Heck Yes, Audiobooks Count as Reading
I came across a reader poll in a magazine: Do audiobooks count as reading? They included responses from both sides of the issue. Some claimed that reading means looking at words on the page; others believe that the story is what matters. I fall strongly on the “yes, it’s reading” side of this issue. Not only does the question strike me as weirdly ableist, if you are consuming the story, then you are reading it.
Narrators of audiobooks are so skilled at bringing the words and characters to life. I remember the books I listen to even better than the ones I read on the page. There are certain illustrated books that demand the visual (I did stop listening to The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Evgeny Yelchin — beautifully read by Gildart Jackson — because I felt I was missing too much from the illustrations), but an all-text book is marvelous when read aloud.
Some are even better than on the page. When I listened to Sunny by Jason Reynolds and narrated by Guy Lockhard, I knew that the poetry and energy of the characters was twice as engaging because of his interpretation and feel for the character. The words became like a drum’s beat, going straight into my body.
Rhythm added to the humor of The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, read by Joel Johnstone, with the voice of Holling Hoodhood in my ear. When I subsequently re-read it on the page, I heard Johnstone’s voice as I went, enhancing that experience.
Daniel Henning’s character voices for The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune had me in stitches. The skill of the narrator with large casts of characters is so important, and Henning brought them all to life.
Listening to Amy Poehler read her memoir Yes Please made me feel as if she were telling me the stories over coffee. It was a delicious treat to pretend that this amazing comedienne and actress was my friend through the duration of the audiobook.
And sometimes audiobooks are more like radio plays. The Future by Naomi Alderman has a large cast of narrators: Guinevere Turner, Natalie Naudus, Jeremy Bobb, Santino Fontana, Graham Halstead, Lorelei King, and Fred Sanders. Multiple narrators are an option for multi-POV books and give the listeners the experience of listening to different sides of the stories through their different voices.
I’ll admit that another reason I love audiobooks is that it allows me to consume books while I’m doing other things. I listen while I’m driving, cooking, doing the dishes, or taking a walk. When I lived in New York City, I loved the extra reading time my subway commute gave me. Audiobooks help me add reading time to each day.
Where do you land on the debate (if it even ranks so strong a word)? What are your favorite audiobooks?