Long journeys are inevitable when you are an event professional. That travel time doesn’t have to go to waste though! Here we unpack the audiobooks you need for your next trip. Whether you want to learn about a new cuisine, escape into a hotel-based novel or gain some business knowledge, these must-listens have you covered.

For When You Need the Key to Success

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

In Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person, Shonda Rhimes, (otherwise known as the brains behind Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder) highlights the transformative power of saying “yes” to experiences outside her comfort zone.

In a piece that is both memoir and self-help, Rhimes reveals the fears and tribulations that help to make her feel more like a real human than a Hollywood titan. What would happen to your events if you learned to say “yes” just a little more often?

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings—and Life by Laura Vanderkam

It happens to the best of us—we press snooze one too many times and what unfolds is a frantic rush to get out of the house and to the office on time. Low and behold, in what seems like the blink of an eye, hours have slipped by; all we’ve done is down a cup of coffee, speed read our emails, and make small talk with our coworkers around the water cooler. Time management expert Laura Vanderkam says we may be doing mornings all wrong. They hold the key to taking control of our schedules.

From Mark Zuckerberg to Elon Musk, successful business men (and women) maintain ambitious morning regimens, starting around 5 a.m. with time to exercise, unplug, and enjoy breakfast with their families. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your morning routine and jump-start your life before the day has even begun.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek 

If you haven’t watched it yet, go see Simon Sinek’s TED talk (the third most popular one of all time) entitled “Start With Why.” Then take a listen to this audiobook. In 2009, Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work, and in turn inspire their colleagues and customers.

Sinek starts with a fundamental question: Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over? This audiobook aims to help you answer all those whys, and teach you some business savvy along the way. A must-listen for anyone who feels “stuck”.

For When You Want to Escape Reality

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

While the Hulu series features a cameo from Atwood herself, by listening to the audiobook, you can vouch for yourself if the (audio) book is better than the show. The novel explores still-timely issues relating to power, gender and politics even though it was written in 1985. Atwood’s book speaks volumes to the need for the year of women, in event planning and beyond.

A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel by Amor Towle

A classic prince to pauper tale unfolds in this novel set entirely in an old hotel. In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, which happens to be a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin.Rostov has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room, while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside his doorstep. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances lead him on a path of emotional rediscovery. A tumultuous tale, and a melding of hotels and history, that could make any event planner’s heart skip a beat.

For When You Need to Get Out of a Funk

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

With profound empathy and radiant generosity, Eat, Pray, Love’s Gilbert offers intellectual insights into the hard-to-pin-down basis of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity, and let go of needless creative suffering. She bravely instructs us on how to tackle love and fear, simultaneously. She discusses the attitudes, approaches and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Whether you are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic offers the keys to achieving our creative aspirations. We dare you to feel uninspired by the time you’re done listening to this.

The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World’s Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley by Eric Weiner

In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Eric Weiner sets out on a journey to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, including Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. In these places, Weiner asks, “What was in the air, and can we bottle it?” Sharp and provocative, The Geography of Genius redefines the argument about how genius came to be.

Creativity, Inc. by Amy Wallace and Ed Catmull

Who better to give you a creative push than the mind behind Pixar animation studios? Ed Catmull was a co-founder of Pixar animation, along with John Lasseter and Steve Jobs, and has had a successful business career as well. So, next time you’re feeling blocked or lacking inspiration for planning your next event, give Creativity, Inc. a listen.

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