Audiobooks Are Underrated | Audioreading Is Still Reading
Good morning lovelies,
Now, for many, this opinion of mine will not win me any brownies points, but that’s fine because those aren’t what I’m after. Reading audiobooks is still reading. It is. It just is and you cannot convince me otherwise. It just happens to be the most efficient type of reading, which is why I believe people hate it so much. Because it cannot be considered reading if your nose isn’t to the page reading every single word.
I argue against this for one big reason and only one. Reading originated from storytelling which was historically a verbal affair. How do we teach children to read? We read to them, and then we teach them, the words separately and how to pronounce them which translates to reading all the words together in sentences and paragraphs and pages and chapters and so on.
Listening to someone read a book is reading. Why do you think children or even adults, can still recite lines from their favourite childhood books? Listening to some read is as good as reading itself. Better actually, especially if it means you can be doing other things while listening.
I have a part-time job, for example, which does not depend on my speaking to people on a regular basis throughout the day and so I put on my audiobooks. I can finish an entire novel in one shift at work so during one work week, I can finish up to 5 books. All while I am still doing my duties at work. I am getting back that time that was taken from me. I am still getting paid because I am still working, but I’m also taking time to do something I enjoy at the same time. For me, it adds pleasantness to an otherwise dreary day. It’s like taking a break during my whole shift, only I do it while I’m working. And I read books much faster that way.
And I haven’t even mentioned the fact that audiobooks require narrators which then creates an extra job which someone has to perform and get paid to perform.
Audiobooks are not bad, they are not the enemy. I do agree that while you might vibe with some narrators, you may dislike others. That is a gamble, but if you consider everything in life a gamble then it’s really not that much to risk, besides you can listen to the sample to see if you might dislike the voice.
Audiobooks are amazing, they make reading faster, and they include blind people into the demographic because it doesn’t require sight to read. And while many books are rewritten into brail, many are not, but many are recorded into audiobooks format and so many of the books so many of us enjoy can now also be enjoyed by those who cannot see the words written on the page and they can do it without difficulty.
I love them because I can cook dinner, or do house chores while listening to them. I can listen to them at work, on the bus, out loud when I’m in the bath and not risk dropping my phone in.
They make my life a little happier and that is never a bad thing.
Want to argue? Try your best, but you won’t convince me sorry.
That’s all I have for you today but I will be doing another post listing all the perks and downsides of audiobooks (if there even are any) which I am really excited for. If you’re on the fence about trying them out, I suggest you give it a go. If none of the above convinced you, maybe this might. (and it doesn’t have to be expensive either) I’ve been steadily reading audiobooks at work for the last 3 weeks and I only work 4 days a week. I have finished 12 books and am nearly finished with book 13, that many books would take me months to finish and I finished them in less than 3 weeks. And these books are in addition to the books I already consume including physical copies and ebooks.
Thank you so much for joining me on this rant. I just thought I should join the conversation since some people hate audiobooks. I thought I’d paint a picture of how great they really are. Lots of love! Happy writing, reading, and audio reading. Until next time.
Celine Rose Marie
