Zagadka Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Kinda continuing a poll I saw on Twitter. Are audiobooks reading? Link to post Share on other sites
RoseGoesToYale Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Yes. You do not have to physically look at the words to read a book, magazine, news, etc. After all, if you're blind, this is the only way to read. Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 No, it's listening. Not there's anything wrong with it. Link to post Share on other sites
Quacks Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 1 minute ago, RoseGoesToYale said: this is the only way to read. I mean, braille is a thing... Link to post Share on other sites
RoseGoesToYale Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 1 minute ago, Quacks said: I mean, braille is a thing... True, but it's a lot easier and more portable (esp. for things like textbooks) to carry audio files with you on a phone or CD than trying to find a braille copy of the book. Braille makes more sense for small, physical signage. Plus you can't read articles on the internet in braille. Link to post Share on other sites
SithLord Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 It's listening, not reading. It's just like when stories were passed down orally without being written down. Was that reading back then? No, and it's not now. But I still don't care if someone says "reading an audiobook" because we all understand what they mean and does it really matter? No. Also, this isn't meant to be rude to anyone who likes audiobooks. I love them. They're how I consumed most of the Harry Potter books and 2/3 of the Bartemeous trilogy and how I prefer to consume the Inheritance series. They're very convenient and a great way to spend long road trips. Link to post Share on other sites
Quacks Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Just now, RoseGoesToYale said: True, but it's a lot easier and more portable (esp. for things like textbooks) to carry audio files with you on a phone or CD than trying to find a braille copy of the book. Braille makes more sense for small, physical signage. Plus you can't read articles on the internet in braille. I understood you meant, my point was just that you said it was the only way to read 😊 Link to post Share on other sites
LeChat Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 https://bookriot.com/2018/07/10/audiobooks-vs-reading/ https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/audiobooks-or-reading-to-our-brains-it-doesnt-matter https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/listening-to-a-book-instead-of-reading-isnt-cheating.html I've kind of come across this debate; some librarians give links on social media or have flyers posted in libraries, trying to let patrons know that listening to audiobooks isn't "cheating." I've grown to like audiobooks. Since I'm able to speed up the playback, I'm able to finish more books than I would trying to read a physical copy. I've kind of had a problem, ever since I was young, about being a perfectionist about re-reading sentences over and over to make sure I understood what was going on; even when I did, I'd still feel a bit of an odd, OCD-like pull to re-read the sentence. I don't know whether this might have to do with a past fear of making a mistake and getting something wrong, getting a lower grade for forgetting something and not being perfect or whether it was because my early grade teachers gave me a few 'C's,' commented in report cards that I was having some trouble comprehending sentences (and so, my third grade teacher put me in a special, separate remedial group, for students who had a bit of trouble reading). So, listening to audiobooks helps me get through books a lot more quickly, without taking up so much time re-reading sentences. Link to post Share on other sites
A-Panda Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 13 minutes ago, daveb said: No, it's listening. Not there's anything wrong with it. I second this. For myself, I don't feel it's the same thing. I don't pay the same attention when listening to an audiobook than when reading - thus I can finish audiobooks that I'd have quit on as a book-book, but I also forget audiobook content while almost never forgetting book content. Also if interested, see here for surprising pros for audiobooks - and paper books. Link to post Share on other sites
Homer Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 No. Now that was easy. Link to post Share on other sites
timewarp Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 No. Reading is a town in Berkshire. Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 1 minute ago, timewarp said: No. Reading is a town in Berkshire. And Pennsylvania (and a railroad in the US version of Monopoly) Link to post Share on other sites
N8ty L3asT Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 I put no. It’s like listening to a one way conversation. But I’m not saying we don’t retain any of the information if we didn’t we wouldn’t remember the lyrics to our favorite songs which is basically the same thing. Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 When asked, “Have you read this book?” your answer is not “Yes, I listened / consumed it”… You going to reply “Yes, I read it!” Link to post Share on other sites
SithLord Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 6 minutes ago, uniQChick said: When asked, “Have you read this book?” your answer is not “Yes, I listened / consumed it”… You going to reply “Yes, I read it!” Well, that's just faulty reasoning. (I'm not being super serious, btw, so please don't be offended.) Obviously if somone asked you with the verb "read", they're prompting you to follow up with an answer using the "read" verb. Take a similar question: "Did you run to the store?" "Yes, I drove there." Did they ask if you went to the store, or the method to which you arrived there? No, they asked about running. So your answer should contain the verb "run". Even if you're completely lying about the method to which you arrived at the store and consumed the material. Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 @SithEmpress Totally agree with you. My answer is to bring spiciness into conversation! Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 I chose Yes, though I do agree about it being a different form of consumption from actually reading words on a page. However, I absorb both about the same, depending on the content, so I don't really see them as different. What really makes a difference, is the right type of narration for the content being read aloud. A bad narrator can make a great book bad and a bad book worse. A good narrator can make a great book wonderful and a bad book actually palatable. Link to post Share on other sites
SithLord Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, fuzzipueo said: A good narrator can make a great book wonderful and a bad book actually palatable. Like Gilbert Gottfried reading 50 Shades? Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 1 minute ago, SithEmpress said: Like Gilbert Gottfried reading 50 Shades? Never listened to him, but I'll give him a go (also George Takei). Link to post Share on other sites
SithLord Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 9 minutes ago, fuzzipueo said: Never listened to him, but I'll give him a go (also George Takei). Spoiler Link to post Share on other sites
uniQChick Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 5 minutes ago, SithEmpress said: Reveal hidden contents You killed me! My nipples got hard at the last words. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 2 hours ago, SithEmpress said: Reveal hidden contents Oh, that was awful! 😂 Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Spoiler Oh my ... Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 As someone who listens to audiobooks for a minimum of 5 hours a day (though usually as many 8-10 hours) I do agree that it's 'listening' in that I don't have to use my eyes. HOWEVER, it feels literally no different than reading other than I can use my hands and eyes for other things. And if someone asks 'have you read A Song of Ice and Fire?' my answer will be 'heck yes, 7 times' even though I have listened to instead of looked at the story. or if someone asks 'have you read The Witcher?' I'll say 'yeah I'm halfway through Time of Contempt' even though I haven't actually been using my eyes to consume it. So yeah, it's a difficult one to answer! Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy Alien Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 7 hours ago, RoseGoesToYale said: Yes. You do not have to physically look at the words to read a book, magazine, news, etc. After all, if you're blind, this is the only way to read. Exactly Link to post Share on other sites
Larkaloke Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 No, but it's still enjoying a book, so it's not like there's anything wrong with it. And I would certainly say that one could claim to have read a book that one has listened to in audiobook format, so in that way it counts. Really, it's more of having a book read to you, which is very close kin to reading it yourself. Link to post Share on other sites
Cimmerian Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 I'm in the "no" group. It's a perfectly fine way to get the same content (and I think it's a great way for more people to be exposed to stories who don't like reading) but it's not reading and they're two different experiences. I don't process them the same at all experience-wise or comprehension-wise. Reading requires my entire (or almost entire) attention and it's processed as it is seen for the first time, mental imagery pops up as I read (it's sort of like making an object yourself- it's all a very hand-on, first-person experience). With audiobooks I have a very hard time focusing on the narrator and paying attention (even when doing nothing else) and I have to almost mentally echo what they say to try and get any similar comprehension level that I have when reading and I don't get mental imagery of what I'm reading at all unless I stop and mentally replay what was said (very tedious and breaks the smoothness of the experience and it all feels distant). Link to post Share on other sites
Dodoa Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 I answered no, but I'm actually a bit more on the fence. I would consider it reading in the sense of consuming books, in the same way that I would say I've read the books my mum read to me as a child. But the reason why I don't make that distinction is that when people ask you if you've read a certain book, they are usually actually asking you if you know it and if they can discuss it with you, which fits the bill for having listened to the audio book as well. However I answered no for two reasons, one, because audio books can't teach you to read well, so for someone learning to read or learning to read a new language they dont serve the same purpose as reading regular books (though in the case of learning languages they can actually serve the different purpose of teaching proper pronunciation). And two, for me at least, they don't allow me to immerse myself in them as fully as regular books do, since I don't have to keep my eyes on them and therefore keep getting distracted. And I know that's more of a me-thing and i imagine that it might be the other way around for other people and they get more out of listening to the audiobook than reading the regular book, but my point is that they are different. Link to post Share on other sites
Anthracite_Impreza Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Define reading. Link to post Share on other sites
Phantasmal Fingers Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 5 hours ago, Anthracite_Impreza said: Define reading. It's not just comprehension, is it? It's also a combination of inner voice and visualisation which is quite genre dependent. The visuals are continuous in fiction but intermittent in journalism and quite often absent for long stretches in more academic or serious stuff. If you are listening to someone reading a novel their inner voice 'becomes' your inner voice. We used to like this as children, did we not? Do you remember reading out loud with your mother - and later just to yourself alone - when you were very young? And then, later, the voice becomes inner and silent. There are many different types of reading... Link to post Share on other sites
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