Do You Read Or Listen to Audiobooks? I’m a Reader and Here’s Why

August 9 was National Book Lovers Day and  it got me to thinking.  Am I listening to an audiobook or reading it? My answer is reading it. Since I am blind I read audiobooks. We have been reading books in audio format  for decades. Around 1934 talking books were included in the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. However, today audiobooks are readily available to anyone regardless of disability. You can find them at your local library  and also through apps like audible.com and Audiobooks.com

Time and Attention

I feel pretty strongly about reading an audiobook because of the time and attention I spend on reading. I can wild away hours  just reading a good audiobook. But I was an avid reader before I went blind.  I remember holding a book in my hands and reading it from line to  line and page to page. Even highlighting text. Writing in the margins. Dog earing the page corners. Geeking out on artsy book covers and bookmarks. I remember the time it took to read a whole book cover to cover.

I no longer hold a physical  book in my hands, skimming its pages, but I am still reading it. It still takes me time to read a whole audiobook, especially if it is something  that captures my attention. Something new I am learning. Or a genre I typically don’t read often. So, the amount of time I invest is reading not just listening.

Reading Comprehension 

Reading comprehension  is essential when reading a book. So goes an audiobook. When I read an audiobook I am paying attention. Focusing on the plot. Concentrating on the  words and phrases the author uses to convey their point. I am absorbed in the moment; trying to understand  what is happening in the story. I have even paused the book to look up an unfamiliar vocabulary word.

Experts Agree

I’m not getting less out of the experience  because I am reading an audiobook. Experts and research prove it. Reading an audiobook stimulates the brain  as if you were reading a printed book. The Journal of Neuroscience did a study  in 2019 concluding  that the stories, given to participants to read, stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas of the brain, regardless of their medium. So this is not cheating. You are not getting less value from reading an audiobook instead of the print version.

Audiobooks are Inclusive

Lastly, I read audiobooks because it is inclusive of my community. Some people think reading is done  with the eyes only. But I push back because as a blind  person reading a print book is no longer an option. I tried braille  before but  it didn’t work. Even this long-time braille reader posed the same question. So, for me the format for reading is strictly audio.