One of the questions I see a lot in the various Facebook book/reading groups I am in is whether or not others consider listening to an audiobook to be cheating or whether it can be counted the same as actually reading the book. Personally, I feel like they are the same. Yes, I know the mode of absorption is different but the end result is the same.
What’s more, studies, such as the one here or here, show that the brain reacts to the stimuli (the story) in the same way, regardless of its mode of transmission. To me, science far outweighs somebody’s reasoning of “well, it’s just different” because they say it is (an actual comment I have seen and one that inspired me to consider writing this post).
Science aside, look at the humanity aspect. Take a blind person. Would you tell them that, despite listening to, say, four books a week, they have never read a book? Can they not also appreciate the nuances of a book’s writing and plot? Do they not also know the characters in a way that someone who has read the book visually does?
To me, listening is the same as reading visually because the end result is the same. A story is known and a brain is stimulated. Science has shown this over and over; it’s considered old news at this point, in the science world. So, why don’t some people believe it?
Do you think listening to an audiobook is the same as reading the book visually? Why or why not, I’m curious.
xTheBookWench
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