I think audiobooks are wonderful, but listening to them is not the same as reading.
"Not the same" does not mean "inferior." I read a LOT. I "read books" and listen to audio books. I can get just as engrossed in an audio book as I can physically reading a book. I can absorb and understand just as much listening as reading if I am interested, invested, etc. Sometimes I have an audiobook AND the book on Kindle. It syncs the two, so if you listen to five chapters in your car, when you open your Kindle, it gives you the option to pick up where you left off in the audio book. I've never opened the Kindle and thought "Gee, I just barely experienced the book in the car, reading now on Kindle I actually GET IT. No, it's a pretty seamless experience. For ME at least.
I usually listen to audiobooks in situations where it would be impossible to actually "read" a book. I can't pick up a book and read it while driving or riding my bike. So I listen to books instead of listening to music or news or what have you, as long as my mind is open to actually listening to it. I don't sit in my recliner at home listening to an audiobook. I would probably visually read instead. But I don't try to assert that an attentive consumer of audio books is somehow getting an inferior experience. How are people saying this so passionately? It seems kind of arrogant.
katliamomRegistered UserPosts: 12,878Senior Member
I do both: I read A LOT, and I listen to audio books while driving. It's a different experience, for sure. I've gone back to read books I've listened to, and was amazed at how much I missed - or how much the narrator's voice/tone changed (sometimes for the better) the text.
I don't judge. Listening to a book is still experiencing it. The oral tradition of literature is much longer than the written one. It's all good. Just... different.
It's all about content. How it's transmitted, via audio or visual, is different but still the same content. I have a harder time with audiobooks, my mind wanders, but it forces me to concentrate differently so it's all good. I find it easier with essays or non fiction (think Bill Bryson or David Sedaris) where it's not so crucial if I miss part of the book.
Do people consider graphic novels books? Different format, but it's books to me.
Years ago when my grandmother was still alive, my mother used to read to her books in her native language. Eventually, she recorded the reading with cassette tapes so my grandma can listen to the books no matter which house she stayed at. My mother now has lived beyond my grandma's age and refused to get rid of the cassette tapes. We had to buy her a player so she can relive the memories.
You're consuming the content the author created, whether you do it by moving your eyes across printed words, moving your eyes across the same words on a screen, or hearing the words read aloud. They are different experiences, to greater or lesser degrees, but it all falls into the same category. It makes sense to have a preference - including preferences for different delivery systems in different situations - and it's demonstrably true that one can get/be better at the variant skills involved.
Yes, you read a graphic novel.
Experiencing an author's creation through an abridgement, or a further alteration such as a screenplay, involves more steps back from the original and probably isn't in the same category. And if you want to argue that audiobooks with enhanced soundtracks fall into this different category, feel free.
I'm kind of surprised at some of the ablist point of views being expressed here. And at the notion that certain ways of learning are actually superior to others.
makemesmartRegistered UserPosts: 1,186Senior Member
I love listening to Neil Gaiman reading his books. His “Graveyard book” “Ocean at the end of the lane” and several shorts were the recent few I listened to this year. His voice adds more to the stories he wrote, somehow!
Recently I listened to his “American gods” (multi-cast voices including Mr. Gaiman’s) after read the ebook version a year ago. I found that I enjoyed it both times, in slightly different ways.
Other books that I read visually that I would like to listen to are Harry Potter books.
Well, that's definitely true. I was listening to a book read by a man with an English accent. All of the characters in the book were Irish, yet not one Irish accent was attempted. The main character was a man, but there were many female characters in the book. He just couldn't manage them. All of the female characters sounded like Stewie from Family Guy. He totally ruined it for me, so I purchased the book for my kindle.
I remember eons ago my mother was so irked by a reader who did not pronounce Dulcinea's name correctly from Don Quixote. I also remember it used to be very hard to find books on tape that weren't abridged. But I think that's changed thankfully.
I get asked this all of the time because I do read about 3 books/week. 1. I rarely watch TV - not judging anyone for watching but unless I am running on the treadmill, I have no interest. 2. I take a book to work and read during my break (in the job I have now I actually have time to take a break).3. I take a book if I will be waiting anywhere. 4. I'm off my PC after dinner and just occasionally check my phone in the evening. 5. I'm a fast reader.
As to the original question - I do consider audio books to be reading, but personally don't listen to them.
intparentRegistered UserPosts: 36,886Senior Member
I read about 100 books last year. I read on my commute, about an hour total there. And before bed. And on vacation - no tv ever turned on in hotel or movies/wi fi on planes, so I usually get though some extra books those weeks.
WellspringRegistered UserPosts: 1,451Senior Member
Years ago I decided to limit book reading to the night time hours because if I didn't I would spend all my time either reading books or searching out books to read. During the daylight hours I read newspapers, internet etc. I think listening to a book is the same as reading it in terms of information absorbed. I think for me it might be too linear. I like knowing where I am physically in a book. I found the same is true with a Kindle. It detracts from my reading experience not knowing where I am in the book (and percentage read doesn't give me the same information.)
I have a friend who reads constantly either physical books or audio books but gets frustrated with audio books because she likes to skip to the end to see which characters still figure in the plot so she knows who is important and that's hard with an audio book.
When I have trouble sleeping I listen to audiobooks. I have Bose wireless speakers that don’t wake hubby and by laying still in the dark with my eyes close I drift off to sleep.
I read pretty fast so a lot of times audiobooks are too slow for me.
I "read" audiobooks in the car on my 2+ hour commute. I have favorite readers and there are some authors who I enjoy in print but dislike in audio. Likewise, there are some series that I prefer in audio.
When S1 was young, he had a form of dyslexia, and audio books were a great way for him to bridge the gap between what his brain could process and what his eyes could decode. And his younger sisters enjoyed reprising the HP books on CD after first reading them in print. Jim Dale rocks!
MaineLonghornSuper ModeratorPosts: 39,294Super Moderator
edited May 28
I've listened to only a few audiobooks, but I want to try more. I really liked "The Handmaid's Tale" as read by Clare Danes. Wow, she did a good job. She really brought the character to life.
"Beneath a Scarlet Sky" as read by Will Damron was also excellent. Hard to stop listening to it!
I think of audiobooks as storytelling rather than reading. Reading is very visual and you get more information in the form of sentence structure, spelling, context etc. than you do with audiobooks. I think reading uses different parts of your brain (my opinion not a fact) and allows you to create a different picture than listening does (I find my picture of what is happening more vivid when I read). Where reading is impossible or not practical listening allows you to enjoy the story. I'll get audio books when going on long drives or as a distraction when I exercise and certainly enjoy them.
Replies to: A Question to Ponder - When is Reading a Book, Not Reading a Book?
"Not the same" does not mean "inferior." I read a LOT. I "read books" and listen to audio books. I can get just as engrossed in an audio book as I can physically reading a book. I can absorb and understand just as much listening as reading if I am interested, invested, etc. Sometimes I have an audiobook AND the book on Kindle. It syncs the two, so if you listen to five chapters in your car, when you open your Kindle, it gives you the option to pick up where you left off in the audio book. I've never opened the Kindle and thought "Gee, I just barely experienced the book in the car, reading now on Kindle I actually GET IT. No, it's a pretty seamless experience. For ME at least.
I usually listen to audiobooks in situations where it would be impossible to actually "read" a book. I can't pick up a book and read it while driving or riding my bike. So I listen to books instead of listening to music or news or what have you, as long as my mind is open to actually listening to it. I don't sit in my recliner at home listening to an audiobook. I would probably visually read instead. But I don't try to assert that an attentive consumer of audio books is somehow getting an inferior experience. How are people saying this so passionately? It seems kind of arrogant.
I don't judge. Listening to a book is still experiencing it. The oral tradition of literature is much longer than the written one. It's all good. Just... different.
Do people consider graphic novels books? Different format, but it's books to me.
It's more than audiobooks. It's an act of love.
Yes, you read a graphic novel.
Experiencing an author's creation through an abridgement, or a further alteration such as a screenplay, involves more steps back from the original and probably isn't in the same category. And if you want to argue that audiobooks with enhanced soundtracks fall into this different category, feel free.
I'm kind of surprised at some of the ablist point of views being expressed here. And at the notion that certain ways of learning are actually superior to others.
Recently I listened to his “American gods” (multi-cast voices including Mr. Gaiman’s) after read the ebook version a year ago. I found that I enjoyed it both times, in slightly different ways.
Other books that I read visually that I would like to listen to are Harry Potter books.
Well, that's definitely true. I was listening to a book read by a man with an English accent. All of the characters in the book were Irish, yet not one Irish accent was attempted. The main character was a man, but there were many female characters in the book. He just couldn't manage them. All of the female characters sounded like Stewie from Family Guy. He totally ruined it for me, so I purchased the book for my kindle.
I get asked this all of the time because I do read about 3 books/week. 1. I rarely watch TV - not judging anyone for watching but unless I am running on the treadmill, I have no interest. 2. I take a book to work and read during my break (in the job I have now I actually have time to take a break).3. I take a book if I will be waiting anywhere. 4. I'm off my PC after dinner and just occasionally check my phone in the evening. 5. I'm a fast reader.
As to the original question - I do consider audio books to be reading, but personally don't listen to them.
I have a friend who reads constantly either physical books or audio books but gets frustrated with audio books because she likes to skip to the end to see which characters still figure in the plot so she knows who is important and that's hard with an audio book.
I read pretty fast so a lot of times audiobooks are too slow for me.
When S1 was young, he had a form of dyslexia, and audio books were a great way for him to bridge the gap between what his brain could process and what his eyes could decode. And his younger sisters enjoyed reprising the HP books on CD after first reading them in print. Jim Dale rocks!
"Beneath a Scarlet Sky" as read by Will Damron was also excellent. Hard to stop listening to it!