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I have tried "reading" an audiobook, and I personally can't do it. If I try to do anything else, I tend to tune out what I am listening to and miss things.

On a side note, I have read some Dan Simmons (Illium and Olympos), where society in the future (after having computer links built in) have forgotten how to read having been read to by the computer link.

Does anyone feel that you lose anything by listening to a book and not actually reading it? What would an author who choses type face and layout carefully as part of the publishing of his/her book say?

I seem to recall (can't find a link) about some authors not liking the kindle because it lost some layout features, and did not replicate the type face they chose as part of the story telling.

I have the Sony PRS-300, and have seen first hand that it can't handle certain hard line breaks in PDF files, and it made it difficult to read conversation when I had it zoomed larger.

Comments or opinions?

I personally love to read, but I always listen to audiobooks on my daily runs. I find the experience simply to be different. One real benefit that I have received from this practice is that my listening skills have greatly improved (although I don't think my wife will back me up on that).

Don't know that I care too much about font issues with my kindle, given that books routinely go through a variety of printings and versions... But yeah there are some inconsistencies.

I agree that it is a different experience to listen to a story being read than to read it myself. One does not replace the other. I like to listen to books when I'm driving, but find I get too distracted to pay attention if I'm listening while doing chores.

One benefit of listening to books is that I cannot rush the reader. I find I hear more details because when I am reading, I tend to hurry to the good parts and miss the small things. My favorite thing to do is listen to a book I've already read.

When I watch movies, or play video games I find myself wanting to be completely immersed. I turn the lights off, turn the sound up, and let my world melt away. The problem with books is... they do not allow for such levels of immersion (can't read in the dark :P). When I checked out my first audiobook from the library years ago I completely fell in love with this method of consuming stories.

Sure, on one hand I might be missing out on the experience of allowing my imagination to fully voice the characters but on the other hand by taking away the physical action of straining my eyes by having to constantly scan text I feel like I can put my self in a state of complete relaxation and focus much more on what is actually being said.

To each their own though :)

Mlybrand wrote: "I personally love to read, but I always listen to audiobooks on my daily runs."

Ditto, but replace "daily runs" with "walks or trips to the gym." :)

I love being able to lose myself in a story by listening to it, and find it really helps motivate me to go workout or go for my walks. Of course, I listen while in the car, too, and try not to lose myself hehe. I also like listening to books while doing crafty type things (I do cross-stitch and I knit).

I've also found that listening to a book allows me time to "read" 2 books at once--I listen to one, I read another in print/Kindle (like now I'm listening to Before They Are Hanged and am reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal in print).

There are definitely times I can't listen to a book, especially at work or if there are other distractions.

I actually miss details when I listen, because it's harder to backtrack. But I might even finish a book faster, if at all.

Tamahome wrote: "I actually miss details when I listen, because it's harder to backtrack. But I might even finish a book faster, if at all."

Sometimes I find that I *think* I'm focusing, but that my mind is wandering and I miss details. When that happens, I either rewind and try again or give up for the time being and do something else. I've definitely found that there are times I can't focus on what I'm listening to, even if I really want to. But that's why I have music on my iPod in addition to audiobooks. ;)

Audiobooks in particular seem to really work for some people and not for others. But I like that they work for me. :)

No doubt audio works for some people, just not for me.

I was just listening to the last 2 podcasts and Tom seemed surprised that a study showed that reading on anything but paper was slower.

I have found that on books I am really interested in on my PRS-300, it seems to take almost as long to refresh the page on a turn as it does for me to read the same page. Admittedly, I read rather fast (on books I really like I am somewhere between 75 and 100 pages/hour).

An example of this is for Harry Potter 6, I read the whole thing in less than 1 day total time, and less than 10 hrs reading time.

I have a pretty bad reading disability and audio books are my only option. It would take me 4 months to read a 500 pages book. I have found that the person reading makes a huge difference. If they are good at changing their voice for different characters and put real emotion behind their voice its much easier to stay engaged. Also I most case when the author reads their own book it’s not a good thing. This also bring up the problem that with reading a book the story is everything, but with an audio book if it’s executed poorly it will affect how much you enjoy the book. I think that if it’s well done and you give it your full attention, the same as when reading, it can be the same experience.

sometimes "reading" an audiobook can be even better than the paper version for me. An example would be the one I am currently reading A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. It has the introductions read by most of the people who wrote them and then the actual speech's of MLK. It is one of the best audio books that i have listened to. Listening really is a whole different experience. I commute 1 hr each way to work (w/o traffic) so I read a lot of audio books. Usually 2-3 a month.

I only listen to audiobooks, strangely, after I have already read the books themselves. I cannot concentrate enough to listen the first 'read' through. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am so used to my imagination doing the interpreting of scenes in the book that when someone else does it, however well, it may not have been how I pictured it. So I just listen to audio books to see (hear?) another interpretation of the same book. Plus, I will always know what is going on even if I do get distracted because I have already read the book before!!

I have a book on my kindle that I have brought by an author called 'Danny Wallace' I like his books but since reading this topic I have thought about getting it on audiobook. Do people read and listen to a book at the same time? I know it's not the cheapest thing but I wondered if it was worth it

I use audiobooks to supplement my reading of print books. Reading and being read to are different, but that's okay. I usually prefer reading to myself because I feel as if I am part of the process started by the author. However, there aren't enough hours in a day to read everything I want to read and audiobooks help me fit more books in. Sometimes, the narrator isn't very good and it's hard to get through. Other times, listening is the best way to get through a book. Alice I Have Been was absolutely amazing narrated by Samantha Eggar, but I've heard mixed reviews from people who have read it in print. I'm currently listening to Faithful Place by Tana French. I read her first two books in print and I really liked them, but the audio of the third is amazing because the narrator captures the flavor of the Irish setting and characters.

Mike wrote: "I have a pretty bad reading disability and audio books are my only option. It would take me 4 months to read a 500 pages book. I have found that the person reading makes a huge difference. If they ..."

While my dyslexia does not make it that difficult to finish a book, I am able to read so much more using audio books. I find it is not the same thing and know i am missing things I would have caught before. I really miss the details but for many books I am willing to loss some of the book to actually have read the book.

Listening to a performance (audiobooks) is different than conducting a performance (reading), but both are enjoyable.

Stan wrote: "Listening to a performance (audiobooks) is different than conducting a performance (reading), but both are enjoyable."

you're not conducting a performance when you read. The story has already been written. You either interpret text visually, or through auditory means.

outsyncof wrote: "Stan wrote: "Listening to a performance (audiobooks) is different than conducting a performance (reading), but both are enjoyable."

you're not conducting a performance when you read. The story ha..."

But that's like saying the play has already been written, therefore the actors are not conducting a performance! I think both listening and reading are, like Stan mentioned, different forms of performances. You are in essence performing for yourself when imagining the scenes of the story ;)

Hilary wrote: "outsyncof wrote: "Stan wrote: "Listening to a performance (audiobooks) is different than conducting a performance (reading), but both are enjoyable."

you're not conducting a performance when you r..."

I respectfully disagree, I believe that A) the original question is yes it is "like" reading in that you are being given information and interpreting it with your mind and experiences. B) I love listening to an audiobook after reading a novel because inevitably I get a different angle on the same story, simply because the speaker puts emphasis on different words than I did, and it always spices up the story to have it told two ways to me.

outsyncof wrote: "Stan wrote: "Listening to a performance (audiobooks) is different than conducting a performance (reading), but both are enjoyable."

you're not conducting a performance when you read. The story ha..."

When I really get into a book, in my head I see full fledged moving images. Its a movie, populate with people from my imagination. They sound like I want them to sound, they look as I want them to look. They talk with the accents I want them to use.

The story is the the sheet music. The arrangement of them in my head is my performance.

P.S.

A conductor, like a director, is not usually the stories creator, just the person bringing it to life.

Glenn wrote: "Hilary wrote: "outsyncof wrote: "Stan wrote: "Listening to a performance (audiobooks) is different than conducting a performance (reading), but both are enjoyable."

you're not conducting a perform..."

I mentioned that halfway up the thread, that I only listen to audio books after reading because it is like a different interpretation, but I don't believe that reading should be considered not a performance, because my one-person audience of me definitely thinks it is. Like Stan above mentions, I do see everything in my head especially when I get into the book. Maybe his analogy of sheet music and arrangement is better than mine.

I've only listened to a few audio "books" -- Scott Sigler and a few others. I don't *really* like it. (Although it makes driving here in Florida, pedestrian and bicyclist killing capital of the U.S., much more interesting.)
Nevertheless, there is a (sorry, can't help it) very profound metaphysical (graack, I don't believe I wrote that...don't hate me) difference between listening and reading, between orality and textuality. There are some excellent studies of this -- Orality and Literacy by Walter J. Ong and various works by Jacques Derrida.
When I write I know I pay close attention to sentence length, paragraph length, and chapter length. Those control pacing, emotional response, etc. There are all sorts of odd physical things that exist in the printed (or e-ink) version of a story that do not exist in an audio version. The re-scanning of a line of page; slowing down and speeding up. There are deep differences between the two experiences.
Now, I think both reading and listening are just peachy. Heck, look at Finnegans Wake -- some of it makes sense (at least to me) only if it is being read out loud. (And, honestly, only if I am on my third pint of Guinness.) But I think there is an inherent textuality -- for example, House of Leaves, which is lost with an audible book. Some books should be "oral" -- Beowulf -- some, the middling books, don't really matter, and others need to be read if one is to engage the author.
Ah, well. Back to the next pint!

To me, consuming unabrdiged audio counts as reading, because I have used one of my senses to take in all that the author intended me to take. Abridged audio definitely does not count.

About 2/3 of the reading I do is unabridged audio.

Alan wrote: "To me, consuming unabrdiged audio counts as reading, because I have used one of my senses to take in all that the author intended me to take. Abridged audio definitely does not count.

About 2/3..." Well put Alan, I like your description of audio reading :)

I understand and accept the points made, but I think I was going for the broader discussion more related to the following:

If "we" as a society continue to move toward audiobook vs reading text, do we lose any important skills? Like the ability to interpret text or other visual cues that are not dumbed down? If anyone has read Illium and its sequel, one of the major subplots was a "youth" revolution that results in learning to read and more importantly do things for oneself (some what disconcertingly lead by Odysseus).

I'm a professional musician and I often practice music while listening to podcasts/audiobooks, and I was just listening to the latest episode about this issue. I believe some people are more aurally-based and some people are more visually-based. I can listen to a podcast, keep the beat with a metronome and play the piano all at the same time and I find it easy to keep track of everything. I'm a conductor as well, and I'd say it's really no more difficult than directing an orchestra, and hearing all of the disparate sounds of the ensemble.

I also love audiobooks (Audible member since 2005). However, when I sit down with a printed book I find that I have the same problem that Tom has: My mind wanders and I often have to re-read passages. My wife is the opposite, but I believe her to be more visually-based person. She's always been a very strong reader. I'm a better listener.

One final thought: I had to stop the podcast in order to write this post. I have a difficult time concentrating on written words when there are spoken words. Part of the same thing?

Matt wrote: "...If "we" as a society continue to move toward audiobook vs reading text, do we lose any important skills?..."

The funny thing is that this period is probably the most literate period in the history of America and possibly man kind.

Our primary form of entertainment has become the internet and texting. A medium which *requires* the ability to read and write (but not necessarily spell correctly :) )

Not a great contribution here from me, but all I know is that I would never have made it through Anathem without listening to it on an audio book. Thick books rarely end up finished by me, like the copy of Cryptonomicon sitting on my end table, or Ulysses, or The Brothers Karamazov, or Foucault's Pendulum, or Vineland, etc, etc, etc.

Well, Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle is on audible. Start plowing!

I have to agree with Tom on the most recent podcast.

I find that very often when I'm reading text, unless the book is VERY engrossing, my mind wanders and I've gone through a page and have no clue what I've just read. With Audobooks, on average, I find that more of my brain tends to be engaged and I focus better.

All that being said, I really think it depends on the book you are 'reading' and how you process better. Some will do better listening, others will do better with text.

Matt wrote: "I understand and accept the points made, but I think I was going for the broader discussion more related to the following:

If "we" as a society continue to move toward audiobook vs reading text, d..."

Regarding this, I think it worth noting that silent personal reading is a relatively recent development in the history of the written word. Reading, even as recently as the nineteenth century, was largely a social act with the majority of its participants being active listeners. In most references to this act they still referred to it as 'reading', even though technically they were 'listening'.

Tamahome wrote: "Well, Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle is on audible. Start plowing!"

I started listening to this a couple of days ago, and it is an AWESOME reading. I read Quicksilver but I am getting so much more out of it this way, the reader really brings the characters to life.

I just started with audiobooks recently, takes me awhile to get used to the pacing. Got maybe four hours into Abe Lincoln on audio while delivering pizzas, got off, bought the book and finished that night. I have a hard time slowing down to the pace the reader chooses when i can read so much faster and just get more story quicker. on the other hand, i can listen to a book and play starcraft 2 at the same time, thus doubling my leisure productivity :) I get the plot ok from listening, but when i read i will go back over a particularly tasty phrase, paragraph whatever, its much harder to do that with audio and that is much of how i really savor a good writer. Audiobooks are way easier to pack up and move too, but who likes looking at a folder of disks the same way as a library.

I have just signed up to audible today. I am going to give them a go. I downloaded 'The Blade itself' from iTunes the other day but haven't started that yet but I have started listening to another book that i got off Audible which is Danny Wallace's - Join Me. This isn't fantasy or sci-fi but I love the author and what makes it better for me is that he reads the audiobook version. I have listened for about 20 minutes and I am enjoying it. Hopefully i will enjoy more audiobook but I am noticing that the narrator is making a big decision on whether or not im interested in the book. If I don't like the narrator then I would just get the kindle version.

Probably more than 95% of my reading is done by audio. I'm a mailman and listen at work, I may read 1 paper version book a year, 2 in a good year. I just don't have time to read much. As a kid I loved to read, I really only got back into reading when I started listening to books at work. It sure helps to take my mind off working in the brutal Houston summer. I also like to listen as I commute, but not at the computer. If you're new to audiobooks, try different ways to listen and do what works for you.

To answer the question in the original post: yes, audiobooks definitely count as reading. The author writes words. If we take them in with our ears or eyes, it counts the same. I maintain that reading is a pleasure to be enjoyed. Do what is most fun for you. I actually prefer audio to print, especially when the narrator is exceptional.

Jeff wrote: "I really like to listen to the audio book as I read the book itself."

I think that is a very interesting idea, I am going to have to give that a try. I can see it allowing a deeper understanding of the book and I have to do something else while listening to a book or I will fall asleep.

Jeffrey wrote: "Jeff wrote: "I really like to listen to the audio book as I read the book itself."

I think that is a very interesting idea, I am going to have to give that a try. I can see it allowing a deeper u..."

Well I tried it the other day with a book. Unfortunatly the book and the audio didn't match up exactly so there was a lot of skipping about looking where the next bit is. Apart from that it was ok but i have ended up just listening to the audiobook as I am getting through that faster than I would do just reading it.

The only thing radio is good for is singing, since they play the same songs over and over, ad infinitum.

Tamahome wrote: "The only thing radio is good for is singing, since they play the same songs over and over, ad infinitum."

I listen to the radio for about 5 minutes at a time. The first commercial/traffic/weather/news update and I bail. Between my DVR and iPod I no longer have much tolerance for commercial interruptions.

A good audiobook is much better for encouraging patience in traffic than another "invest in gold" commercial.

I find that for me my learning style is more suited toward audio and visual media. My mind tends to stray when I get the least little bit tired reading a book or e-reader but I am able to retain a novel to near perfection when I read it and then listen to it or listen to it and then read it.

In fact if I listen to it first and then read it, my reading time is cut almost in half on most novels.

I noticed with my daughter when she was young that she retained so00oo much more when she heard a story (from us reading it, or on tape) versus just reading it.

That is the case with me, as well. I have much better retention for aural input than for visual input, whether that is an audiobook or a lecture, etc ...

In either medium I catch myself wandering and it only takes a page tour or a tap on the 30 second rewind button (hurray iPhone) and I'm back on track.

I love audiobooks for when I have to do something manual that doesn't require reading or problem solving. I listen doing chores and on long drives and I find it keeps me distracted but still mentally active. I'm not the kind of person who can sleep sitting up so audiobooks have saved me quite a few times on transcontinental flights. I also find that audiobooks help me get through tough reads, whether its a book for school I don't really want to read or a book with a slow start, like Windup Girl, or really long books, like A Game of Thrones. I have also gotten audiobooks for my younger brother who would never read voluntarily otherwise.

On a scientific note I read a study (I feel remiss in not providing a link but I don't remember where I read it) that used brain scans to study what parts of the brain are used to read books and it turned out to be the same centers used for auditory perception. My interpretation was the the main difference between the two mediums is how individuals are able to maintain focus on the book.

The quality of the audiobook production however is a factor that doesn't really have a counterpart in books since you can only blame yourself when reading it from paper.

Another point I find really interesting is a response to the possibility of changing a book when it comes to font and layout. I heard it pointed out by Orson Scott Card in an interview, that in audiobooks authors can know that every word is being read and that we, the readers, are't jumping down the page to the exclamation points and skipping story building details (I find myself skipping when I read especially near climaxes).

For me its gonna' be as many of either as I have time for. I definitely don't see text going away any time soon but I still plan to read my two Audible books every month.

I am a house painter. I listen everyday as I work. Painting is like driving, it only requires part of your attention and it is easy to follow audio. When I remember a book, I sometimes can't remember if I read it or listened to it. The content is there, but I can't recall the delivery system. I think it counts as reading.

I have a friend who is a double-doctor (JD & PhD) who happens to be legally blind (can read with assistive devices, but hates 'em) who used to joke that he was the only "illiterate" person in the JD program, as he hadn't "read" one book - it was all on recorded devices &/or braille (barely available - this was well before the Amer. Disability Act).
Likewise, I don't remember the last time I "read" a newspaper article or any long web posting/article - my TextAloud screen reader does the job for me! Guess I'm turning illiterate too!

outsyncof wrote: "When I watch movies, or play video games I find myself wanting to be completely immersed. I turn the lights off, turn the sound up, and let my world melt away. The problem with books is... they..."

Hmm... try this. This coming Halloween, wait until dark, after all the trick-or-treaters are gone. Turn out all the lights, and then light a single candle (or two if you find one strains your eyes). Then pull out Poe's "The Raven", and have at it. Tell me THAT isn't an immersive experience!