The likable Gretchen Rubin, who wrote THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, makes personal observations about herself as she delivers this immensely helpful audio guide to improving our lives through building good habits. These personal references and her conversational phrasing make her audiobook sound lighthearted and inviting--full of insights that sound familiar and advice that sounds less like what you should do and more like what you want to do. Four key strategies she offers are monitoring, paying attention to foundations (sleeping, moving, eating right, and scheduling), committing to beginnings, and arranging for accountability. With her focus on taking first steps and creating early successes, this is a refreshing take on how to change stubborn patterns that limit what we can enjoy about our lives.
Pub Date: March 17, 2015
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780553551716
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dan Harris traces his experience finding a quieter, more peaceful mind, and life, through the unlikely pursuit of meditation. Deeply skeptical, he’s ultimately convinced by the scientific research showing meditation’s benefits. Harris says the voice in his head, the “inner narrator” he seeks to quiet, is a “total pill”—a voice that “comes braying in, heckling us all day with an air horn.” Unfortunately, his own narration has a way of grating on the ear, especially when he’s describing meditation with a cynical, yet-to-be converted eye or taking a competitive approach to mindfulness. Eventually, the ear adjusts and listeners can absorb interesting glimpses into Harris’s life as a broadcaster and his journey with meditation. However, some still may prefer to read the book to themselves.
Pub Date: March 11, 2014
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062331892
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While a brief introduction to this audiobook is voiced by Dick Van Dyke himself, the balance is assigned to his friend Tom Bergeron. He does a remarkable, impeccable, and simply wonderful job, narrating with a rhythm and tonality similar to Van Dyke's. One might believe one is listening to the 100-year-old actor himself. In addition to talking about his life, Van Dyke also quite candidly describes living with the health and mobility issues that have touched him in his most recent years. Throughout the presentation, anecdotes and vignettes thoughtfully portray the pivotal influences on the man and his sensibilities. The novel approach of presenting the ever optimistic Van Dyke's "rules for living" works effectively.
Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668652992
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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