When I hear that a popular comedian has written a book I instantly think about tell all memoirs or satirical romps, not a dive into social science and honest-to-god focus groups.

I got the audiobook of Modern Romance and listened to it while I was undertaking a massive alphabetizing of HR files at work. Fun fact: Lifting heavy boxes of HR files is not fun. However, listening to Modern Romance made the work a little more enjoyable. Although I normally listen to podcasts, it was nice to listen to something that was a little more focused and finite.

Although the book itself comes with the occasional chart that we miss out on in the audio version, Aziz Ansari did amazing job with his reading. As expected, his stage skills result in a really quality experience. One of my biggest issues with audiobooks is that readers can often sound stiff compared to the loosey-goosey tone I'm used to with podcasts. There were no such issues here!

The content of the book, although not revolutionary, was incredibly interesting for me. I enjoyed the examination of the development of love along with the context of advances in technology, especially when it was contrasted with other cultures. It is clear that Ansari put a lot of thought and effort into not only the writing of the book, but the actual process of talking with people and gathering stories. It was an enjoyable journey to join him on. I also really appreciated the way the humor was light without undercutting or overshadowing the actual subject.

PS - Let me know in the comments if you have any good suggestions for any non-fiction audiobooks that are worth listening to.