Ah, the age-old question: Do audiobooks count as reading?
Well in my humble opinion, yes.
The history of the audiobook began in 1887 when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, allowing words to be spoken and recorded. However, recordings didn’t have a lot of storage capacity, which made using them to record books impractical. Audio recordings continued to be developed well into the twentieth century and by 1997, Audible had developed its own portable media player that was able to download up to two hours of audio content from the internet. Today we can download hundreds of hours of audio content for free or a small price.
The main issue that strictly traditional readers have with audiobooks is the fact that they don’t entirely meet the definition of “reading”. When most people think of the word “reading”, they associate it with a physical copy of a book. So how can I say that audiobooks count? For a start, people who read physical copies of books are quite privileged. Traditional readers can spend quite a lot of money on books, something that not everyone is able to do. I’ve known people who never get new books, simply because they don’t have the finances to fund it. And what about the visually impaired? You might be thinking that they can buy braille books, but it isn’t as simple as that. Books in braille can be very expensive, and not everyone who has a visual impairment can read braille, which is why audiobooks are the best alternative.
Audiobooks have many benefits, so here are some of them:
1 Audiobooks can help with sleep. Remember when you were a kid and your parents read you a bedtime story? Audiobooks are the same concept. Being read to can be a lot more relaxing than reading to yourself.
2 You can still be productive – sometimes even more than usual. Listening to an audiobook means that you can still get other things done, such as tidying your room or washing the dishes. It can also make these tasks a lot more enjoyable because you won’t be as bored whilst doing chores you don’t particularly enjoy. Holding a physical book means that you can’t do much else at the same time.
3 They can help expand your attention span. It is no secret that the digital age has reduced the average attention span significantly. Listening to audiobooks requires you to focus on the book, which helps train yourself to pay attention for a longer amount of time. By increasing your attention span, you will be able to focus better in class or at work.
There are of course other benefits, but these were just the ones I thought of straight away. Personally, I don’t listen to audiobooks often, if at all. This is because I often tune out the words and miss huge chunks of important content. Although I might do the same with physical books, I find it much easier to find where I was. Having to rewind an audiobook isn’t as simple because I can’t see where I should be in the book without difficulty. Though this is exactly my point. Audiobooks aren’t a good fit for me, which is something everyone should be asking themselves: Are audiobooks right for me? Instead of debating whether or not audiobooks count as reading, you should consider that they just don’t fit your reading style.
- Jay Palmer
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