Month: April 2024

According to a study by the National Institute of Health (NIH), listening to audiobooks showed significant improvements in the mental health of older adults. The study showed benefits on mental health dimensions of aggression, depression, anxiety, and more with a major impact on “depression.”

The audiobook format allows senior citizens, who find it hard to hold a traditional paperback due to weak hands or other disabilities, to listen to the books. Book lovers with visual impairments can also enjoy their favorite books in audio format.

Audible is the largest audiobook service but a common concern among users is that Audible is too expensive. This is also true for other audiobook apps and services because audiobooks are expensive to create.

Fortunately, there are many free options for audiobook lovers. Let us have a look at the best websites for free audiobooks.

1: Free Classic Audiobooks

As the name suggests, this website has classic and fiction audiobooks. The website is ideal for seniors, as it has a simple design and easy-to-use interface. You can download audiobooks in MP3 and M4B formats (ideal for iOS devices).

The key features of this site are:

• Easy-to-use for non-tech-savvy older adults.
• You can download audiobooks in multiple formats.
• Download the whole book or individual chapters.

The site provides access to hundreds of classics in the public domain, including Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Emma by Jane Austen, and many more.

Explore Free Classic Audiobooks

2: Digital Book

You should visit this site if you are looking for a specific audiobook. Digital Book (formerly known as Librophile) operates as a search engine for free audiobooks in the public domain. 

The site has a catalog of more than 100,000 free audiobooks and eBooks. You can browse the “Trending” or “Popular” sections or look through the list of genres, authors, or languages to find your favorite book in audio format.

Other features include:

• One site to access free eBooks, audiobooks and podcasts.
• Ideal place to find a specific audiobook from various sites.
• Supports 12 languages.
• Concentration on classic novels.

Digital Books includes many well-known titles. It is my favorite site to find free audiobooks because of its sleek design and easy search engine to locate specific books.

Find Free Audiobooks from Digital Book

3: Open Culture

This site has compiled a list of free audiobooks from different websites. The list has 1000 fiction, nonfiction, and poetry audiobookslisted in alphabetical order for easy access. You will find a lot of classic and poetry audiobooks here.

This site has no options to search through the list or the ability to sort or filter the audiobooks. Open Culture’s 1000 free audiobooks list has many great books, but you have to go through the list to find what you are looking for.

Explore Free Audiobooks List by Open Culture

4: OverDrive

If you have a library card from your local library, this website is a one-stop access to over 300,000 free audiobooks.

OverDrive partners with local libraries around the United States (and some libraries from abroad) to provide you with bestsellers, chart-topping, and latest releases. Visit OverDrive’s library finder to check if your local library has a subscription to OverDrive.

This is one of the easiest ways to get free audiobooks. Once signed in, put in your library card number and you will have access to the entire audiobook catalog.

You can use OverDrive services through their app, Libby. OverDrive is an excellent source of old classics and contemporary releases.

OverDrive provides:

• 100% free access to tens of thousands of Audiobooks, eBooks, and magazines without any subscription or hidden charges.
• It offers one of the largest collections of free audiobooks – classics, best sellers, and popular titles.
• Listen on the computer, smartphone app, Kindle Fire, and more.
• Works with tens of thousands of libraries.

You only need your local library card to access the largest collection of free audiobooks on OverDrive.

Visit OverDrive

5: Hoopla Digital

Hoopla Digital works the same as OverDrive. You need a library card to unlock free audiobooks, eBooks, movies and music, TV shows, and comics that you can stream or watch on a computer, smartphone, tablet, TV, or Amazon Kindle.

Hoopla has thousands of free audiobooks. You can filter the results by user ratings, release date, date added, and language.

Visit the Popular Audiobooks or New & Trending Audiobooks sections to get started.

Explore Free Audio Books From Hoopla Digital

6: Libri Vox

Libri Vox has a huge selection of free audiobooks, recorded by volunteers from around the world. The volunteers give their time and voice to record classic books that are in the public domain.

Libri Vox was a pioneer in recording public domain books and making them accessible to the general public with 10,000 projects recorded so far.

You can find a specific audiobook by searching by title, author, genre, or language. Either listen to chapters individually without downloading or download the whole book (in a ZIP file). Some audiobooks are available in M4B formats for iOS users.

Libri Vox also has a YouTube channel where they upload audiobooks. You can also use their Android and iOS apps to access these audiobooks.

Visit Libri Vox

7: Loyal Books

Loyal Books (previously known as Books Should Be Free) has more than 7000 public domain titles. You will certainly find great options from their History, Literature, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Short Stories, Historical Fiction, and many other genres.

Do not miss the Loyal Books Top 100 section. You have options to listen to these audiobooks on the website, download MP3s (individual chapters or whole books), or in M4B format (for iPhones and iPads).

Loyal Books also has many free eBooks and books in other languages. You can enjoy their content on Android and iOS devices.

Visit Loyal Books

8: Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is the oldest digital library, run by volunteers. It offers a free collection of classic audiobooks and e-books.

You can search book titles by author, title, subject, or language to find your favorite book. Audiobooks are available in several formats.

While most of the books are narrated by humans, there are some computer-narrated books, which is a bizarre experience for me. Project Gutenberg has books in 50+ languages.

Explore Free Audiobooks from Project Gutenberg

9: Thought Audio

Thought Audio is a very simple site that offers classic literature and philosophy audiobooks from authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, and Virginia Wolfe. Each audiobook page has a summary with author information.

The audiobooks are in the form of YouTube videos with a PDF transcript that you can download. It has fewer titles as compared to other websites but Thought Audio has many great titles if you are looking for free options.

Visit Though Audio for Free Audiobooks

10: Audible

Amazon’s Audible is a paid service that offers the largest collection of audiobooks recorded by professionals. If you are looking for a specific audiobook that is not available in the public domain and you cannot find anywhere else, try Audible.

Audible’s huge collection has best-sellers and new releases so you will most probably find any book that you are looking for.

Audible has a30-day free trialthat gets you one audiobook for free. You can also check out the Free Listens section which offers hundreds of free audiobooks including some great classics.

Visit Audible

11: BBC Sounds

BBC Sounds is an app from BBC and the home of its radio channels, podcasts, and audiobooks. BBC is now branching out to free abridged audiobooks.

If the idea of abridged audiobooks sounds good (an abridged audiobook is a shorter version of a book where you get the main ideas of a book without the small details), you can get some good free audiobooks from BBC Sounds.

Visit BBC Sounds for More

12: YouTube

The last site to get free audiobooks on this list is YouTube. There are many audiobook channels and lists on YouTube that have a variety of genres.

You can listen to classics like Pride and Prejudice or thrillers like Stephen King’s In the Tall Grass.

YouTube also takes down many audiobook videos that violate copyright or books that are not licensed for audiobook distribution. There are plenty of public domain audiobook channels on YouTube to get your favorite classic titles for free.

Although there are many pros and cons of audiobooks vs physical books, studies show both formats benefit mental sharpness and cognitive abilities among seniors.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you listen to audiobooks? Which service do you subscribe to, if any? Do you prefer free audiobooks? Have you checked your local library’s offerings? What other options have you tried? Do you have a favorite audiobook narrator?

Danielle Olivera’s Blue Draped Square Neck Top / Summer House Season 8 Episode 8 Fashion

Much like Danielle Olivera’s blue draped square neck corset top on tonight’s Summer House, we’re going to keep this post light. Basically all the information you need to know is that this a sexy chic top that is fully stocked. Oh and that we obviously have it below so that you can keep your summer shopping spree right on corset course.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Originally posted at: Danielle Olivera’s Blue Draped Square Neck Top

Emotional eating is a complex behavior that involves using food as a means to cope with emotional distress or seek comfort. It can have profound effects on both our physical and emotional well-being. Understanding the causes and consequences of emotional eating is crucial for developing effective strategies to address this behavior. In this article, we will delve into the numerous factors that contribute to emotional eating and explore the potential outcomes it can have on individuals’ lives.

Causes of Emotional Eating

Emotional Triggers

Emotional eating often arises as a response to emotional triggers such as stress, anxiety, sadness, or boredom. Food becomes a source of comfort, providing temporary relief from negative emotions or serving as a distraction from underlying psychological distress.

Learned Behavior

Emotional eating can be learned through childhood experiences and social conditioning. When food is consistently used as a reward or means of emotional soothing, we develop a learned response that associates food with comfort and emotional relief.

Coping Mechanisms

Emotional eating can be a coping mechanism for dealing with stress. During times of heightened stress, the body releases cortisol, which increases appetite and cravings for foods high in sugar, fat, or salt. Consuming these foods triggers the release of dopamine, temporarily reducing stress and providing a sense of pleasure or relief.

Lack of Emotional Awareness

A lack of emotional awareness hampers the ability to effectively identify, process, and manage emotions. Emotional eaters may have difficulty distinguishing between physical hunger and emotional hunger, leading them to rely on food as a default response to emotional distress.

Consequences of Emotional Eating

Weight Gain and Obesity

One of the primary consequences of emotional eating is weight gain. Emotional eaters often consume excessive amounts of high-calorie foods, leading to an imbalance between caloric intake and expenditure. Over time, this can contribute to weight gain and increase the risk of obesity.

Negative Emotional Well-being

Paradoxically, emotional eating can lead to negative emotional well-being. While it may provide temporary relief, emotional eating does not address the underlying emotional issues. Instead, it can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and decreased self-esteem, further perpetuating the cycle of emotional eating.

Disordered Eating Behaviors

Emotional eating is often associated with other disordered eating behaviors, such as binge eating disorder or night eating syndrome. These conditions involve episodes of uncontrolled eating, often driven by emotional triggers, and can lead to additional physical and psychological complications.

Health Issues

Emotional eating can have detrimental effects on physical health. Excessive consumption of unhealthy foods can contribute to the development of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Nutrient deficiencies and imbalances may also arise due to a lack of adequate nourishment from whole, nutrient-rich foods.

Impaired Stress Management

Relying on food as a coping mechanism can hinder the development of healthier stress management skills. Emotional eaters may struggle to identify alternative strategies for managing stress, leading to a cycle of increased stress and continued reliance on food as a form of comfort.

Poor Body Image and Self-Esteem

Emotional eating can contribute to negative body image and low self-esteem. The weight gain associated with emotional eating can reinforce negative self-perceptions and lead to dissatisfaction with one’s appearance, further perpetuating the cycle of emotional eating.

Strategies for Addressing Emotional Eating

Developing Emotional Awareness

Cultivating emotional awareness is essential for breaking free from emotional eating. Practice mindfulness, journaling, or therapy to enhance your ability to recognize and process emotions effectively.

Building Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Explore alternative coping mechanisms for managing emotional distress, such as exercise, meditation, hobbies, or seeking support from friends and family. Engaging in activities that provide genuine emotional nourishment can reduce the reliance on food as a coping mechanism.

Mindful Eating

Practice mindful eating by paying attention to physical hunger cues, eating slowly, and savoring each bite. Mindful eating promotes a more conscious and balanced approach to food, allowing individuals to differentiate between physical and emotional hunger.

Seek Professional Support

If emotional eating becomes a persistent pattern that significantly impacts your well-being, consider seeking professional help. Therapists, registered dietitians, or counselors with expertise in eating disorders and emotional eating can provide guidance and support tailored to your specific needs.

Emotional eating can have profound effects on individuals’ lives, leading to weight gain, negative emotional well-being, and potential health complications. By understanding the causes and consequences of emotional eating, individuals can begin to develop strategies to address this behavior. By cultivating emotional awareness, building healthy coping mechanisms, practicing mindful eating, and seeking professional support when needed, we can take important steps towards breaking free from the cycle of emotional eating and nurturing a healthier relationship with food and emotions.

Reclaiming control over your eating habits and fostering a healthier relationship with food and with yourself can be difficult, but it is possible. You can start your journey by getting my free e-Book here and learn how emotional eating began for you.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What consequences has emotional eating created for you? What strategies do you use to keep your eating habits under control? Let us know in the comments.

Different choices bring about different outcomes. Dating can be tough and discouraging. Love isn’t always easy. Relationships take effort. It’s normal to feel disheartened if things aren’t going the way you hoped in your romantic life. Today, I’ll talk about some factors that might be hindering your search for “the one.” Making some adjustments could lead to more positive outcomes.

You probably know the old adage, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

When I listen to new or prospective clients talk about dating, this runs through my brain constantly. And I am talking to intelligent, educated people who make great decisions about their professional lives, family, friends and other things but with dating – it’s a disaster.

Sometimes I think (you know, after over 25 years doing this as a dating coach) that there is an inverse correlation: the smarter a person is, the dumber they are at dating. Please don’t be offended. As my clients say, I am direct and that’s why I get results for them.

Here are 3 things I can advise you to change in your dating life.

 I Always Seem to Attract the Wrong Type of Men

It’s interesting to think about how we present ourselves to others. Sometimes, we may feel like we always attract the wrong people. But hey, let’s not dwell on that. Instead, let’s try to understand why it’s happening.

First, it’s important to remember that when you’re actively dating, you’re going to come across all sorts of people. Some may not be the best fit for you, while others might be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s just the way it goes.

Second, so, the real question is, who are you going to give your attention to? That’s what matters.

Now, let’s address this issue. Maybe there are some things you can do to project yourself in a way that attracts someone who aligns with your interests.

Whether we like it or not, humans tend to judge others based on their initial impressions. This is especially true in the world of social media and online dating.

For example, if you’re a daring traveler or athlete and want to find an adventurous partner, but all your photos are taken indoors, the message you are sending is all wrong!

The truth is, you don’t attract what you desire, but rather what you project. This includes how you dress, walk, talk, treat others, and carry yourself in public. So, maybe it’s time to make some tweaks and show the world the real you.

I had two vivid examples this week so let me share one of them. Ava, 66, from New York, is in the healthcare industry and a very caring woman. She’s also very successful and has made good investments in real estate. The men she was attracting? Needy and didn’t even own their home. (Ok, nothing wrong with that…. but not the right person for Ava who has worked so hard for all she has). She felt like “a nurse with a purse.” We tweaked her profile, and now she is getting the caliber of men on par with her.

Think About the People You Spend Your Time With

Yes, this matters. A lot. And it affects your love life. What, Andrea? How can that be? They are my closest friends.

I know your friends are great and all, and this isn’t about them personally. It’s more about whether they’re helping you move closer to your goals or not. And I’m not just talking about relationships, but everything in life.

Are they always dragging you to the movies, bars and concerts because there’s nothing else to do? Or maybe they’re all happily single and not interested in settling down, and they project that onto you. Or worse, are they negative and suspicious of dating and especially online dating? Misery does love company, you know.

On the other hand, do they support you and cheerlead you through the dating process? Are they open to trying new things with you?

Hey, they say you become like the top 5 people you spend time with, and that includes the kind of lifestyle you lead. I actually have a client who’s been distancing herself from some friends because all they want to do is meet for happy hour and complain about men. Not exactly the best group to boost your self-esteem, right?

So, remember this: your own happiness should always come first. Don’t let anyone take away from it, no matter how loyal you feel towards them.

The Places Where You Spend Your Time Are Crucial When It Comes to Meeting New People

Lately, some of my clients have been complaining about not being able to meet anyone new. And honestly, I get it. We’re all so engrossed in our phones, working from home, time with our children/grandchildren and sticking to the familiar faces we already know and feel comfortable with.

Making new friends as an adult is already challenging, let alone finding someone you’re genuinely interested in building a relationship or life with. So, whenever I hear this complaint, I always dig deeper and ask, “If you’re not meeting new people, where are you spending your free time?”

And the answers usually boil down to a few common things:

Going Out to Dinner with Friends on the Weekends

While it’s enjoyable to hang out with your own group, it doesn’t provide many opportunities to meet new people.

Going to the Gym Frequently

Fantastic! Taking care of your health is important. However, if you’re always focused on your workout with headphones on and then head straight home, it’s not an ideal place to meet new people.

Netflix or Another Streaming Service

Yes, there is some great programming to binge, but if this is your main entertainment – well, you see the problem here.

Nowhere, Really

The biggest challenge is right here. Having a monotonous routine means missing out on chances to connect with new faces.

Let’s face it, your daily routine probably consists of commuting, working, dealing with your kids/grandkids, sweating it out at the gym, enjoying a drink, and then doing it all over again the next day. And when the weekend rolls around, it’s either socializing with loved ones or just chilling out after a crazy week.

Wash, rinse, repeat. We need to change up our routines.

So, When Do We Actually Expect to Meet New People?

If dating is a priority for you, it’s crucial to be proactive in your approach. Spend more time on dating apps (I know, it can be frustrating), say hello to random people in public (seriously, try a smile and I think you may be surprised), and explore the things that genuinely make you happy.

Trying a New Sport?

Nope, you are never too old. (I have a 64-year-old client who just started playing full-court basketball 3x a week). Yep, new friends, new opportunities.

Are You Interested in Art?

Start attending more galleries. I have a 69-year-old client who just began a watercolor class, and she is meeting new friends.

Passionate About a Cause?

I have a client with a young grandson with juvenile diabetes, and she’s become active in a supporting organization and wildly expanded her group of friends. And, yes, there are men there!

My clients find themselves leading more fun and purposeful lives and finding the right relationships. Are we a fit? Let’s find out. Click here to book a free call to see if we are fit to work together.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How do you spend your evenings? When is the last time you had coffee or lunch with a new friend? What is something new you have tried in the last 30 days? Are you discouraged with dating?

Originally posted at: Ally Lewber’s Black Cropped Denim Jacket