currently "reading" an audiobook as i walk the dog
it's 2024, how are we arguing about whether audiobooks are reading or not???
let people consume literature however the hell they want
it's 2024, how are we arguing about whether audiobooks are reading or not???
let people consume literature however the hell they want
Comments
The bottom line is they are consuming literature at all. That deserves celebration!
letpeoplenjoythings.jpg
They’re certainly different in the most basic sense, that they are literally not the same method of reading, but the end result is the same right?
Also feeling like you’re better than someone for reading more books than them is… a choice!
I’ve listened to the “Chaos” audiobook multiple times but kind of hate most of the renditions of my favorite fictional works.
I think that’s it actually, audio books are better for non-fiction than fiction.
I'd say that's a pretty good class, actually. Actively engaging with symbols you hear is as important a skill as actively engaging with symbols you see.
I listen to familiar audio books to go to sleep because it prevents most night anxiety spirals. So I sleep through some of that, but I always use books I have already read. 😂
There is only one test that matters: can you have a conversation about the book with someone who consumed it differently?
If yes, it DOESN’T MATTER HOW you consumed it
The audiobook was a bit more awkward owing to the many intimate scenes imo.
Every writer wishes everyone would “read” their book in whatever form it comes.
Why should it not be just as impressive to say you listened to a book?
The problem is in pretending one is a lesser activity.
Wish we could just elevate listening back to the respect it deserves.
Maybe “consumed” is better but then folks will be all “omg you didn’t eat the book, dummy” and we’ll still be arguing.
Does listening to an audiobook rob the work of its literary value? That seems to be the core of the issue, that listening is too "easy" and therfore must be inferior...
Speed Smelling?
Speed Tasting?
That can be done in many ways. Through visual reading. Through touch reading (braille). Through auditory reading.
Here’s the article from the Journal of Neuroscience: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/39/39/7722
I'm not sure I can remember which books were read on which medium. Audible, Books, Kindle in the medium/long term. Effectively the same experience + ALL good.
(If not multitasking, listening can be equivalent to reading.)
A quiet environment also normally aids reading. A NFL game on full volume on TV in plain sight does not.
People’s brains work differently. Many people require a physical task to quiet their brains and allow them to focus
Silence helps you concentrate. For many of us silence & stillness are the focus killers.
And if someone does sit in still silence for an audiobook, what then?
No one is arguing about this, except perhaps very privileged and very neurotic ppl with nothing else to do.
Best to ignore those.
We have more important things to focus on, now.
This whole debate is so bizarre to me. It's like if a debate sprung up about whether swimming is running, and for some reason it took on an implication that if you say it isn't, then you're looking down on swimmers.
- unloading dishes
- folding laundry
- walking the dog
- running
- driving the kids to school
It’s the best, love it so much.
Unless you're in kindergarten, bragging about being able to read doesn't impress. The content of the books is what matters, not the way you consume that content.
- Nietzsche
Not that it's not a valid way to enjoy books but these are completely different muscles being flexed.
Why do you want to call it reading a book when its by definition not? Are you ashamed to call it listening to an audiobook?
It doesn't give the same info because "I read that book" would not lead one to think you listened to an audiobook, because that's not what those words mean.
I guess I'm asking why you want to make these words less precise?
These aren't just different ways to to consume a book. They are their own mediums, with their own charms. I don't like blending these into a slurry.
Okay they may deserve to be wound up but it just prolongs the fight…
I don't judge people's methods of ingesting books, and I don't see the point in judging others'.
Literacy is not merely decoding symbols on a page and knowing what sound they make. It is understanding what those words mean.
- outlive
- never split the difference
Fiction:
- project Hail Mary
- 10 ways to defeat a demon king
- a sorceress comes to call (just finished)
- the Martian
- we are Bob (entire series)
- old man’s war (entire series)
- the murderbot diaries (entire series)
I did the first book on audio during a road trip.
I just can’t.
I end up picking up something to read while the narrator talks.
Zero focus😂
It’s pedantic. Right now we’re talking. And yet, no verbal words are leaving our mouths. It’s how we phrase it. I’m not saying, “I typed to this person on the internet today.” No, I talked to this person on the internet.
As my brother told me when we were in the teens. "take a chill pill".
Whether people read a dead tree edition or listen to my voice doesn’t matter.
Both are readers to me.
The debate seems to be around drawing arbitrary lines in the ground on what’s better and what doesn’t count. Elementary school shit.
Sure some people may look down on them but I haven’t seen enough push back for this to even be an issue.
Where are the tons of posts by people slamming the use of audiobooks? Lol
It's definitely arbitrary. Elitism suggesting that the merit of reading is inextricably tied to the effort applied to read.
When I was in school I listen to books instead of reading them and my test scores were great. Audiobooks are really helpful for kids with dyslexia, adhd, visual impairments and so on. It always should be an option
If I say, “I read a book” or “I listened to a book” the message meant to be conveyed is the same and the message received is the same.
Issue is when the receiver of the message is a pedantic twat who thinks words are real.
My fiancée and I are avid readers. She more novels, I more non fiction and history.
She jokes and says I need to have people read to me 🤣
I have a commute some days, so audiobooks are a valuable time suck.
This is an 8 hour book. Meaning 48 miles of running LFG 🚀🚀🚀
People say multitasking is a myth, but I’m literally trained to do it.
Your brain/experience is not the same as everyone else’s. This is why there are different learning styles and teaching methods.
Passive reading is fine for consuming content, but if one is trying to engage with more difficult literature, or academic/professional texts, passive reading doesn’t work.
As any educator can tell you.
Look into teaching modifications for students with ADHD for a cursory understanding of how different brains focus.
And I sincerely hope you aren’t implying that people who have trouble focusing on physical book reading only have trouble because of their phones.
Many of us have had this issue since before cell phones existed, mate.
Learning styles vary. Always have. Always will.
Also; neurodivergence exits. I’m FAR more likely to zone out reading a paper copy than listening to an audiobook.
Star wars vs star trek
Left vs right
DC vs Marvel
Etc...