilate's life, adds in the known political climate of first-century Judea, and unveils the colorful, untold story that changed history. Filling in the details of Pilate's early career in Rome, Maier captures the drama of imperial Rome under Tiberius Caesar, the plotting of his political allies and enemies, and his relationship with his beloved but ambitious wife, Procula.
-
-
A MUST READ!
- By CHB on 11-25-22
By: Paul L. Maier
-
To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause
- The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement
- By: Benjamin Nathans
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning in the 1960s, the Soviet Union was unexpectedly confronted by a dissident movement that captured the world’s imagination. Demanding that the Kremlin obey its own laws, an improbable band of Soviet citizens held unauthorized public gatherings, petitioned in support of arrested intellectuals, and circulated banned samizdat texts. Against all odds, the dissident movement undermined the Soviet system and unexpectedly hastened its collapse. To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause is a definitive history of a remarkable group of people who helped change the twentieth century.
By: Benjamin Nathans
-
Browsings
- A Year of Reading, Collecting, and Living with Books
- By: Michael Dirda
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Pulitzer Prize - winning book critic Michael Dirda comes a collection of his most personal and engaging essays on the literary life - the perfect companion for any lover of books. Dirda's latest volume collects fifty of his witty and wide-ranging reflections on literary journalism, book collecting, and the writers he loves. Reaching from the classics to the postmoderns, his allusions dance from Samuel Johnson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and M. F. K. Fisher to Marilynne Robinson, Hunter S. Thompson, and David Foster Wallace.
-
-
A Bag of Csshews
- By Dennis J Gallagher on 03-06-21
By: Michael Dirda
What listeners say about The Notebook
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James Guest
- 01-10-25
Remarkable read
Informative and enjoyable to read.
Never knew I could enjoy a book about notebooks and its history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Todd
- 02-26-25
It’s not a formal history in the authors own words. It is concise and well written.
There is nothing I didn’t like about this book. Except that it ended. It wraps up nicely at the end. If you are considering keeping a journal or notebook this will certainly motivate you to do so. If you are already doing so you will keep doing so.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SChickery
- 01-21-25
Notebooks Made Interesting
It takes a special author to make the history of notebooks interesting and entertaining. I found myself fascinated through each chapter. The reader added to the interest through his appropriate inflections and seeming great interest in the subject.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Campbell
- 04-02-25
Understanding thinking
This books was great in explaining the history of the history of notebooks and paper. I enjoyed the ideas of how to improve your notes and different ways the notebook has been used.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrew Darlow
- 12-28-24
A fascinating look at an often overlooked powerful tool.
I found this book to be absolutely wonderful.
Some of the reasons include:
- The narrator is exceptional-10/10!
-Even when I was familiar with the subjects covered, I received a lot of extra details because the book was written from the point of view of how the individual or group used notebooks;
- I learned interesting tidbits, like when lined notebooks were first patented; and
- I learned that even in today’s electronic world, the notebook still plays an important role.
As an inventor, my stacks of notebooks are a testament to that last bulleted item!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful