Investing in real estate remains a fairly attractive proposition, even in a recession economy, because property purchases result in tangible assets that tend to retain their value. Even if the market crashes and you end up underwater on a mortgage, the economy will eventually rebound; if you can hold onto your property long enough it is almost certain to gain value eventually. So it’s no surprise that a lot of people looking for a relatively safe and stable investment end up turning to real estate as a viable option, especially considering that property can provide a passive income in the meantime thanks to rental potential. However, you can’t just jump into real estate investing with no clue about what you’re doing. Like any type of investment, you need to learn your way around the system if you want to be successful – otherwise you may as well be rolling the proverbial dice. And in his audio book ‘Creative Real Estate Investing Strategies and Tips’, Omar Johnson aims to provide you with creative solutions that will help you to make the most of your money.

Now, you might be reasonably skeptical about this type of “how to” manual. After all, there is no shortage of tutorials out there touting get-rich-quick schemes, and investment strategies, in particular, seem to suffer from this syndrome. So the question is whether or not this audio book offers relevant information that can actually help you to get creative where your real estate investments are concerned, resulting in the growing equity you’re looking for, or if it’s just so much rhetoric designed to sell books, regardless of its use value.

Unfortunately, the opening lines won’t ease your fears on this score, as Johnson delivers a short introduction rife with marketing catch phrases designed to lure you in. For example, he offers listeners the goods from his “golden vault of creative real estate investing”. And the first section, which covers common wholesaling mistakes, is not much better, starting with problems like “you’re paying too much for properties” followed by solutions like “lower your offers”. Right. Why didn’t we think of that?

But while the audio book does not exactly get off to an auspicious start, it picks up the pace and begins to offer some targeted information concerning all manner of real estate investing. Listeners will pick up gems related to title issues, abandoned properties, taxes, and more. Of course, it also covers the bases with information on short sales, foreclosures, wholesaling, land trusts, and so on. Overall, it could be considered a good first step for prospective real estate investors who don’t know what they don’t know about the process – in other words, it’s a beginner class in real estate investing that just happens to impart a few truly useful pearls of wisdom.

It’s too bad that Johnson peppers his submission with marketing nonsense (although this is no surprise considering his background in marketing and SEO). He seems to know what he’s talking about even though he glosses over the subject matter, implying that he probably could have created a much more useful guide. So if you don’t know the first thing about real estate investing, this audio book might be as good a place as any to start. But if you’re already involved in real estate investing, making purchases and getting the lowest interest rates on sites like RateSupermarket, then you probably won’t find the creative strategies you seek in this audio book.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that many of the foods we eat are harmful to our health. With all of the fats, sugar, preservatives, and chemicals added to processed foods these days, it’s no wonder that so many people have to contend with high cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and any number of other prevalent medical conditions. What you may not know, however, is that the foods you eat can also contribute to premature aging. You probably don’t look at a hamburger or a bag of chips and think that they might cause wrinkles. And yet, according to nutrition expert Kimberly Snyder, this could be exactly what’s happening. In her audio book ‘The Beauty Detox Solution: Eat Your Way to Radiant Skin, Renewed Energy, and the Body You’ve Always Wanted’, she details just how your food is affecting your body and what you can do to eat your way to better health and a more beautiful exterior.

When you find out that Snyder caters to an A-list clientele, you might think one of two things: that she’s nothing more than a celebrity fame-seeker looking to capitalize on her exclusive contact list, or that she really knows what she’s doing since these people have the money to pay for the best of the best when it comes to health and beauty services. Luckily, it’s the latter in the case of Kimberly Snyder, who delivers an audio book so steeped in a scientific knowledge of how our bodies process food that you might have some trouble sifting through it. And yet, serious listeners will no doubt appreciate the in-depth details she uses to back up her theories where nutrition is concerned.

For example, she is clearly in favor of vegetarian and vegan options, although she does say that opting for fish (rather than “land” meats) or cutting back to just 2-3 servings per week of meat in general is okay. Her reasoning is that certain food types, including fresh produce and non-animal products, are easier for our bodies to digest and absorb. And when we’re not wasting excess energy in the digestive process, that fuel can go towards healing bodily damage, which includes fighting the signs of aging (hence the beauty aspect of the overall detox process). Although the diet Snyder suggest is rather strict, and many will have trouble following it to the letter, she seems confident that it can help users to lose weight, combat common skin problems, and of course, improve overall health and wellness.

What’s really great about ‘Beauty Detox’ is that Snyder delivers more than just a general overview of her healthy eating plan. She also offers specific examples of what to eat, even providing recipes in some cases. Most people are willing to try every diet pill, exercise fad, and beauty product on the market. Our society’s “click here” mentality makes us crave instant gratification when it comes to health and beauty. But over time you’ve no doubt come to realize that there’s just no quick fix. So if you’re ready to make sustainable life changes that will deliver the youthful visage, increased energy, and level of health you crave, Snyder’s audio book could offer just the plan you’ve been seeking.

Those who are familiar with photography have no doubt heard the name Dorothea Lange. And if you’ve ever taken a women’s history class you may have an inkling of recognition. What the general populace is probably far more familiar with, however, is an iconic black-and-white image from the Great Depression of a migrant worker holding her children. Her face is gaunt from hunger, weathered from hours in the sun, and lined with worries, probably about how she will feed her children and where they will live from one day to the next. This photograph, taken by Lange, has become so associated with the Depression era and the rampant suffering people faced, that you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hadn’t seen it before, even if they never heard the name Dorothea Lange. In fact, it is one of the most recognized photographic images in the world.

But there was a lot more to this woman behind the camera than a single, compelling photograph. She was hailed as one of the best photographers of the 20th century for her contributions, including not only coverage of Dust Bowl America in the 1930s, but also Japanese internment camps during WWII, photos that made her a documentarian rather than merely a photographer. In ‘Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits’, author Linda Gordon and honey-voiced narrator Kathleen Gati bring this incredible photographer out from behind the camera, examining not only her famous images, many of which were published anonymously and only later attributed to her, but also the woman herself.

The real beauty of this audio book lies in the skillful navigation by the author. Gordon deftly maneuvers between the broad canvas of the historical events that Lange found herself at the center of and the much narrower focus of the downtrodden individuals she captured in her photographs, not to mention the trials she had to face in her own life, including fighting censors (often the government agency contracting with her for projects) and getting her work published and seen by the public. For example, she was originally hired in the 1930s by the Farm Security Administration (FSA) to photograph the positive effects of the New Deal’s public works. Instead, she took it upon herself to create the images of poverty and uncertainty that would make her famous. In truth, her photos so moved FSA leaders that they were prompted to call for reform, although they were largely ignored by other government agencies.

Born to affluence, nobody expected Lange to follow through with her desire to become a working photographer, a career that was considered somewhat bohemian at the time. But she not only developed photographs, she also developed a frank, forthright, and moving style, as well as a sense of social responsibility that led her to chronicle some of the darkest historical periods of the 20th century, despite suffering from a variety of ailments including polio, malaria, cancer, and ulcers. Unfortunately, the audio version of this biography does not include photographs. But with the inclusion of background on some of Lange’s most famous images, as well as many of her lesser known works, listeners may be prompted to pick up the best photo book of her collected works to follow along with as they hear the history of this amazing woman’s life.

Education reform has long been a topic of heated debate. On the one hand, people generally seem to agree that the administration of a public school system requires some measure of checks and balances to ensure that all children receive roughly the same education. Although there are clearly issues with standardized testing and a system that forces kids into a very small box, it seems to be the only fair way to assess the effects of academic instruction. And yet, there is more to our nation’s children than the number of facts we can cram into their heads and ask them to regurgitate. They have the capacity for so much more than rote memorization. Through a holistic approach to teaching by which educators strive to address the whole human, including not only the mind, but also the heart and soul, we could help students to develop a strong mind and a spirit to match. At least, this is the concept at the heart of Parker J. Palmer and Arthur Zajonc’s audio book, ‘The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal’.

Palmer is a prolific author on the overarching subjects of living life with integrity, purpose, and an awareness of self, while Zajonc, the current president of the Mind & Life Institute, spent many years as a physics professor and has studied subjects as diverse as quantum physics, humanities, and meditation. The two may seem like something of an odd couple as a writing team, but their thoughts on education are apparently aligned. And they’re not wrong in their assessment of the current educational system as a vehicle for mental development at the expense of other important areas. In their estimation, it is time to create educational reform that addresses the whole human through the development of a learning environment that integrates lessons for the mind and the spirit, teaching students not only how to think on a critical level, but also helping them to develop a sense of compassion and a love of learning that enhances cognitive abilities.

The audio book ostensibly presents the argument that it is possible to create a holistic system of education at the collegiate level, but there’s a lot more to it. Not only do the authors posit that this is possible, but they provide concrete suggestions for how such educational reform could be implemented, namely through the integration of science, the humanities, and contemplative arts. They seem to want to emphasize that their goals are more than just conceptual pipe dreams to create students that love learning, and they do this by offering practical suggestions that educators and administrators can implement. And while the payoff for students is obvious, this approach to teaching can also have an extremely positive and fulfilling effect on educators, as well.

Of course, there are bound to be detractors to this line of thinking, especially those that benefit from the current system in some way, or those that would rather push the problems under the rug than face them and seek a solution. But ‘The Heart of Higher Education’ presents a compelling argument for changing the system, as well as a practical approach to doing so. And it can be applied at not only the collegiate level, but for all education reform, although naturally, lessons would have to be tailored to different developmental stages. Whether students are attending an Ivy League college or a UC online program, they deserve to be treated as whole humans, and they should learn to interact with others in the same way. If we want a society populated by people who are compassionate and socially responsible in addition to being smart and innovative, holistic education is the path that will lead us there.

Let’s just start with a little disclaimer: if you’re experiencing severe pain, you should call or visit your doctor immediately because it’s your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. That said, you may be one of the more than 100 million Americans (according to a 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine) that suffer from chronic pain of some sort. This growing epidemic is leaving more and more people dealing with ongoing and unabated pain symptoms, often with little indication as to the cause of the pain. While some choose to take prescription pain-killers in order to cope and resume their daily lives, you might not be particularly keen to live your life in the drug-induced haze that many of these narcotic solutions can generate. In this case you might be on the lookout for alternative solutions that can help you to keep the pain to a bearable minimum. And according to Lyndall Briggs, a practicing hypnotherapist with 25 years of experience, guided visualization could be the key.

In her audio book, ‘Drug-Free Pain Management: Clinically Proven to Manage, Reduce, or Eliminate Pain’, Briggs delivers her seven-part ‘Relieve Pain’ sessions, part of the Health and Vitality series. These hypnotherapy sessions are designed specifically to help listeners relax and to change their conscious and subconscious minds, developing behaviors that will help them to reduce and even eliminate pain without the use of pharmaceuticals. Lest you wonder what lends her audio book credence, Briggs spent more than two decades honing her hypnotherapy skills in private sessions with clients. In fact, the guided visualization practices presented herein were developed from actual recordings that she developed to send home with patients as a way to reinforce in-office sessions. However, they have now been subjected to modern recording technology in order to ensure that the sound waves are just right to induce a state of deep relaxation needed for the sessions to be the most effective.

Now, you might be a bit put off by the idea of hypnotism, but hypnotherapy is different from the parlor trick you’re picturing. The sessions presented by Briggs in ‘Drug-Free Pain Management’ are designed to help listeners relax into a state where the mind is open to suggestions (not necessarily control). It is expected that you will remain awake throughout the sessions you choose to listen to, aware of what you are hearing at all times. In this way the suggestions issued through the guided visualizations have the opportunity to take root in both your conscious and subconscious mind, so that you are fully aware of the directives. But they may also become ingrained in your mind so that you can break down bad habits and replace them with those that will help you to effectively cope with your pain.

Although plenty of people will probably write Briggs off as some kind of quack, anyone dealing with chronic pain has probably already tried all kinds of strategies for comprehensive pain management, likely with varied results. So if nothing else seems to be working for you, why not give the power of your own mind a try (led by guided visualization, of course)? All you stand to lose is the few bucks you spend on this audio book. And if it helps you, as it has helped so many others, you could be facing a future with less pain and no need for pharmaceutical aid.

When author Sherry Turkle talks about the role that technology plays in our lives and how it has affected the way we interact as a society, you should listen. This woman not only boasts a joint doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard, but she is also a licensed clinical psychologist and a professor at MIT, amongst other notable successes. So if anyone is qualified to wax poetic about the wedge that technology has inserted into our interpersonal relations, it’s Turkle. And she does just that in her audio book, ‘Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other”, a thoughtful and thought-provoking exploration of the incredible technologies that have insinuated themselves seamlessly into our lives and changed the way we interact with one another.

This audio book is ostensibly broken up into two main sections. The first half deals with advances in robotics, which used to be nothing more than space age fantasy, before moving on to the internet, a natural progression of the marriage of computing and communications. Listeners might find it strange that she chooses to start with the technology that is still beyond the reach of the average person, going from the virtually unknown to the technologies that have become intrinsic to our everyday lives and modern communications. But like everything else in ‘Alone Together’, it is a calculated move designed to make a point for listeners. By starting with robotics she is saying that the things that are strange to us today could be commonplace tomorrow, just as mobile communications, once featured on sci-fi programs like ‘Star Trek’, are now so common that even children would rather text their friends than make a phone call.

But of course, the meat of this audio book is hinted at in the title. Turkle’s real goal is to provide listeners with information about the growth and expansion of technology and how it has made human interaction far less convenient than using our toys to correspond remotely. Further, it has created a certain atmosphere of instant gratification. Do you even remember the last time you had to wait to get home to check your phone messages? Do you remember what it was like to go out for the day without being tethered to a communications device? How about a time before answering machines, where you might not even know that someone was trying to reach you if you weren’t there to hear the phone ring? Now, if you don’t text someone back immediately, you might get ten texts in a row, culminating in one that asks if you are dead.

Over the last 30 years our technology has changed so quickly and so radically that most of us are simply running to keep up, never stopping to wonder what affect these devices are having on our lives and whether or not they are improving our situation. It is part of the human condition that we strive to make our lives easier, but along the way we must ask ourselves if what we are giving up in return isn’t worth more somehow. The convenience of these modern devices cannot be denied, but what is the cost of confining our communications to email and text? What is the cost of perfecting robots that can do the job of a human (albeit without emotion or insight)? The conversation is complex indeed, and there are no easy answers. Time moves forward and so must we. But you might want to take a few minutes to ponder these questions when you find smartphones and tablets listed amongst the top toys for Christmas 2013. What are you really passing along to your children when you hand over these devices, and what effect will it have on their lives and their ability to carry on basic human interaction?

If you’re at all interested in the music of the 1960s, and the sounds coming out of Great Britain in particular, then you may be familiar with the name Joe Boyd. This American-born record producer played a hand in supporting, and some might even say shaping, the revolutionary sounds that came from across the pond during the ’60s and ’70s. He started out producing blues artists in the states during his time at Harvard and eventually found his way to England, where such acts were starting to influence the sound of British music. And he jumped head-first into the music scene. Although he worked with incredible blues and jazz acts like Muddy Waters and Coleman Hawkins early in his career, he may be best known for his involvement with movements like folk rock and psychedelic sounds, not to mention bands like Pink Floyd and ISB and artists like Nick Drake. And he would later go on to collaborate with film directors like Stanley Kubrick and even start his own production company, Hannibal Records. If that sounds pretty incredible to you, then perhaps you’ll want to pick up his recently released memoir, ‘White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s’.

We should probably start by noting that there are two small issues listeners may notice as they follow this tale through that highways and byways of the swinging ’60 music scene in London. First, Boyd doesn’t spend much time in the studio in his memoir. However, when you consider that a lot of what was happening in music at the time revolved around live performances, clubs, and festivals you’ll agree that the venues he chooses to revisit are both compelling and appropriate. And the glimpses he does offer into the recording studio are richly detailed, as is the entire memoir.

The second problem, for some listeners, is that at some points the narrative starts to feel more like a travelogue than a deeply personal journey. Perhaps Boyd is trying to maintain a sort of professional distance or maybe it has something to do with the wealth of names, dates, locations, and details he crams in, but the truth is that music lovers shouldn’t miss the personal touch thanks to rapid pacing, interesting content, and the life of a fascinating fixture on the ’60s British music scene.

Peripheral fans of this revolutionary era in rock will no doubt enjoy sections concerning widely popular bands and artists like Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton. But those who have a soft spot in their hearts for less noted musicians of the era will appreciate the focus on underrated artists like Nick Drake, whose contributions were only fully realized after his death by overdose at the age of 26. While ‘White Bicycles’ follows the course of Boyd’s career, it also offers a journey through a turbulent time when music became the voice of a generation crying out for change. If you’re more interested in the musical stylings of Justin Bieber or One Direction, this may not be the audio book for you. But if the folk and psychedelic rock of the ’60s are more your speed, you should definitely pick up Joe Boyd’s memoir and transport yourself to a time when music was changing the world.

From the moment you hear the title of this audio book, ‘The End of Big: How the Internet Makes David the New Goliath’, your interest should be piqued. We live in an era of unparalleled connectivity, and a huge portion of the world population now uses computers, smartphone, tablets, and other devices that allow them to access a worldwide web of information, including history, geography, current events, international media, and pretty much everything they ever wanted to know about anything. In addition, we are capable of instantly connecting to other individuals across the globe. We can meet people, join groups, and engage in outreach efforts at the push of a button, creating a global community that crosses all borders. In short, the internet has changed the way we interact and behave, and this has shifted the societal balance, putting power directly into the hands of everyday citizens. Author Nicco Mele, a social media pioneer (amongst other things) delves into this growing trend in order to look at both the benefits and drawbacks associated with such a power shift.

Generally speaking, people don’t put much stock in the power of a smartphone as a catalyst for change. Sure it can help you find directions, look up useless factoids to prove your friends wrong, or allow you to communicate with your mom without actually having to talk to her, but you may doubt that it can give you the power to make significant change in the world around you. And yet, smartphones were blamed for fueling the London riots in 2011. In fact, this incident was later dubbed the “BlackBerry riots” due to the fact that these devices were a key tool used to organize rioters.

And what about the vast resources provided by the internet? Without the opportunities for outreach offered by the internet, Barack Obama may not have been elected President, regardless of whether or not he was actually the best candidate. But thanks to his grass-roots, online approach that appealed to tech savvy first-time voters, he was able to do what most politicians assumed he would be unable to accomplish. And he continues to use the medium that first brought him success by delivering addresses via YouTube rather than just television.

But the truly incredible aspect of all this connectivity, according to Mele, is that it has put the power for change squarely in the hands of the people. With modern technology on our side we could streamline nearly every aspect of societal regulation, from trash collection to public safety, ostensibly removing the need for large-scale governance. The only problem is that there are certainly unscrupulous people and organizations out there that are smart enough to use these new technologies to manipulate others in order to advance their own agenda (what else is new?). So while you might think that your new smartphone provides little more than a good excuse to peruse Samsung Galaxy S4 Accessories, and that your tablet is only good for playing ‘Simpsons: Tapped Out’, the truth is that these devices are changing the way we live as individuals and as a society, and you are already a part of it. The only question is how much responsibility you want to take in the technology revolution, and how much you’re willing to cede to others.

It wasn’t that long ago that pundits were predicting that internet and mobile technologies would signal the death of television. And while these modern media advances have certainly had a negative impact on the movie rental market, putting services like Blockbuster nearly out of business (mainly because of their apparent resistance to change), the truth is that television got with the program. Broadcasters switched over to HD technology en masse, giving up standard definition in favor of the newer and better platform. And the television industry in general has found myriad ways to work with modern technologies in order to remain viable in this age of computer dominance. The result is that more people than ever are tuning in thanks to various formats for viewing their favorite shows, and TV is far from dead as predicted. According to authors Mike Proulx and Stacey Shepatin in their audio book ‘Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences by Connecting Television to the Web, Social Media, and Mobile’, this trend means only good things for brands that are willing to jump aboard the bandwagon, exercise a little ingenuity, and find ways to make the latest slate of modern, TV-related technologies their top priority when it comes to marketing.

Consider for a moment just how many ways people can now take advantage of television programming. It used to be that you simply had to tune in when a show was slated to air if you wanted to watch it, and if you missed it, too bad. These days you can watch a show live when it airs, DVR it for later viewing, watch it the next day online via your PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, or order it up as a DVD box set at the end of the season. You can also save episodes to your cloud storage in order to view them anywhere at any time thanks to streaming data services. The long and short of it is that you never have to miss another episode of your favorite show. So how can businesses use this to their advantage when it comes to marketing strategies?

You can start by moving your marketing messages onto other media, for one thing. Instead of simply advertising during television programs (since anyone with a DVR will fast forward through commercials anyway), think about placing ads with services that air shows on second screen devices (computers, mobile devices, etc.). Sites like Hulu, for example, force viewers to sit through ads (or pay to remove them). Although they may only show a handful of commercials, this is one way to ensure a viewing audience that may no longer exist with standard television. Of course, you can also use these platforms to engage in a slew of new types of advertising efforts. With touch screen capabilities at your disposal you can create interactive advertising that helps you to engage the audience in ways that were previously impossible.

In addition, social networking allows you to draw viewers in even further thanks to sponsored events, live voting, and more. And of course, you can utilize analytical tools in the online arena to find out what’s trending, pinpoint efforts that are delivering the best results, and tailor your marketing campaigns to achieve optimum results. The best part is that consumers don’t spend the same way online as they do in the real world; they tend to be much more liberal with their “virtual” money, buying everything from extra levels in video games to protect your bubble iPhone insurance. So getting in on this marketing platform is essential to any business that wants to compete now and in the future. And ‘Social TV’ can help you to understand the possibilities and grab them by the horns.

Plenty of people are familiar with the Rich Dad Advisors series of audiobooks by Ken McElroy, which are designed to help the average adult build wealth through a number of means, such as managing rental properties, choosing proper tenants, and of course, investing in real estate. It is this last area that is covered in “Rich Dad Advisors: ABCs of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss”. And while there are certainly plenty of audio books out there purporting to offer similar information, you need only read reviews to discover that this particular offering provides a far more comprehensive compendium of information for the listener looking to make a foray into real estate investing. While others merely proffer so much fluff and generic rhetoric with very little concrete information or strategy, McElroy aims to help listeners take their first steps into the potential profits inherent in the real estate market. And the high praise of your fellow consumers should tell you something about what this updated audio book has to offer.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the meatiness of this audio book, as opposed to many competitors which are notably lean on the details. And the process starts with learning how to properly assess properties in order to determine whether or not they’ll make good investments. Now, you should be warned that this isn’t a volume designed for those who are looking to flip houses. This dicey form of investing for those seeking “get rich quick” schemes where real estate is concerned is steadfastly avoided by Rich Dad. McElroy wants to impart the knowledge needed to help you make sound financial decisions, and flipping homes when you’re not an expert definitely doesn’t fall into that category. But if you’re looking to use the assets provided by property purchases for a long-term investing strategy, then you’ve come to the right place.

There’s a lot to love in this audio book if your goal is to hold property. For starters you’ll get the 411 on how to assess potential purchases. This is definitely one of the most difficult things for investors to learn, so you’ll surely appreciate the detail that McElroy lends to the subject. You’ll learn to find properties that offer the most potential and bang for your buck. But Rich Dad will also give you the skills you need to negotiate so that you can get the property you want for a fair price. Overpaying is not the way to become wealthy through real estate, so it’s important to develop the strategies (and the nerve) to negotiate for a price you can live with.

Of course, the process doesn’t end there. Once you’ve signed the paperwork and dispensed with the real estate agents, you’re going to have to manage your properties appropriately if you want them to offer the passive income (rent, lease, etc.) that drove you to purchase them in the first place. Here, too, McElroy delivers with lessons on proven tools for property management. If you want to achieve maximum cash flow from every property you invest in, Rich Dad can give you the knowledge and skills needed to get in at the ideal price point and milk your asset for all its worth.