The peaceful silence of audiobooks

Lately, I've been really enjoying audiobooks, which is new for me. I've tried to get into audiobooks in the past and failed, and whenever I heard someone talk about a good audiobook, I'd think something like: Good for them, but not for me.

It started when I put timers on some of my apps, like Instagram and Reddit. I already had timers on them, but I went from 20 mins on weekdays and 40 mins on weekends to just 10 minutes for every day. I didn't think this would have a huge effect on me, after all, I already had a timer on them, but it did.

There would be times I'd be sitting around, timer already up, feeling bored. Trying to figure out what to do. And I guess all the times sitting around quietly made returning to those apps feel even louder.

I'd open Instagram and suddenly everyone is delivering their lines at me in over the top yelling, telling me what products to buy, what I should feel about a recent event, what exercises I need to do to maintain mobility by the time I'm 70, or asking me to comment something to get a DM with the link. Same with Youtube and Reddit: people speaking loudly and making me feel like I couldn't even think. I had never noticed it before, or maybe I was able to resist feeling pulled and stretched around (probably not that one honestly).

Anyways, I was craving something calmer than that. I had heard good things about the Project Hail Mary audiobook--only good things, actually (do I italicize if the book title is for an audiobook?) I read the book last year but the movie was coming out soon and I wanted a refresher, and the bonus to it being a book I've already read meant that if I missed a sentence or two I wouldn't be completely lost.

I actually really dig the poster. Probably related to that: I also really like Ryan Gosling.

So all the moments where in the past I would've put on a Youtube video or mindlessly browsed Instagram, I would instead put on my audiobook, and after awhile, the thing I really noticed was how much quieter it felt. Instead of influencers and content creators clamoring over themselves to grab and hold my monetized attention, feeling like every application was pushing and pulling me around, I felt nothing there. A silence. Nobody trying to sell me something, nobody trying to influence me. Silence.

It was lovely. Would recommend.

(I saw the movie and the book was better, which isn't a huge surprise. The movie did add some great ideas that I liked, like having video logs be a thing, having Project Hail Mary mission hats, and letting Carl have more of a presence, but the book was maybe my favorite book of 2025, so it was going to be hard to beat.) 

CURRENT RAT EVENTS

Current rat hobby: Reading The Silent Patient and constructing a planner I'll actually use.

Current rat worry: Work. Work work work. Work! Work...

Woke up full body sore today, but worked really hard. (Worked over the weekend too--for free! I'm that much of a dummy.) I did a full 30 minutes of yoga, I showered already last night, I have lunch and breakfast ready for tomorrow, and I already sent off my query to my coworker, created my PR for my other project. Even took a 40 min nap after work, read about 40 pages of my book already, and it's only 7:30. What does this mean? I think it means that for the first time in like two weeks I can sit here and feel okay. I mean, there's still a million horrible things over my head, looming like ugly rainclouds--my insurance appeal was denied, my remaining ovary is throbbing in a concerning way, and a guy in the PHM screening pulled out his phone on full brightness out three times. Listing these out side by side is a little funny because one is real dumb.

Five of Wands (reversed)--Inner conflict, conflict avoidance, confusion.