Greenlights
My wife is an avid reader, me... not so much. I just find it to be a unbearable amount of work. Perhaps if I read faster I might feel differently, but most of the time trying to get through a book feels more like a chore than enjoyment.
When I do read, my tastes lean more towards action, adventure, science fiction, and fantasy. My wife would probably be at the opposite end of the spectrum. I'm not saying she reads solely Non-Fiction, but her books tend to lean towards more real life situations.
With that in mind, in addition to the shear number of books she reads in a year, it is pretty safe to assume that our weekly Amazon "hey you might like this book" email has very little content I am interested in. Until one day a couple of months ago when the newest "memoir"(?) by Matthew McConaughey named "Greenlights" came out. I showed the description to my wife and I said "this could be interesting, I might actually read this". She smiled and nodded and we went on with our lives.
Then a month or two later one of our acquaintances posted on Facebook the books she has read so far this year. My wife was baffled because it blew her book count out of the water. She also noticed that one of the books the friend had read was "Greenlights", so she made a comment.
It turns out, the friend has been using Audible to listen to a fair number of books and it was her expert opinion that we absolutely had to go the audio book route for "Greenlights". Looking back, it makes a lot of sense. The person reading the book to you is none other than Matthew McConaughey himself and that just seems fitting because if I were to read the book I have a feeling it would be his voice in my head anyway.
You know, that slow southern syrupy voice that he has...
My wife is a big fan of his contributions to the Calm app which includes sleep stories, meditations, and other mindfulness activities.
So, on our recent drive down from Michigan to Hocking Hills, OH and back, we created an Audible account and fired up "Greenlights".
I don't recall the exact time, but I think the book took a total of about 8 hours or so to listen to. It is hard to pin it down because we had several navigation, phone call, and text message interruptions.
This might be the first New York Times bestseller I have ever "read" while it was currently on the list.
"Greenlights" goes beyond a simple memoir and is filled with wisdom, quotes, mantras, and other tidbits Matthew has picked up through life here and there. It is part reflection, part reminiscing, and also a guide to recognize and embrace those "Green Light Moments" in your life, and hopefully recreate them.
I honestly didn't realize how well travelled McConaughey was even before his fame an fortune allowed him to go pretty much wherever he wants. In the book he talks about his time in Australia, South America, Africa, and how he travelled the US in a van for many years.
We learn how he made the move from being a law student to actor and cover the breadth of his career from that iconic role in "Dazed and Confused" to some of his more recent work.
Fair warning, there is a fair amount of adult language in this book, so if you go the audio book route, keep that in mind if you have kids in the car!
My one regret about going the audiobook route is the fact that there are pictures throughout the book that we didn't get to see. He describes some of them, but that only goes so far. I guess I do have one other regret in the fact that I feel like I may have missed bits here and there since my attention was divided between driving and listening.
Where my wife skips over what she deems irrelevant words in book and still comprehends them, I need to slowly read every word to fully understand what is going on. Hence the reason I find reading so burdensome.
Some of my favorite parts of the book would be his stories about growing up with his family when he was in his early years as well as the time he was working on "Dazed and Confused" and how his role went from being just a small part to one of the main characters in the movie.
Whichever way you choose to consume "Greenlights", I think it is well worth the time you invest in it and the dividends you may receive are more than worth it!
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Great write up of Matthew's autobiographical work. It does justice to the book. I had it on pre-order and read it in 2 sittings. Loved it and was just as fascinated with his story! or stories as it turns out he has many!!! I have since downloaded the audibles version and have just started listening to that incredible voice of his. And yes I know exactly what you mean about reading his book, as I imagined his Southern drawl throughout it :-)
Thank you so much! It truly was inspirational. I feel like I need to do the opposite of you and buy the book now that I have listened to it already. Who knew the romantic comedy that would be his bread and butter was not where his heart truly rested.
I know right!!! My eyes were opened up incredibly. His background and life are so different to what I imagined them to be. He is a real inspiration to others.
Thanks for the tip. I've heard some of his speeches and they are inspiring. I might check out the book now.
He is pretty amazing. His speech in Texas the other day was very moving.