New Slow City: Living Simply in the World's Fastest City

After years of international development work, William Powers arrives at an unexpected experiment: can the radical simplicity he once found in a tiny off-grid cabin be replicated in the heart of New York City? Together with his wife, he trades a spacious Queens townhouse for a 350-square-foot Greenwich Village micro-apartment, cuts back to a two-day workweek, and immerses himself in communities practicing Slow Food, technology fasts, and urban sustainability. The result is an intimate chronicle of resistance against a city that treats busyness as a virtue.

Adam Verner's narration suits the book's contemplative rhythm, delivering Powers' observations with a measured warmth that mirrors the unhurried pace the author seeks. The memoir format translates naturally to audio, where Verner's conversational delivery makes the philosophical reflections feel like shared conversation rather than lectures. At just under eight hours, the runtime matches the book's reflective scope without overstaying.