Some of my most intense reading experiences have been listening to an audible book. When I was commuting to work, audible books transformed my commute from dread to anticipation. The best books would leave me sitting in my driveway, not wanting to get out because I had to hear more of the story. A few recommended books that are fantastic in audible form, and will not disappoint:

Lonesome Dove: Pure lovely storytelling from the first paragraph. I cried at the end of this western saga because I wanted to hear what happens next and for the story to continue on forever. It was made into a not-bad video mini-series, but this audit is longer and so it’s better.

Shantaram: A one-book wonder that tells the wild story of a New Zealand fugitive hiding in the slums of India, who comes to love the colorful characters of India’s mafia and outlaw underground. An incredible inside view of Indian cities. The narrator does all the voices in pitch perfect accents. 

Harry Potter: This version narrated by Jim Dale, who delivers every voice in a stunning performance, is the canonical version of this franchise for me, which I prefer over reading the book or the movies.

Peter the Great: Non-fiction works well in audible too. This long biography of Peter the Great, who transformed Russia, was a page turner, and a deep tour of the Russian soul. — KK.

Apple AirPods Pro are not only state-of-the-art stereophonic headphones, they are also state-of-the-art noise cancelling headphones, and to a lesser extent, passable hearing aids for some people. In short, they are far more capable sonic devices than first appears. I keep learning new abilities they have. A great way to get a sense of what the Airpods Pros can do is outlined in this short article by Jason Kottke on “customizing your Airpods for even better sound.” — KK

I’m not a coder, but I still like listening to the electronic instrumental songs from Music for Programming. The curators say they’ve spent years finding the right kind of “compelling music for sustained concentration” and I think they’ve found it. You can listen at the website or by subscribing to the podcast. — MF

Would you like to hear what lightning on Jupiter sounds like? How about the beeping sound transmitted by Sputnik in 1957, or the first sound recording taken on Mars? Head over to NASA’s ​​Audio and Ringtones page, where you can listen to dozens of recordings. My favorite is Juno’s 2021 flyby of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, which sounds like an old science fiction radio play. — MF

Mvsep is a free web-based service that separates any song’s vocals and instruments. It’s useful for singers and musicians, but it also provides a new way to appreciate your favorite songs. I tried it with The Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black” using the “Ultimate Vocal Remover HQ” mode and was impressed by how well it worked. — MF

Imitone is a $25 application (still in Beta) that uses your voice to control a synthesized instrument, like a saxophone, guitar, or keyboards. I’ve been having a lot of fun whistling, humming and singing to make music with in Garageband. It’s available for Mac and Windows. — MF

Beepster is a website that lets you make synthesizer music through experimentation. It has four tracks. You can change the waveform, speed, volume, pitch, and scale by clicking buttons. It’s configured in such a way that anything you do produces a pleasant tune. — MF

Like many writers and programmers I like to listen to a loop of music over and over again as an inducement to work. It’s similar to writers who work in a cafe for its background hum. The familiar sound induces a flow trance that makes it easier to concentrate. Some loopers will loop a different track for a different project, but I have looped the same song for a decade. My loop is a Gregorian chant, Hymn of the Cherubim. In fact, as soon as I hear it now, I am primed to write. Popular tracks to loop include video game music, because these were intentionally engineered to work in the background and help focus. Tons of music, including video game tracks, can be found on YouTube, and the cool part is that you can loop YouTube. Right click on the Play button and choose Loop. — KK

I bought Apple’s AirPods a couple of years ago and was fairly happy with them, but the battery life was disappointing. They would run out near the end of a one hour zoom meeting. I recently got the AirPods Pro and they not only have much better battery life (2.5+ hours of talk time) they also have excellent noise cancellation. I don’t need my big heavy Bose Noise canceling headphones any longer! — MF

My wife got me one of these tiny Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator PO-14 Sub Synthesizers for Christmas last year. It’s made by Teenage Engineering, creators of the amazing (and expensive!) OP-1 Synthesizer. This pocket model is only $50 but is a lot of fun to play and very versatile. Watch this video a feature rundown. — MF

The secret sauce for successful film- and video-making is the audio. The easiest way to add a musical score and sound effects to home-made video, particularly if you will be uploading it to YouTube, is to use the large collection of license-free music and effects in the YouTube Audio library. It’s free. Many tracks are pretty good. And the music is guaranteed to be “clear” and not cause copyright or monetization issues on YouTube. I’ve been using them on my videos. — KK

Dig CC Mixter is a library of music you can use for free in videos, performances, podcasts, video games, or other projects. It’s well organized and it’s easy to listen to samples of the music. — MF

My 16-year-old daughter and I like listening to lo-fi electronic music in the car, and we got interested in making some lo-fi music of our own. Instead of buying a synthesizer, we just bought this cheap 32-key MIDI keyboard (Model AKM320). We are using it with Apple’s Garageband app, which has built-in software synths. It was literally plug-and-play, because it required no software drivers. It comes with a USB cable. — MF

I upgraded my audio capture for video. For the past year when I make videos I have been using a Rode Wireless Go microphone and receiver. The system is two small squares each about the size of an Apple watch. One slips onto the hotshoe of a camera, and plugs into the Mic jack, the other rides in the pocket of the subject speaking (or clips onto their clothing) and connects to a small lapel mic. From up to 100 meters away, your camera will record sound/voice in excellent fidelity, even if the subject is moving. No wires, no sound boom. It’s tiny and featherlight, and works instantly with plug and play. Best of all its cheap audio, $200 for the set. I highly recommend. — KK

Decibel X is an app for the iPhone ($3.99 per month, also available on Android) that is a noise meter. It pretty accurately measures noise on a decibel scale. I use it to monitor the noise levels in restaurants and workplaces in an effort to increase quiet. When I am recording podcasts I use it to ensure there’s little background noise. It’s also entertaining and instructive to measure sound levels outside in nature and urban areas. — KK

I spent 45 minutes interacting with the sliders and buttons at Learning Synths and now I understand concepts like envelope, attack, decay, sustain, and release. I was having so much fun I didn’t realize I was being taught a lesson, either. — MF

The way professionals record sound in a documentary, theatrical show, mobile podcast, vlogging channel, and even a wedding video, is to wire up the “talent” with a hidden lightweight recorder in a pocket or belt that is connected to an itsybitsy microphone discreetly clasped on a coat, shirt, dress, under a hat or in hair. The least expensive ($200) industry standard for this job is the Tascam DR-10L. It runs on a AAA battery for 10 hours. The sound is sterling, studio-quality, dependable. (Audio is recorded separately from video and easily synced later.) I’ve been relying on this small device for interviews and podcasts in the field. — KK

For a reason that no longer makes sense, airlines use a headphone jack that has two prongs, one for each ear channel, instead of the standard single ⅛” plug used everywhere else. That means you need a small 1-to-2 adapter if you travel with your own earphones/earbuds. These adapters are tiny, easily lost or left behind. I wanted to replace the several units (extra for companions) that I carry and lost, and could not figure out what they are called to order them. No specification I could think of worked. Eventually I discovered they are called Airline Headphone Adapters. You are welcome. — KK

I’ve been using Rev.com for transcripts of audio conversations. It’s $1 a minute. But I recently tried Trint.com, which uses software instead of humans to turn recordings into text, and it was as good as Rev.com. It’s 25 cents a minute. Worth a try! — MF

Whenever I’m watching TV and a song catches my ear, I often don’t have the chance to ask Siri what it is. Tunefind is great for that, because the next day I can just look up whatever show I was watching and listen to clips of all the songs that were played during that episode. Once I find the song, I can be redirected to listen on Spotify or search for the song on Youtube. — CD