I do both. I read my kindle every night and listen to audio books when I ride my bike or when in the car.
I just did a road trip to San Antonio and back. It was about an 11 hour trip. I listened to Educated by Tara Westover and have almost finished it. I fail to see how someone could say I have not read that book and absorbed and understood it just as well as anyone who read the hardback. Unless you consider “reading” as only a mechanical process involving the eyes and fingers as you turn a page, then I’ve definitely read that book.
If I’m going to listen to an audiobook, it’s going to be when I walk the dog in the morning, when I’m weeding the garden, or in the car (locally or road trips).
Since I’ve subscribed to Audible, and have easy access on my phone, I listen to more books than in the past.
Reading tree books is rare for me & when I do, it’s slow going. I tend to read before bed and get sleepy quickly.
So when I fall asleep “eye” reading a book, it stays right where it was when I left it. If you fall asleep “ear” reading (hopefully not while in the car), how hard is it to find your place again?
Is being read to by someone “ reading”. I think not so that answers the question. For people who enjoy a story this way it’s fine. Me, like being read to, it makes me crazy. It’s so slooooooooow because I read very fast. Will always choose reading over listening.
D couldn’t have gotten through school and college without Learning Ally and audiobooks. I always considered them “reading”. Personally, I can’t stand to have people read to me–never could. Agree that is it sooooo slow.
I always read ahead while the teacher kept going. Didn’t always end well when I was called for a question, but at least I wasn’t bored to death.
Do those of you listening to audiobooks, not during commuting time, just sit and listen? I could never sit for that long.
I’ve been listening to audiobooks since the 80s, when they came on cassettes. The tapes would often get caught in the reader mechanism and you’d have to gently (and slowly) unwind them, hoping the wouldn’t break so you’d have to confess to the library. CDs eliminated those problems, but library copies often have defects that can affect anywhere from a couple of sentences to some number of chapters. I’ve was slow to move to e-audio, but I’m pretty much there since the library systems I belong to are moving there quickly.
So I rarely read hard copy books unless they are the only choice and I’m really motivated–maybe one or two a year. But I consider that I’ve “read” the audiobooks and find more and more friends and acquaintances are 'fessing up to reading audiobooks, at least in the car.
When I worked and commuted, I could easily get through 2 or 3 medium length books a week. Now I listen while cooking, cleaning, and exercising, so I may read one a week–fewer if they are really long, and more on occasion.
@Marilyn, sometimes it is hard to find my place when I fall asleep. With CDs, it’s a matter of going through the tracks until you find your place. With audiobooks, I try to remember to bookmark my starting place and/or set a sleep timer. These methods aren’t foolproof but they help.
Check out your library online for Libby and you may be surprised by the sheer amount of free audio books. In my library district the whole shebang is marvelous. I have a constant stream of free audiobooks with a great wait-list system. I use them for exercise, cooking, gardening, cleaning.
I love audio books and yes, I consider them reading but the narrator of the book is huge to the enjoyment of the book. It’s like what version of a movie you liked dependent on the actors. It’s just another form of entertainment.
I’ve listened with son to hundreds of hours of books on long commutes. Thank goodness they were available.
I think audiobooks are wonderful, but listening to them is not the same as reading. When you read, you are interpreting a visual representation of spoken language, which is a more complex skill than listening.
However, when people ask, “Have you read this book?” they most likely are asking if you know the story/info. the book contains, and don’t care if you got it by listening or reading. So I probably would answer, “Yes,” even if I had listened to a recording instead of actually reading the book.
I think it has a different impact on the brain. I suspect someone just raised on audio books wouldn’t do as well on the SAT English section (just saying, since we spend a lot of time on that topic out here ?).
I’ve listened to books sometimes on long car trips. But in general, it is hard to kept my attention on them. And there are already so many podcasts on my phone, no time. ?
“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 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.
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.
