Audiobooks vs books
A while ago, we wrote an article about e-books vs books. Now it’s time to talk about a new challenger: audiobooks.
In a few words, it’s a recording on CD or cassette (do these still exist?) of a reading of a book. Nowadays you can easily download audiobooks by using an app. The first name that comes in mind is obviously Audible, a company owned by Amazon since 2008.
Need a bedtime story for your kids? Something about cooking, lifestyle or puppies? With its large catalogue, Audible has a ton of variety to offer. Some celebrities even lent their voice for audiobooks! Isn’t it neat? No need to read, you just have to listen to it.
But can it really replace the experience of reading a book?
Reading vs listening
When you are actively reading a book, your attention is focused on it: your eyes move along and if at some point you lose track of why an event occurred in a novel, you can always come back to the previous paragraphs. Well, that’s not something you can do with an audiobook: if you missed some information because you were distracted, good luck to rewind at the exact moment you stopped paying attention. For that reason, you also might lose some precious details regarding the plot.
Reading is an immersive experience where you get to use your imagination at its fullest. No more distractions, no more screens, it’s simply you in your own bubble, exploring worlds created by different writers. As for audiobooks…let’s just say it’s less dreamy.
On the other hand though, audiobooks can be helpful for your kids if they are learning to read or if they are slow readers. Get them to open the book and start playing the audio so that they can read and follow the narrator’s voice. It can also be helpful for students who are not into reading as well (lazy but smart).
Another aspect from audiobooks might be helpful if you are not a native English speaker: the tone. One of the trickiest thing to learn in a language is humor (irony, sarcasm, etc.). While reading, it might be difficult for you to detect if a character is being serious or sarcastic. Thanks to audiobooks, you get extra-information with the tone used by the narrator.
Conclusion
In the end, listening and reading imply different levels of engagement coming from you. Do you want to take a break from reality? Grab a book. Are you looking for a brainless activity to chill while driving or doing chores? Put your headphones on and listen to an audiobook (they have pretty good podcasts on Audible as well). Enjoy!
