Regardless of whether you are by nature a ‘reader’ or not, completing any degree requires a substantial amount of reading. Living during the Covid-19 pandemic, with changes across our lives stretching to academics, paid work and our socialising, it has been crucial, too, to diversify how we complete our studies.
I am still unsure exactly why, but back in March when teaching moved online and our movement was restricted, I began to find it almost impossible to read in a traditional way- on paper, or on screen. Having been someone who loved the process of diving into material, it became somewhat exhausting to move my eyes across a page. During the pandemic, things that were once pleasurable and commonplace have taken on a far more exhausting feeling.
When ‘are audiobooks…’ is typed into Google, the first suggested question is ‘are audiobooks as good as reading?’. Popular reading site Goodreads has an article from 2018 on the subject: a compiled list of ten responses to the question, which has over 400 comments. Clearly, this is a question which gives rise to opposing responses. Within this article, I would like to posit that audiobooks are, absolutely, reading.
Crucially as a starting point, the belief that reading is reserved only for those who have the circumstances to sit down and read a book by eye, excludes those with visual impairments. According to PBS, “Audiobooks first emerged in 1932, with the establishment of a recording studio by The American Foundation for the Blind, which created recordings of books on vinyl records”. So it is clear that the beginnings of audiobooks were about making reading less exclusionary and ableist, and more accessible. The belief that everyone should be able to enjoy literature, regardless of whether they are non-disabled or not, is a central tenet of the foundational concept of audiobooks.
Secondly, the idea that audiobooks are not reading excludes those who turn to audiobooks because of their mental health. Some may not be in a mental space where the energy which is required to read, that repetitive eye movement that sends even many voracious readers to sleep, is possible. However, they may feel able to go for a walk, shake out some anxiety, and listen to a chunk of an audiobook instead. Or, it may feel right for them to sit on a bench, and listen to an audiobook there. In a moment, one can be transported into a different experience, narrated by someone else, but still appreciate the moment in front of them. They can, instead of remaining glued to the writing on a page, appreciate what is around them, the sights, sounds or smells of nature, all whilst reading. The life-affirming qualities of reading are reflected in the life-affirming experience of being in nature.
I would like to make the suggestion that listening to an audiobook is simply a matter of personal preference, but in terms of whether it should be considered reading, it is very much the same. Granted, there are things that a reader can do with a written piece of material which cannot be done with an audiobook. For example, written texts can be annotated freely, and the reader can see how words are set out and structured on the page through punctuation, emboldened text and italics.
However, audiobooks have their pluses over written texts, too. The narrator can often provide insight for the reader into intonation, as well as into how accents change how written words are pronounced, and subsequently how they can have multiple meanings. Additionally, listening to a text quite literally brings it to life; the characters gain depth when their voices can actually be heard.
Lastly, to put it simply, it is far better to listen to one’s body and mind in terms of how best to read, than to adhere to an exclusionary and ableist argument. Just like finding your own personal working hours and patterns is important, and your specific working style, finding the best and most accessible ways for you to take in study materials is also crucial.
As with anything, society is often very quick to define what something is not, without postulating what it is. I hope that this can be an academic term of allowing yourself to think outside the box, of ways that you can make your studies firstly doable, and subsequently enjoyable. You know how to manage your reading best and if audiobooks can help, then they may become, as they have for me, one of your most vital study resources.