Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

8 Books You Should Listen to Instead of Read

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Happy Audiobook Appreciation Month!  What?  You didn’t know?  It’s ok.  You don’t need to get me anything.  But I am gifting you a little something.

 

I usually keep multiple books going at a time.  And I don’t play favorites with formats. 

I like paperbacks and hardcovers, audiobooks and electronic.  I buy, borrow and check out.  It usually makes no difference to me.  A good story is a good story.  But there are a few books I’ve consumed over the years that I’m partial to on audio.

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 So here are:

 

8 Books You Should Listen to Instead of Read

 

  1.  Chasing Vines:  Finding Your Way to an Immensely Fruitful Life by Beth Moore  In addition to it being the winner of the Christian Book Award for Best Audio Book of 2021, I just love her southern drawl.  Sometimes soft and often passionately exuberant, I loved hearing about how her once in a lifetime trip with her daughters inspired her to dig deeper into scripture.
  2. I Ain’t Doin’ It:  Unfiltered Thoughts From a Sarcastic Southern Sweetheart by Heather Land  Listening to this book was like seeing a stand up comedian.  Laughing until crying, tears running happily down my face and my leg.  Give yourself this gift!
  3. The Polygamist’s Daughter:  A Memoir by Anna LeBaron with Leslie Wilson.  This true story is so unbelievable that hearing straight from the source lends credibility and also empathy from the listener.  Both add so much to the overall experience.
  4. Love Does:  Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff  The author’s childlike enthusiasm and sheer delight in other people both encourages and inspires me to love others better.  You can hear it in his voice and feel it in your heart.
  5. Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand  It’s been years since I put this audiobook on CD in my car to listen to while running errands.  It is so gripping that my then 11 year old daughter requested I not listen to it without her in the car!  It was almost like watching a movie of this story – which you can do now too.
  6. Food:  A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan  I know Gaffigan’s humor isn’t for everyone, but I think he is hilarious.  And he relishes nothing more than making fun of his chubby eating habits.  It’s a master class in comedy.
  7. As You Wish:  Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes  If you love this cult classic movie as much as I do, these behind the scenes details are a true delight.  But I consider hearing them from farm boy Wesley himself icing on the cake!
  8. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen Although I liked Springsteen in the 80’s, like everyone else, I would not now consider him a favorite artist.  It may have something to do with the hour we waited for him to start a concert we attended.  But that’s neither here nor there.  His story, read in that unmistakable voice, reminds me why he’s The Boss.  From humble beginnings to living legend and personal failures in between, I almost felt like I knew him.

 

I realize that these are all non-fiction books – with the exception of Unbroken (which is based on a true story).  I tend to gravitate that way, but I consider it a character flaw.  I’ve made it a personal goal to read more fiction.  So I would love recommendations in the comments.  What novels should I listen to (or read)?  And again, Happy Audiobook Appreciation Month!

 

 

Now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Instaencouragements.com kicked off their summer bible study using the book Seeking Him by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Tim Grissom.  The first post in the series, written by Julie, called Revival:  Who Needs It had me talking back to the screen.  “I need it!”  “Our country needs it!”  “We ALL need it!”  Read it.

 

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What a Dead Dog, the Good Samaritan and Voicemail Have in Common

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Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

At the tender driving age of 16, I ran over a dog.  The whole story embarrasses me, but we are friends.  So here goes.  I was driving a Ford Tempo that I shared with my twin sister on a very dark farm-to-market road…with two kids I babysat for in the backseat…when I practically went airborne.  This dog was massive.  If I had not seen him with my own eyes, I would have sworn he was a small horse.  It still flabbergasts me that the little car survived unscathed.

 

I was crestfallen to think I had hurt and probably killed him.  But it was not safe to stop the car there with no streetlights around and two children to take care of.  So I continued on to my destination with my heart pounding up near my esophagus.  I returned home a bit later on the same country road.  Remembering about where I had struck the poor animal, I pulled way over to the opposite side of the road and drove on the shoulder to make sure I missed him.  And then I plowed over a surprise bump.  It was so very dark, but I immediately knew that the dog had dragged himself to the other side of the road and laid down.  And I ran over him again.  I sought to show him mercy by keeping to the other side of the road and ended up hurting him worse.  As I retell it I still feel all of the disbelief and shame I did that night.

 

My pastor’s reading of the Good Samaritan story on Sunday sparked this memory.  From Luke 10 Jesus tells a parable of a man going down a road who was robbed and beaten and left half-dead.  A priest and a priest’s assistant both came by, saw him and moved over to the other side of the street to avoid him.  In so doing, just like I did all those years ago, they did him additional harm.  The Samaritan man came along next, and even though he had places he needed to be, he dressed the man’s wounds and took him to an inn.  Having other business to attend to, he paid someone else to nurse this stranger back to health.

 

It’s messy and inconvenient to be a friend, isn’t it?

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Hearing the familiar story this time made me think about how many different ways we have now to “walk on the other side of the road”.  When we don’t feel like getting involved, we can hide someone on social media.  We can avoid them at church or the office.  We can close our garage door when our neighbors are outside.  When we think we don’t have the time we can let the phone go to voicemail or choose not to respond to a text.

 

I listened to Bob Goff interviewed on a podcast recently, and he challenged me on this very issue.  (If you haven’t heard him tell a story or read one of his books, I would beg you to do so immediately.  Love Does and Everybody Always just might change the way you view how you should interact with the world.)  Bob’s message is always and forever to love people.  And in this interview he said, “The best way to show someone they have worth is to be available.”  For this to be true, the opposite is true as well.  If you want to send a message that someone is inconsequential (whether you intend to or not), ignore the text, decline the invitation, take days to return the voice mail, “walk on the other side of the street”.

 

“Beloved children, our love can’t be an abstract theory we only talk about but a way of life demonstrated through our loving deeds.”  1 John 3:18 The Passion Translation

*The books listed here are linked to an affiliate page.  For more on how this benefits me and affects you, please see my Policies page.*

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