Audio books make long commutes much more enjoyable, and they help to build listening skills. You can download books from sites like audible.com on an I-pod or a phone and play the books through your radio in the car.

It’s important to listen to samples of audiobook because you’ll like some narrators better than others.

Here’s the top eight books that I listened to in 2016.

The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker – Thanks to a good narrator, I was able to get through the longest audio book I have ever listened to.

Pinker books is 36 hours and 40 minutes long. I usually prefer books that are no longer than eight hours, but this fascinating argument of how crime has decreased over time kept my attention.

The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant – I love pitbulls so I found this story about the rescue of American football player Michael Vick’s pitbulls that had been used in a dogfighting ring to be both a heart-wrenching and heart-warming read. The author does not dwell on the horrors of dogfighting rings. We can all imagine how bad that is. Instead, he focuses on the people who saved these dogs.

Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang – My most surprising find of last year is Jiang’s quest to become rejection proof. His story shows how much we gain in life when we take chances.

Once Upon a Crime by P J Brackston – The story of how Gretel, one of the fairy tale siblings from Hansel and Gretel, grew up to be a detective turned out to be a fun, light and humorous read. Brackston blends folk lore and mystery in an innovative way.

Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan – The author packs a lot of punch in this little book about finding fulfilment in life.

After questioning his life as a small-town newspaper editor, Ryan embarks on a mission to tackle his weight and general feelings of angst by climbing 48 mountains in New Hampshire.

Along the way he discovers much about his relationship with his dog, father and friends. This is the ultimate feel-good book.

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman – I call this the most magical tale I listened to this year. Backman makes this story of a young girl’s relationship with her dying grandmother a beautiful, uplifting story.

Keep Moving by Dick Van Dyke –All elderly people need to read this book about aging gracefully. It’s fun, uplifting and chock-full of meaningful advice.

The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey – by Rachel Joyce – In my book, sequels rarely live up to the level of the original work, but in this case, the author exceeded all of my expectations. Queenie Hennessey’s version of her relationship with Harold Fry, is an important companion to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Harold was on a mission to walk to the remote village where Queenie is dying because he felt his journey could will Queenie into living.

Bear in the Back Seat by Carolyn Jourdan – Both funny and informative, this book by a forest ranger highlights many environmental problems including those associated with feeding wild animals like bears. Much of this book takes place in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, which have recently been devastated by forest fires arsonists started.

My advice for the new year is to listen up. Try some audio books.

“Excellent, here we go,” any solid fan of the real Star Wars movies (certainly not the prequels) will think, settling in for the literary equivalent of an ice-cream sundae of the more offbeat flavours.

But Fisher, who accepts that she will be known as Princess Leia until the end of time, lets the reader down. Having waited 40 years to publish what one expects to be a dishy tell-all about the romance behind the iconic movie of a generation (that generation mournfully sandwiched between the baby boomers and millennials), the actress, writer and raconteur only offers a few wisps of the goods.

Fisher blames her hazy recall of the behind- the-scenes affair with Harrison Ford on the potent marijuana they smoked on their lost weekends between scenes. She also decides that “with uncharacteristic reservation and scruples that I quash any details” of their first weekend together. Sex is private, she says.

No problem, but she also draws the curtain over the interesting bits: their chemistry, their conversations, her point-blank impressions of a man poised to become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Or maybe we’re supposed to believe, as she insists, that Ford just didn’t talk a lot when they were together. In any case, we are left with a few interesting glimpses wrapped around excerpts of the diaries Fisher says she kept while shooting Star Wars and recently discovered. Even the diary bits are not very revealing, being the moody musings, including poetry, of a young woman on the cusp of 20 years old.

It’s clear from the final two chapters of the book, one of them titled “Leia’s Lap Dance,” that Fisher published this book with making money in mind. Her closing meditation on fame leaves Ford and the affair far behind. However, many Star Wars fans will read this book anyway or likely did so the instant it appeared.

His funeral service was held on Saturday at the St Stephen’s Anglican Church, Princess Town.

Veteran cricket administrator Lalman Kowlessar described Shafarali as an icon of local cricket who devoted his life to the game, and was serving as an administrator in the South-East Zone of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) up to last year.

Kowlessar, the second vice-president of the TTCB said in his estimation Shafarali was the most knowledgeable person in the laws of cricket, which he used to elevate the ranks of the umpires through his meticulous training and mentorship.

“Many leading umpires, past and present owe a great debt to Clarence Shafarali including Basheer Ali, Enite Ali, Danesh Ramdhanie, Zahid Bassarath and Peter Wilson, who recently retired after rising to ICC Test level,” said Kowlessar.

“He was a fantastic individual and though he was a hard taskmaster, one could readily ascertain that he knew what he was about. He will also be fondly remembered for leading the charge as president of the Umpires Council to take umpiring into the rural districts, helping to attract fresh talent all around the country,” said Kowlessar.

Commendations and sympathy on Shafarali’s passing was also echoed by Dr Allen Sammy, long-serving administrator who is the first vice-president of the TTCB and who remembers the Princess Town native as being one of the driving forces behind the first local Cricket Board which assumed control of the local game in 1980.

Sammy said people will associate Shafarali with cricket umpiring, to which he devoted the major part of his life, but he was also a school principal who later became a schools supervisor and was also actively involved in social work especially in the Cunjal, Barrackpore district where he resided.

His involvement with the Yorkshire Club helped them participate in the highest level of local cricket and he was also a valued member up to three years ago, of the National League which administrates the top tier of the game in Trinidad.

“His life was marked by hard work and achievement, always improving and pulling others along with him, better equipped to contribute to the development of his community and the sport he loved so much. He will be sadly missed,” said Sammy.

Also, expressing sympathy with Shafarali’s family on his demise was president of the TTCB, Azim Bassarath, himself a former umpire and vice-president of the local governing umpires organisation.

He said the deceased had distinguished himself as a true servant of cricket who also displayed sterling and exemplary qualities as a teacher, community leader, cricket umpire and administrator.

“Clarence Shafarali has left a void which will be very hard to fill.

He devoted his life to serving others without complaint. Many have benefitted tremendously from his advice and mentorship and society on the whole is a better place because of his contribution as a true patriot,” said Bassarath.

The TTCB president said throughout his life Shafarali was associated with the Cricket Board and he added value to the organisation, gaining admiration from all who came in contact with him for his perseverance and dedication to duty, remaining on the field of play when others in his position would have departed to the pavilion long ago. He has recently given an acknowledgement award by the Umpires and Scorers’ Council, now headed by Parasram Singh, and also the TTCB for his long and meritorious service to the game.

OPPOSE Control Unit in today’s feature Sian’s Gold Sprint at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, at your chagrin.

The Glenn Mendez- trained sprint kingis favoured to become only the third horse to win this 22nd running of this New Year’s Day holiday event which is over 1100 metres.

The manner in which Mendez’s stable star disposed of Thisonesforron in last year’s Stewards Cup suggest he is indeed the best sprinter in the country..

The versatile Thisonesforron, winner of the 2000 metres Gold Cup, is again expected chase Control Unit home, just as stablemate Whisper Light.

The Arima Race Club has provided a 10-race programme to start the New Year with some packed fields, and turfites are forewarned to look out for some upsets.

For the Hi5 gamblers, there is a carryover of $27,744,00while in the Superfecta, there is a single winner bonus of $31,266.54.

Pryven Badrie who surrendered his jockeys title to new champion Ronald “Tiger” Ali will be anxious to get back his crown and turfites could do well to follow their mounts. Also, perennial champion trainer John O’Brien will be seeking to recover his lost title from arch-rival Glenn Mendez.

Today’s racing will see the opener go to post at 11.45 am.

Keith Look Loy, owner and coach of the 2016 Super League Premiership Division champions Sports and Games FC Santa Rosa, is the president of the interim board of directors, with Lt Ryan Ottley (Defence Force), Kestor Lendor (Real Maracas FC), George Joseph (Bethel FC) and Quincy Jones (Siparia Spurs) completing the list of directors .

According to Look Loy, “on the 13th of December we voted to adopt a constitution to form ourselves into a League. Until the end of this season, the Super League was a TT FA (Trinidad and Tobago Football Association) competition, like the FA Cup, it wasn’t a proper league .

“So what we’ve done is voted on a constitution that has been agreed by (14) clubs, out of the 23 that we had last season.” The clubs who voted for the new League were Barrackpore FC, Bethel FC, Central 500 Spartans, Club Sando-Moruga, Cunupia FC, Defence Force, FC Santa Rosa, Guaya United, Palo Seco FC, Petit Valley FC, Real Maracas, Siparia Spurs, UTT and WASA FC .

“The rest are invited to adopt the constitution that would automatically make them members,” Look Loy noted. “We’re going forward. We have registered our name and we’re going ahead with incorporating to form a company that would own the league and run the league on our behalf .

“In addition to that, in the early days of January, we have that date fixed as the 9th of January, we’re going to be formally applying for membership in the TT FA. On the 7th we have a general membership meeting where we’re going to finalise on certain things, and then send in the formal application on the 9th. We would be responsible for running the Super League, as it is called now the Trinidad and Tobago Super League. It will be two divisions as we had (in 2016) and maintaining promotions, and relegations, with the zones.” Concerning his role as coach of FC Santa Rosa, Look Loy admitted, “that is something that clearly, in Santa Rosa, we’re going to have to address. We’re going to have that resolved long before the new season starts .

“I have thought of that and, in fact, when we had that meeting on the 13th, I took this role because the clubs asked me to do it. I wasn’t looking for any pole position but the clubs unanimously asked me to do it. I recognise it has implications in my club so the club would have to address that.” With regards to the clubs who did not vote for the new format (1976 FC Phoenix, Prisons FC, Queen’s Park and Saddle Hill Hotspur), Look Loy said, “as members of the 2016 National Super League, they’re entitled to membership. But, because we’re forming a new organisation, they have to adopt the constitution .

When we had that meeting, we had 18 clubs there and four abstained because they were not prepared, although we had circulated the constitution and agreement two weeks before .

“There were some clubs absent, although they were invited. The people who would have to qualify would be the people coming through Champions of Champions, from the zones, just like before.” He went on to add, “now the clubs would own the league, instead of the TT FA.” As far as the sponsorship aspect was concerned, Look Loy pointed out, “we have a draft budget for 2017. We recognise that we’re going to have to attract some sponsorship .

What we’re trying to work on is to ensure that we’re financially viable. And the starting point for that is to make sure that our membership fees cover the cost of operations.”

That was Daneil Cyrus and Jomal Williams. Both were immediately sent home back to party.” Meanwhile, Saintfiet has also left out Seattle Sounders’ Joevin Jones from his squad after the player failed to report to camp.

The TT coach explained that the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TT FA) had an agreement with Joevin that he would skip the Nicaragua friendlies but report for duty on New Year’s Day.

Trinidad and Tobago were back on the training pitch yesterday, less than 24 hours after arriving home from their twomatch training camp in Managua, Nicaragua.

Saintfiet and his squad returned home on Saturday afternoon before assembling for a residential camp ahead of their training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday. TT face Suriname at 7pm on Wednesday at the Ato Boldon Stadium and then square off with Haiti on Sunday at 5pm at the Couva venue in Gold Cup qualifiers.

TT are coming off a 3-1 victory over Nicaragua on Friday night and team captain Carlos Edwards said h e felt the result was a timely confidence booster for the TT squad.

“It felt good to get the win. At the same time we were under a little bit of pressure after the first game, we needed to get a victory and put in a good performance.

The guys came out and rolled their sleeves up and took the game to Nicaragua and we came away with the 3-1 victory,” Edwards told TT FA Media.

“We worked on a few things and we really got into the game.

We got a sucker punch with the Nicaragua first game but the guys stuck to it, we had a game plan and we had to improvise also and i think by getting the equaliser it built our rhythm and we took the game to them,” he added.

“It was nice for the coach to call this camp at an early stage and we also have a few guys joining the squad for the two games against Suriname and Haiti. It’s a good bond and hopefully with the boys coming in we can complete the jigsaw puzzle,” the former Wrexham player added. W Connection’s Aikim Andrews who put TT 3-1 ahead with a brilliant second half goal, said he had it in his mind that something remarkable would have to be on the cards after he missed the original flight with the team to Managua due to a passport issue.

TT 20-man squad: Adrian Foncette, Glenroy Samuel.

Carlos Edwards (captain), Curtis Gonzales, Carlyle Mitchell, Radanfah Abu Bakr,Maurice Ford; Hughtun Hector, Alvin Jones,Kevan George, Nathan Lewis, Aikim Andrews, Hashim Arcia, Tyrone Charles Cornell Glen, Shahdon Winchester, Akeem Roach,Trevin Caesar, Aubrey David and Andre Boucaud.

According to reports, the killings triggered a meeting of senior police officers under Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams yesterday, but this could not be confirmed.

The killings also occurred as word came of a Cabinet retreat that was being planned by the Government on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. In his Christmas address to the nation, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley stated that crime prevention remained the Government’s highest priority.

“I and my Cabinet colleagues, along with the members of the National Security Council, the Police Service and the Defence Force, are taking all the necessary steps and exploring all the avenues that are available to us, to ensure the safety and comfort of the citizens of this country,” he said.

Friday night’s murders took place in Laventille, Enterprise and Caparo.

Five of the victims were shot while one was stabbed to death.

According to police, officers responded to the murder of Martin Subratie of Beverly Hills at around 10.30 pm on Friday. However, when they revisited the scene yesterday morning, officers received information from residents that there were three bodies in a nearby track. This was the fifth murder at Beverly Hills in three days as, on Thursday around 10 pm, 19-yearold Neil Frank was shot dead while his girlfriend was shot in her leg after the two were ambushed by gunmen.

When Sunday Newsday visited Beverly Hills yesterday, there were a few residents on their outside staircases chatting quietly among themselves. However, they were closed mouthed about the discovery of the four bullet-riddled bodies on their compound, saying only that they believed they heard what sounded like gunshots around 1 am.

The bodies found yesterday morning were identified as Shervon Ryan aka Crouch, and Andre Mitchell aka Eagle, both of Beverly Hills, and Sherwyn Balthazar aka Chuko of Maloney.

When their reluctance to talk about the men was remarked upon, one resident said, “Nobody really knows what’s going on. They don’t want to say the wrong thing. You have to be careful of what you say when you live in a place like this.” One of the few residents who spoke to Sunday Newsday was an elderly man, Dennis Charles, who said that, for several years, he had been asking the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to relocate him. He said he paid $500 for the HDC to complete a search for another apartment but he has yet to receive a response. Charles’ desire to move seemed to be a popular sentiment among the people in the area as another resident stated that since Friday night, he noticed a number of his neighbours leaving the compound with large bags and suitcases. He assumed that they had moved out temporarily.

Chadda John, wife of Balthazar, said her husband of seven years was a community leader from Maloney.

He was employed at the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation and owned several other businesses.

She described the father of four as a generous, loving, considerate individual who always gave of his best.

John said Balthazar left their Maloney home after 4 pm on Friday to lime with friends in Laventille.

However, she spoke to him on his cell phone at 7.24 pm when he told her he was “organising to come home.” But at 7.38 pm, Balthazar’s mother called John to say she could not get on to him. John said she knew something was wrong or would soon be wrong.

“I know death is a part of life,” she said. “I think it would have been easier to accept if it was a car accident or something like that but to die by a bullet… it’s hard.” This incident was just the latest of several multiple killings this year. Some of these murderous incidents include the murder of Selwyn “Robocop” Alexis, Kevin Escayg, of San Juan, and Thomas “Hamza” Sharpe on Sunday July 17. The men were killed during a daylight shootout at Robocop’s Enterprise, Chaguanas business place.

Leon Sobers and Joel Alexander died instantly on Tuesday, November 15 after being shot when a man on a bicycle approached them and shot at several men who were liming in their yard on Harper Circular, D’Abadie. Sobers’ son, Shavaughn Sobers was shot in the eye, was considered brain dead and later succumbed to his injuries.

Just a few days earlier, on Saturday November 5, Frank Joseph, his son Kevin Plaza and Ricardo Singh were killed in a drive by shooting on John Lane, D’Abadie.

When Sunday Newsday eventually contacted head of CID, Acting Senior Superintendent Radcliffe Boxhill, he said he was he did not wish to comment on the murders or this year’s murder rate as he did not “have the information in front of him”. He also said he was not aware of any meeting held by the Commissioner.

However, the agenda for the event remains unclear.

In a brief statement yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister said during the two-day event, the Cabinet also will meet with other non-Cabinet members of Government and permanent secretaries.

The statement said following the deliberations, there will be a media briefing, hosted by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Communications and Public Administration Minister Maxie Cuffie and Minister in the Office of the Attorney General Stuart Young.

The statement provided no further details but followed six killings between Friday night and the early hours of Saturday morning, which pushed the country’s murder toll to 461.

There also were unconfirmed reports the murders prompted an emergency meeting involving top brass of the TT Police Service.

Yesterday, Cuffie described the retreat as merely “a planning exercise.” Told that the statement was short on details, the minister would only say: “There is nothing more that I can add to it. We had a retreat last year. All administrations have retreats.” The PNM, which defeated the People’s Partnership in the September 7, 2015, general election, held a retreat at the Magdalena Grand Hotel, Lowlands, Tobago, on March 4 and 5, 2016, seven months after assuming office.

Ahead of that retreat, Cuffie had told Newsday: “I think every Government within the first year goes on a retreat and companies do it as well.” On that occasion, he said retreats provided an opportunity to, “look at your strategic objectives and you position yourself for the road ahead.” Next week’s retreat comes three months after the Prime Minister held a Cabinet reshuffle in which the appointments of two ministers, Nicole Olivierre (Energy and Energy Industries) and Ancil Antoine (Public Utilities) and one senator Sarah Budhu, were revoked.

Former Rural Development Minister Franklin Khan was made Energy Minister, while Fitzgerald Hinds was appointed Public Utilities Minister.

Rowley also had announced the appointment of PNM deputy leader Rohan Sinanan to the Cabinet as a government senator and Minister of Works of Transport while former mayor Kazim Hosein was appointed Minister of Rural Development and Local Government.

But the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) in reiterating yesterday that strike notice would be served on the company if by Tuesday the zero-zero- zero offer to over 4,450 workers is not resolved, warned the public should brace for a gas shortage.

The refinery produces crude to manufacture gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel and the OWTU’s president Ancel Roget was even more militant yesterday in his condemnation of those who were opposed to oil workers’ due. Roget, insisting the OWTU’s demand of a ten-percent for the 2014-2017 negotiating period is very reasonable, said, “I have absolutely no regard for the hypocrisy that can be identified by the Chamber and business groupings. They better back-off and leave Roget and the OWTU alone.” Roget explained that whatever reasonable offer Petrotrin is willing to give for the 2011-2014 negotiating period for the workers, OWTU would consider.

Thursday’s tripartite talks between officials of the union, Petrotrin, and the Ministry of Labour, broke down, with the company maintaining its zero-zero-zero offer for the 2014-17 period. Roget maintained yesterday that the conciliatory period for negotiations ends on Tuesday and the union’s next step is to take strike action, saying that Thursday’s talks were the third round of negotiations.

Petrotrin workers have not gotten a wage adjustment in over six years, Roget said, “so therefore it is unfair for those who provide a service from which everybody else benefit, to risk their lives and limbs”.

Oil workers were being targeted, he added, whilst businessmen are increasing their prices, what with Neal and Massy declaring a profit of $450 million.

Roget explained the breakdown of talks at the ministry, represented negotiations for the second period of 2014-17 for which strike is looming. For that first period (2014- 17), he reiterated, the OWTU is willing to accept ten percent, notwithstanding that workers in other sectors got 14 percent.

Yesterday, president of the Petroleum Dealers’ Association, Robindranath Naraynsingh, said he would rather not think about the negative fallout of a strike for the new year, saying, “We are deeply concerned about the implications of this possible action.

We hope that the matter is resolved and it would not go on to have a shutdown, but let us not start to get into the ‘what if they strike for 90 days’. I do not have any contingency plans, because I am very hopeful that this will not escalate to imperil all of us.” Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Richie Sookhai stated in a release, that 2017 is not a time for the country to experience any kind of energy shortages, especially vehicular fuels.

He stated, “Small and medium enterprises are already barely surviving owing to the rising cost of doing business, and such, potential strike action will further exacerbate the present situation.

This could lead to business closures and the imminent displacement of workers.” But Roget did not mince words for the business community, accusing them of double-standards in how workers are to be treated. The union leader said, “I have absolutely no regard for the hypocrisy that can be clearly identified with the chambers and these various business groupings in that I did not hear them come out in condemnation of the corruption at Petrotrin, I did not hear them comment or condemn all of the excessive salaries even, to executive presidents, vice presidents, top level personnel in the company (Petrotrin).

I did not hear them come out in condemnation when you had persons being placed in top positions of the company even though those persons could not have done the job.” OWTU’s education officer Ozzy Warrick, however, offered optimistic words yesterday, saying that if the union gets a call for a meeting with the government, “then maybe we would have something to tell the nation”. He added, “There is nothing more to say; there is absolutely nothing more to say.”

The company’s top management led by its president Fitzroy Harewood, issued a memo Friday night to senior company managers in all departments, in which he alerted them to brace for strike action and be prepared to solicit the resources of the company’s highly- trained technical staff.

In past shut-downs of the refinery due to labour unrest, Petrotrin was been able to run its operations with a skeleton staff, but not for any considerable long period.

And whilst the refinery was able to function, hardest hit was in the distribution of fuels to gas stations throughout the country. In two instances in the past, the government of the day was forced to call out members of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment to drive gas trucks to gas stations.

Harewood’s memo to his top-level technical managers, stated in part that they should brace for strike action, and the notice should be circulated throughout the company and in all of its operation departments. It states in part, “Everyone should be apprised of the pending action and that leadership management teams should note that persons who are critically needed for the operations, should be informed. Please have this memorandum finds the widest circulation with the attached message.” A senior Petrotrin manager who spoke anonymously to Sunday Newsday yesterday, said the memo meant that whilst the company’s bulk of its 5,000 employees may strike, there is sufficient technical staff to man the refinery.

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union president Ancel Roget has indicated that if strike action is called by the serving of formal notice to Petrotrin on Wednesday morning, it could last about 90 days if the company refuses to budge on its zero-zero- zero offer for the 2011-14 outstanding collective agreement period.

In a letter to all employees in an effort to give the company’s perspective of the situation, Harewood cited fall in oil prices to low revenue earnings in the midst of a $1.2 billion debt payments that has to be made in 2017. Petrotrin, he added, did not have the money to make retroactive increase salary payments for the negotiating 2011-14 period.

The release stated, “Any increases in manpower cost will result in increased losses and further exacerbate our cash flow situation, thus exposing Petrotrin to the risk of funds not being available to meet operational requirements.” Roget could not be contacted by telephone yesterday for a comment, however, the union’s education officer, Ozzy Warrick, said that the public would be kept informed if the company or any member of the government, give notice for further talks to be held in order to stave off strike action.