Can you "read" an audiobook?

Nov 06, 2023

Among my least favorite of library debates is the question “Is listening to an audiobook the same as reading?” I didn’t intend to make it the topic of my first ever Substack blog post, but this debate came up again in library groups on other social media sites, so here we are.

There is only one case in which the answer to this question is a no: that of a person who is trying to learn to read print. And even then, it’s a no with an asterisk. One of the best things you can do for young children to help them develop those early literacy skills crucial to their learning to read print is to read to them. In that case, the person reading to them is essentially their audiobook, helping them put sounds together with the print that represents them.

Until relatively recently, stories and knowledge were passed down orally. For centuries, this was the only way available for people to read. In some traditions, it is still the way cultural stories are passed to others.

The first tweet in a thread by @RandiJoDalton which reads "As a Mohawk librarian, when I defend audiobooks, it's personal. My people were telling stories orally long before stories came packaged in book form. There are many ways to 'read' something. There are a thousand ways to tell a story."

The second tweet in a thread by @RandiJoDalton which reads, "When I assist a patron, I'm not helping them find the right book, I'm helping them find the right story. Whether it's a book or a movie or a comic or a video game-- there is a reason that specific medium calls to you. There is no shame in the way your brain receives information."

The third tweet in a thread by @RandiJoDalton which reads, "The settler-colonial belief that stories in book form are superior is classist, racist, and simply untrue. It is virtue-signaling at its cringiest. Anyone who has a favorite voice actor will back me up. Alternative story telling methods make for rich sensory experiences."

Audiobooks are also an incredibly vital accessibility tool. People with visual impairments, dyslexia, ADHD, and so many more conditions rely on audiobooks for their reading. This is where the debate gets personal to me. I'm very slow when reading print. Listening to an audiobook at regular speed is still faster for me than reading the exact same words in print. I also have ADHD and need to be doing something else to help my focus. I was the kid who was above their reading level at one point and devoured print books. It was so hard, and it was only because I loved stories so much that sheer stubbornness was enough to get me through them. But when my chronic illness and its associated brain fog set in, my stubbornness wasn't enough any more. I stopped reading completely for years because of this. When I finally got over my own internalized ableism about audiobooks, I rediscovered my love for books. Now I read 150+ books every year.

The most common retort I hear to all of the above is something along the lines of, “Yes, but reading and listening are completely different!” And while on the surface this is true, studies have shown that the brain processes print books and audiobooks almost identically. This article is a good summary with a link to one of those studies.

Audiobooks are reading. Full stop. I will always advocate for them and continue to recommend them to my patrons looking for a way to enjoy stories when they can’t read print books.

Crafty Mx. Librarian

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