Why Audiobooks Count as Reading
The audiobook industry is thriving in the modern age. With its accessibility and ease of use, audiobooks have never been more popular. But with this rise in popularity comes the questioning of its legitimacy. Like most people, I struggle to find time to immerse myself in a book fully. I often spend weeks reading a book that could have been finished within days or go weeks without reading anything at all. Since I am someone who would instead physically read a book or read it while listening to it, I don't turn to audiobooks as many others do. Some people swear by them, yet a few people still argue that audiobooks don't count as reading. I, for one, disagree. I believe that one's love of reading shouldn't have to abide by subjective rules about what really "counts" as reading.
It is so much easier to purchase an audiobook from Audible or Scribd, and within seconds have it in your possession, rather than go out to buy a book or order one online. It is convenient for people of my generation who have so many other things to do. Indeed, it shouldn't matter whether you visually read a book or listen to it because you're still experiencing a story either way. Whether you listen to an audiobook or read a book, you'll still squeal when the main characters get together in a romance or gasp when the killer is revealed in a thriller. It shouldn't matter whether it's coming through your ears or your eyes because the emotions and the excitement will be felt either way. It is proven that our brain understands audiobooks just as well as it understands print books. In a 2016 study conducted, people who listened to Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken understood and remembered it just as well as people who read it. Many other studies have also shown how people can summarize what they have heard just as well as what they read. People have busy lives, and if someone likes reading, it shouldn't matter whether they open a book to read while on their bed or listen to someone else read to them while they drive to work or do chores around the house.
Some books are easier to understand via audio, which is another reason many people may relate to. For example, Shakespeare's plays would be so much easier to comprehend if one heard them through a narrator. The vocabulary in his books is complicated, but we can better recognize and understand their meanings through the spoken word. Even sarcasm can be much more easily communicated through audio rather than printed text because of how hard it can be to understand older books' humor. Sometimes, when I read a classic, I won't even realize that certain scenes or dialogues are supposed to be humorous because of how subtle and understated they are. Listening to someone reading it out loud would help us better understand a writer's inflections or intonations. If you like to read Shakespeare and then read summaries of each scene, then that's alright. However, if you want to listen to someone else read Shakespeare for you and then read overviews of each scene, then that's alright too. It doesn't matter what way you read Shakespeare, or any other author, because the result will be the same either way.
I recently tried my first audiobook, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. However, I did something a bit different. Since I am personally someone who can't listen to an audiobook while doing something, I read the book and listened to it simultaneously. It may be weird, but it just shows that different things work for different people. Regardless of what you like to do, people have the right to do things whatever way they want to. So next time someone tries to tell you that audiobooks aren't like reading actual books, know that you've got research to prove that what they're saying is indeed very wrong.
Citations:
Andrew, G. (2020, June 03). Do Audiobooks Count as Reading? (We Think So!). Retrieved from https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobook-lists-and-spotlights/do-audiobooks-count-as-reading
Lee, D. (2018, November 22). Audiobooks vs. Reading: The Rules Are, There Are No Rules. Retrieved from https://bookriot.com/audiobooks-vs-reading/
