My most-viral post ever:
“Book historian who tells students constantly that if they listen to the audiobook, they are literally reading 18th century novels the way the large chunk of the original audience experienced the book. Silent, solitary reading by eye alone is so so recent!”
“Book historian who tells students constantly that if they listen to the audiobook, they are literally reading 18th century novels the way the large chunk of the original audience experienced the book. Silent, solitary reading by eye alone is so so recent!”
Comments
I read the damn book.
I took that to mean that is amazing that books provide the same benefit as listening to stories, which is the thing we have been doing for thousands of years.
Audiobook people have a superpower that they may not appreciate!
The idea that this ‘doesn’t count’ just seems profoundly snobbish.
And, except for the reader, your hands are free to do handwork, again the way we often use TV, podcasts, or audiobooks.
I love reading with my own eyes, but listening to a story being told by a skilled and passionate narrator is an absolute delight. And it's nice to give my eyes a rest.