Audiobooks

The "motivational" audiobook is here to stay. Sales suggest that we now all drive to work or jog to the velvety-voiced exhortations of the new magnetic mentors. Some are over-priced, under-length and insultingly manipulative, others popularise new insights into the mind very effectively. Power-reading, mental-mapping and a rest before work are among many ideas in Colin Rose's Accelerated Learning Techniques (Simon & Schuster, 2hrs, pounds 9.99). Examinees will lap it up, but it is just as applicable to learning to sail or to speak Suomi. Susan Jeffers's Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (S&S, 1hr, pounds 8.99) offers provocative food for thought, encouraging personal responsibility and challenging the culture of caution that cripples so many adventurous initiatives.

Christina Hardyment