The Year of Living Virtuously: Weekends Off
Jordan's year living by Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues is a genuinely distinguished philosophical memoir — intellectually rigorous, genuinely funny, self-deprecating enough to avoid preachiness, and informed by contemporary science and ethics alongside history and theology. The Eric Hoffer Grand Prize, Utah Book Award, and Wall Street Journal praise are proportionate to the work's actual quality. The caveat for finance listeners specifically: frugality is one chapter among fourteen, so this is a virtue-philosophy book that happens to include frugality rather than a personal-finance guide. Jordan's self-narration suits the intimate essay form beautifully.
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🎙 Narration: excellent Jordan's self-narration is a genuine asset — her background as a working writer and public reader gives the delivery warmth, timing, and naturalness that professional narrators rarely achieve with intimate essay material. The journal-based format benefits especially from hearing the author's own voice.