Controversial opinion: audio books aren't "reading"

[PussyMalanga]

Am I alone in thinking so? When people say "I read fifty books this year" then reveal that half were ones they'd listened to. No!

We have a schism in our book group about this.
One person only listens to the books, another thinks this is cheating and the rest of us sit on the fence and laugh. 😀
I both read and listen, often to the same book. Ultimately, I’m not sure it really matters.

Oh I think I'm with you on this. I have a family member who drops into conversation loads of books she's read however these are all listened to whilst doing the housework. To me 'reading a book' means time where you sit down and do nothing but read. So consequently I've not read half the books she's read. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Audio books are not reading no. I read a lot, esp just now as stress buster

Audio books they are an accessible route to a book one may have found impenetrable eg Finnegan Wake. I listened to that on audio as I’d never mastered it

Personally I think it’s a bit snippy to comment upon audiobook usage vs reading

Some people don't like reading.

I read a thread on here a few months ago about people who can't visualises things in their head.

So if you described an Apple say, they would know what you mean but couldn't see it In their mind. Since reading that thread I always wondered if people who can visualise in their heads like reading but people who can't don't.

I agree it's not quite the same as reading but for me audiobooks are a godsend - I was a huge reader but lack the concentration to read now due to heavy-duty medication. I'm happy that I can still access my favourite authors and chat about books with others.

They aren't reading in the sense of "I spend a lot of time reading" because you're generally doing something else at the same time. But they are most definitely reading in the sense of "I've read that book". I find when I listen to an audiobook I actually have a better recall of the story and other details because I can't skip around or skim-read like I do with hard copy. I also turn to audiobooks for the big weighty tomes that I find tough to get into or are hard on the eyes for some reason - most recently Barchester Towers which was dry on the page but screamingly funny on audiobook.

I remember hearing(ha!) David Blunkett's autobiography on R4 and he said he had all his papers read on tape for him when he was Home Secretary and he would listen all the time whenever he had a moment. He had to listen to everything, he couldn't fast forward the seemingly irrelevant stuff for fear of missing something. As a result he had a devastating command of details everyone else had skimmed over or not bothered to read!

I think they're reading, as long as you pay attention. You're consuming a book that someone has WRITTEN. You get the same information, the same story as someone who reads words on a page with their eyes.

Of course, when you're young and you read, you're also learning language, grammar, spelling, how to write etc. But at a certain point in life after you've learned all that, that isn't what reading is for.

I'm in my 30s and I've read hundreds of books (with my eyes lol). But when I listen to audiobooks now, I get the same information as I would have if I'd read a paper book.

Audiobooks are superior for fiction as your brain uses the spare cognitive capacity to create more intense visualisations

I think audio books are as good a substitute as films/plays if not a bit purer. More accessible but not as immersive.

Of course they aren’t.

I think it depends, playing a audio book while doing other things I wouldn't really count the same as reading, but for others who listen and concentrate as they would sit and read a book I would. I know people who are visually impaired or have issues with reading from a book eg dyslexia and I wouldn't say they haven't read the book.

I listen to a lot of non fiction audio books. I enjoy it. I can see that it's not as easy to refer back to a page /chapter so easily, but for fiction, that isnt important.
I dont really care if some people think it isn't reading or doesnt count!

I didn't know anyone classed audio books as reading!

Surely the whole point is to enjoy books, is it really important how you access that enjoyment.
I have a visual processing disorder and I use all the energy I have reading for work, so when I go home I enjoy stories via audio books.

If listening to a book isn't 'reading'... What's the point of reading to small children?

I prefer to read books rather than listen. But you can enjoy a book by listening to it. I suppose the difference is whether you are concentrating on it or its just background noise, like music on the radio.

Are you saying that someone who has consumed a novel via audiobook hasn't read that book?

What about visually impaired people? Are they not allowed to say they've read books?

A main benefit of proper reading is that you can see how words are spelt and that enables you to speak them properly. Listening doesn't tell you how they're spelt and just perpetuates mispronouncing words. You lose a huge amount of benefit if you listen rather than read.

@nancybotwinbloom

Some people don't like reading.

I read a thread on here a few months ago about people who can't visualises things in their head.

So if you described an Apple say, they would know what you mean but couldn't see it In their mind. Since reading that thread I always wondered if people who can visualise in their heads like reading but people who can't don't.

I can’t visualise in my head - was amazed when I found out other people could.

Love reading though.

Have to admit I find long descriptive sections boring, which is probably down to the lack of mental eye.

I also don’t recall fragrances and don’t find a smell will trigger a memory and I wonder if that is linked.

Well no, it's listening, rather than reading.

But of course it 'counts'. It's still a way of consuming the written word. Still a way of losing oneself in another world. Still a way of absorbing every detail of someone else's story.

What more do you want, really? And why would you deny someone a marvellous story, or diminish their experience of it?

I'm a former academic and librarian. Fluent in 4 languages. I'm ridiculously, boastfully well read. These days I enjoy the vast majority of books via Audible as I cook dinner for my family of five, or as I walk the dogs. I have absolutely no time to sit and read a book, but I'm buggered if that's going to stop me enjoying them!

It's not technically reading but it's fine in terms of the colloquialism of "reading a book". I've never listened to an audiobook but I would consider it somewhat snobbish to dismiss it so quickly.

Well I'm not sat there physically looking at the page so no, it's not reading. However it's the only way I get to "read" most weeks between a newborn and a very active preschooler. I can't say I see there's much point in making a virtue out of reading as opposed to listening, to be honest. Number of books consumed is not a competition. But each to their own.

My mum has aphantasia but still loves reading. She struggles a bit with long descriptions of scenery

Since reading that thread I always wondered if people who can visualise in their heads like reading but people who can't don't.

@nancybotwinbloom I am one of those people who cannot visualise but I enjoy reading when I get into something. I have to be in the right mood and don't read anywhere near as much as I used to, but I was a very keen reader for most of my life and if asked would still say I love reading, I just rarely do it!

I struggle with audio books though, I don't seem able to concentrate enough to take them in. When I read, although I don't visualise anything I sort of feel the story and get very involved. I find it hard to describe how I imagine it because I don't 'see' anything, but I can get very into the way of thinking of the characters etc... I don't know how it works, it's weird. It takes a lot out of me as I get so invested and start feeling as though I am the characters I am reading about and that can drag on for days after I've read something (no idea if that happens to other people or if that's just a me thing?), so when I do read these days I try and stick to light hearted things!

I don't consider listening to an audio book to be reading, as you're not actually reading anything. Handy for those who are too busy to sit down and read a book though I imagine, or those with sight issues.

@Kazzyhoward

A main benefit of proper reading is that you can see how words are spelt and that enables you to speak them properly. Listening doesn't tell you how they're spelt and just perpetuates mispronouncing words. You lose a huge amount of benefit if you listen rather than read.

Yes, when you're a child, or if you haven't read very many books. At some point, you stop reading to "learn English".

Also, people mispronounce words when they learn them via reading by sight. It's very common. I don't understand how audiobooks perpetuate mispronunciations.

I disagree but I am also one who doesn't feel it matters.

Whether it is read by eye or heard by ear, the medium you are is a book. Books are written to be books; they aren't screen plays or podcasts. That's what I think would distinguish and they are the same, therefore to me it makes no difference.