The audio book debate

I've always thought that was a weird thing to think, that it doesn't "count" or you shouldn't be able to say you've read it if you listened to the audiobook.

Sometimes with a good narrator I think I retain more when I listen to an audiobook, depends on the book and narrator though.

I akin it to college when I would listen to a professor that does great lectures, sometimes I really remember those more so than if they had made you read a couple of chapters out of a book.

I read more than I listen, but have no problem saying I've "read" a book in conversation if I had listened to it.

I tend to read on a Kindle a good bit and Audible and the Kindle book syncing to the correct spot makes it really easy. I can be reading a book and then hop in the car and pick up right where I left off.

Sometimes I don't mentally process what the audiobook is playing so I just will turn it off when that happens. Not all that different from putting down a book when my mind is wandering.

I like using an audiobook to get me into a book I know I want to read but just can't initially get into for whatever reason. I did this for the first Wheel of Time book and Dune.

I wanted to start this thread bc i've mentioned this a few times over the past couple weeks and never got a response or just downvoted. Glad he started it for me

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Sometimes with a good narrator I think I retain more when I listen to an audiobook, depends on the book and narrator though.

I akin it to college when I would listen to a professor that does great lectures, sometimes I really remember those more so than if they had made you read a couple of chapters out of a book.

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Just for arguments sake... That's not the point of the question. Thats a personal benefit to you and gives you incentive to do so. That is great for you. I certainly dont have a problem with audio books and i'll probably sign up because im getting burnt out on my podcasts that I listen to on the road. But I just couldnt say that I read the book because, quite literally, I will not have read the book.

The reason it became kind of a pet peeve of mine is because im in a group fantasy football chat and one of the guys a few months ago said he had read like 20 Star Wars books last year. I know the dude plays a ton of video games so I just jokingly asked if he was reading while he was playing video games. He said yes He plays the games and listens to the audio book with his headphones. Im sorry thats not reading

I only listen in the car and I get more out of listening than reading, at least for fiction.
When I’m reading I tend to gloss over the parts that seem boring but can’t do that when listening.

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I do both, depending on how my current activity let's me consume the story. Driving, doing yardwork, admin time at work, cooking dinner...I'm listening.
Does the driver listening to the book get anything less out of it than the guy reading the same story in the passenger seat?

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Where did I say that you dont get as much out of it if you listen to it as opposed to reading it?

You consumed the story, yes. Did you read it or listen to it? I just find it a little odd how someone could say they read a book, when pretty clearly, they didnt read the book. In the 2022 reading thread, id mention how many I read and how many I listened to.

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But I just couldnt say that I read the book because, quite literally, I will not have read the book.

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You might have a narrow definition of "reading." I know most definitions refer to printed material, but the point of reading is to process something, whether that be meaning, information, events, elements of a narrative, or whatever else. You still process information when listening, and for many people they can process information much more efficiently when listening.

Your friend listening to a book while playing games sounds ridiculous to me. I don't see how you could actually be paying attention to the audio book. But that's not a normal example of engagement with the format. I listen to audio books on my hour-long drive to work. I have nothing else to pay attention to, and I have no problem telling people I've read a book I've actually listened to. I retain the content. I'm still able to analyze elements of narrative.

There have been occasions when I listened to a chunk of the book, realized through the narration that I'm missing out on visually reading impressive prose, and switched to the printed book.

I think reading is good for people, and I think if listening to audio books is the only way some people can get through books, then they should go for it. We all process things differently. Maybe your weird friend has to have the background noise of video games to pay attention to a book, though I really doubt this. That dude is probably just juicing his Goodreads stats.

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You might have a narrow definition of "reading.

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I know most definitions refer to printed material, but

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So I have the definition of most then right?

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he point of reading is to process something, whether that be meaning, information, events, elements of a narrative, or whatever else. You still process information when listening, and for many people they can process information much more efficiently when listening.

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This is where i'm coming off as repetitive and possibly a jerk. Im not trying to, just pretend we're at a bar talking about it or something ... If both of them are doing the same, processing information, which way did you process it? Reading or listening? Just because you might do it more efficiently one way, doesn't mean you did it the other way. If someone we're to ask you in person, did you read it or listen to it, what would you say? I dont see why this would be broken down a different way.

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Your friend listening to a book while playing games sounds ridiculous to me. I don't see how you could actually be paying attention to the audio book. But that's not a normal example of engagement with the format.

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And maybe that being the 1st example of someone telling me they are reading while listening to an audio book has made me have this opinion of it.

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I think reading is good for people, and I think if listening to audio books is the only way some people can get through books, then they should go for it.

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%100 agree.

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Sometimes with a good narrator I think I retain more when I listen to an audiobook, depends on the book and narrator though.

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Same. If they can keep me engaged, I'm golden. That's rare though. I still listen to things from time to time but I read now by and large.

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Driving, doing yardwork, admin time at work, cooking dinner...I'm listening.

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Same. Also, doing dishes, laundry.

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a guy like Tim Gerrard Reynolds reading Red Rising or Riyiria can have you completely engrossed in the story and its characters moreso than just reading it yourself.

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:didwejustbecomebestfriends?:

i've been listening to Harry Potter at my desk at work and i get a lot out of it.