Freakeconomics

I just finished listening to this on books on tape.

1) I'm glad I did this book on tape, because the topics droned on a lot.  Of the 6 hours of discs, I'd say 40-60% could have been edited out.  For example, the last chapter was on whether a name given to a child helped or hurt them through life.  Essentially, so called 'black names' like Precious tend to be given to children, from single moms who are young and less educated.  Further, names have a cycle to them -- affluent couples make a name popular and then the name starts the descend down to middle class and then lower class families.  There was a bit more to it than this, but this is basically the premise.  I can just be told this, I don't need someone to actually read roughly 100 names to make the point (top ten names by decade, ethnic background, etc)

2)  Authors do not necessary make good verbal readers.  In this case, hiring a professional would have been much better.