• Born on a Blue Day

  • A Memoir of Asperger's and an Extraordinary Mind
  • By: Daniel Tammet
  • Narrated by: Daniel Tammet
  • Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (18 ratings)

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Born on a Blue Day  By  cover art

Born on a Blue Day

By: Daniel Tammet
Narrated by: Daniel Tammet
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Publisher's summary

"I was born on 31 January 1979: a Wednesday. I know it was a Wednesday, because the date is blue in my mind, and Wednesdays are always blue, like the number nine or the sound of loud voices arguing."

Like the character Dustin Hoffman portrayed in Rain Man, Daniel Tammet can perform extraordinary maths in his head, sees numbers as shapes, colours, textures, and motions, and can learn to speak a language fluently from scratch in three days. He also has a compulsive need for order and routine. He eats exactly 45 grams of porridge for breakfast and cannot leave the house without counting the number of items of clothing he's wearing. If he gets stressed or unhappy, he closes his eyes and counts. But in some ways, Daniel is not all like the Rain Man. He is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in being capable of living a fully-functioning, independent life. It is this incredible self-awareness and ability to communicate what it feels like to live in a totally extraordinary way that makes Born on a Blue Day so powerful.

©2006 Daniel Tammet (P)2007 Hodder and Stoughton Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Read by Daniel, this memoir gives the listener a remarkable insight into the mysterious world of autism and pays homage to Daniel's parents." (Observer)

What listeners say about Born on a Blue Day

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting story of someone with Asperger's

Would you listen to Born on a Blue Day again? Why?

Daniel Tammet narrates his own true story. His story gives an interesting inside story of himself who has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. His voice is a bit monotonous, but this is characteristic of Asperger's. It was interesting from beginning till end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Born on a Blue Day?

A memorable moment in the book is how Daniel describes the way he calculates. It is so completely different from the way everybody learn to calculate. It looks more like combining patterns with digits having colour, shapes and textures.. It may one day have implications for the way computers make their calculations.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Inside story of Asperger

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

ADD is not thhe end

Where does Born on a Blue Day rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

10 out of 10

What did you like best about this story?

The knowledge I gained from it

Would you listen to another book narrated by Daniel Tammet?

Not neccesarily, have to be in the mood to listen to him

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, though the information I gained got me hooked

Any additional comments?

This book helped me alot to understand ADD better

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