Any avid reader will tell you there is nothing like reading a physical copy of a book. The experience of holding a book in your hands, turning the pages, and reading a story is incomparable to anything else. Audiobooks are a similar way to enjoy reading by listening to a narrator recount the book. It might not be the exact same, but it actually is incredibly useful and can be just as entertaining.
This year I set a ridiculously high reading goal for myself. 50 books may not sound like a lot for some, but as the year moved on I quickly realized I would not be able to complete that with physical books by the end of the year. I had always been very anti audiobook because of a wide variety of reasons. However, that all changed when I downloaded an audiobook off Libby back in August and I’ve listened to at least one a month since.
While I had listened to audiobooks occasionally for school growing up, I never listened to one from a genre I genuinely like. I usually thought the narrators were boring and monotone, so it was difficult to feel engaged with the story. The first audiobook I ended up downloading was One True Loves by Elise Bryant, a cute young adult romance about a girl who goes on a Mediterranean cruise the summer before starting college. The narrator captured the energy of the characters so well and my fears began to subside. I felt I was similarly attached to the characters and their story despite reading it through an audio version.
Another reason why I initially struggled with audiobooks is I wasn’t sure what to do while listening. I thought I would rather sit down and open a book rather than use that time to listen to the same material. Instead of doing nothing while listening, I began to do mundane activities while the audiobook played. I folded laundry or cleaned my room and still was able to pay attention to the story. Even though multitasking is rarely recommended, I absorbed the details efficiently and imagined the events of the plot as they were occuring.
Many people tend to think audiobooks are not “real” reading. To this I have to say, what defines reading? The hobby can look different for everybody. Audiobooks are a great way to read for people with disabilities and for those who want to get into reading. If you keep an open mind, you never know which audiobook you might fall in love with.