26 Audiobooks I Read This Year
I have some good news to share this morning. Remember that book I planned to self-publish this summer and then decided to pitch it to a literary agent instead? Well, the deadline for submission was this past Monday at 10 a.m., and as darkness fell last Sunday night, I was in full creative slump mode.
I had bits and pieces of four query letters and approximately 30 chewed-up and spit-out pages of a manuscript I was beginning to think might never be readable again. Part of me wanted to cry, forfeit the $200 I invested in this opportunity (plus the $500+ for the Airbnb), and admit that I am in fact, most certainly, not actually ready to try for a big dream book deal.
But instead, I dug deep and somehow submitted it.
It took working until midnight and ignoring my family for more hours than I’d like to admit, but I sent my query letter along with a manuscript excerpt to the agent just in the nick of time. Which means exactly two weeks from today, I’ll be driving to the PITCH conference in southern Maine and meeting a literary agent (or possibly two!) to pitch my book.
I feel so grateful. And honestly, so surprised. I’ll admit I’m a deadline queen when someone else gives me a drop date, but I rarely stay up late into the night to meet the writing deadlines I give myself. So, all week I’ve been thinking about how it was that I was able to pull this one out of the hat. I wanted to thank whatever magic in my life made the difference in the eleventh hour. And I realized something. This big act was inspired by a collection of very small acts I do every day—my daily practices.
One of which is reading real, live good books like this one ⤵
Pete and Alice in Maine came to my post office box from a real, live email group lady (who’s probably reading this blog right now—thank you, Cara!). And although I didn’t think I had time to read it on the day it arrived, I took a small peek and immediately loved the story. So I read a little each night. Sometimes a chapter. Sometimes just a paragraph. And when I got to the end, I canceled my Saturday plans to finish it on the porch.
Finishing this one thing—a good book—made it feel possible to finish other things too. Reading this book made me want to write my own. It made writing feel possible, even in my slump.
Another daily practice I think made the difference for me in the clutch is listening to audiobooks like these⤵
Whale Done (with the kids)
All up, I’ve listened to more than 26 audiobooks in the past 12 months. Which sounds like a lot, but I’m here to tell you is actually just an hour or two here and there while washing dishes, walking on the trail, folding laundry, driving the kids somewhere, doing a little watercolor, or riding my bike.
It’s a daily practice that’s become a habit—a habit that makes stories part of my everyday life. And for my particular dream (birthing my own books into the world), it’s a habit that’s helping make my biggest dreams come true.
Recently there’s been a lot of “daily practice” talk in my world because that’s one of the themes I’ll be teaching at the October retreat. So I realize I’m seeing that theme everywhere these days. But truly and honestly (as always), I do believe the little things we fill our days with shape who we are. They not only change what we do in the moment, they help us make choices that lead toward our dreams instead of away from them. When chosen carefully, they make our big dreams possible.
So today, I hope I’m leaving you with a long list of good audiobook links and a little something to think about, too.
And if you need a listening ear, I’m here.