Keep up with the top stories from Reader's Digest by subscribing to our weekly newsletter Read more: 6 Books that work better on audio “I think even if audiobooks aren't your preference, or you might not necessarily know people who would benefit from audiobooks, it's important to keep an open mind that maybe it could be the best option for someone rather than ruling it out.” When it comes to reading, she continues, sweeping statements aren’t the most beneficial way to go because the audiobook versus a traditional book is a very nuanced argument. For a long time, the only way of passing down stories in turn for your friends and your family was orally, long before books became common usage.” And I think the idea that physical books are the ‘supreme’ form of reading is very arbitrary. To basically be told, ‘You're not doing it right.’ Even if it's maybe the only way that you can read, or the most accessible way that you can read. “Our members time and time again say that when people say, ‘Oh, audiobooks don't count as reading,’ it can feel incredibly demeaning to be invalidated like that. But I think a lot of the time when when people say that audiobooks don't count as reading, they either aren't aware of, or maybe they're just not acknowledging the thousands upon thousands of people who have disabilities that would prevent them from accessing books any other way than with audiobooks.” “Obviously if you have a preference and prefer physical books to audiobooks, that's not a problem. "When it comes to reading, sweeping statements aren’t the most beneficial way to go" “We are a UK charity, founded in 1959, who offer an audiobook listening service for people of all ages, who find their illness, mental health condition, disability or learning difficulty makes it more challenging to read print or hold the book,” she explains. Listening to a narration aloud can help reframe their minds to concentrate and focus on the content, and provide a healthy distraction from negative and anxious thoughts, which in turn helps to reduce stress levels, tension in the body and boost your mood,” adds clinical social worker and psychotherapist, Chase Cassine.Įmily Pye, membership and marketing assistant of UK charity Listening Books is another who believes it’s essential we actively class audiobooks as reading so that we’re inclusive of everyone, particularly those who are unable to read in the traditional sense. “For readers diagnosed with anxiety and depression, listening to an audiobook can be a positive coping mechanism. Audiobooks offer different advantages, depending on the needs of the reader. Reading words on the page has its own advantages from exercising the brain, to improved concentration, literacy, sleep and the ability to focus. This active listening process helps analyse the information and store it in our memory.” Different needs “They also help stimulate the auditory process in the brain that keeps the information that comes from your ear to those specific areas of the brain. Hearing new words-independent of or in combination with reading them-can significantly help with comprehension and vocabulary, especially for kids and second-language learners,” she adds. “ Audiobooks can help improve our comprehension and vocabulary. “Even though the information is processed differently by our brain, the overall difference between reading and listening in terms of comprehension is negligible,” explains relationship psychologist Mairead Molloy. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, experts say the difference between both is minimal-your brain works more or less the same way when processing an audiotrack as it does processing words on a page.Īnd every expert spoken to for this feature said the same thing: audiobooks not only absolutely count as reading, but they can be essential, depending on who is listening to (AKA reading) them. "Experts say the difference between both is minimal" Or you have the in-between-ers, who go back and forth between both. On the other are the audiobooks fans, who see it as a newly creative way to absorb a book. On one side are those who love the written word and never quite took to their audio counterparts. If you type into Google, "Do audiobooks count as reading?" you’ll find arguments both for and against. Is listening to an audiobook really reading? We talk to experts about whether audiobooks count as reading
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