Are Audiobooks Kosher?
I was asked last week for my thoughts on audiobooks. . . like if you listen to one, does it count as if you actually read the dang thing? Or are audio versions the snotty-nosed illegitimate children of the publishing world?I know several people who prefer audio over ebooks or paperbacks. It allows them to multi-task. Even I have listened to a few (sidenote: does anyone else find it creepy when a male tries to impersonate a woman's voice?). Seems like the perfect fit for a long car ride. But again, does that really count as having read the book?
I used to think not. Wouldn't comprehension be skewed if one was a visual learner rather than auditory? Turns out that's a big, fat no. Daniel Willingham, University of Virginia psychology professor, explains, "The way these (comprehension studies) are usually interpreted is that once you are good at decoding letters into sound, which most of us are by the time we're in 5th or 6th grade, the comprehension is the same whether it's spoken or written."
Some studies even find major advantages with audio over visual when material is tough to parse such as Shakespeare. That's because an audio book pre-determines the musicality of words (called prosody).
Yeah, well what about the whole multi-tasking thing? Is someone who's only half listening to a story really listening? Actually,"The half-life for listening is much longer than for reading because we are pre-conditioned to listen to an entire conversation out of politeness. Generally, people keep listening until there is a pause in an idea, but especially in today's information-overload age, we stop reading at the slightest suggestion that something more interesting might be going on elsewhere," says Dr. Arthur Graesser, University of Oxford psychology professor.
While personally, I prefer the act of turning a paper page when I read, but that doesn't mean it's a "better" format. It's a different format, and here's a newsflash for you: people are different, too. If audio works for you, then more power to you. Last time I checked, this wasn't one of God's Big Ten, so do we really need to make those who devour books with their ears instead of their eyes feel like second-class citizens?
Now that we're all on the same page about loving those who prefer audio, here's a great opportunity for you to show some love (cue shameless promo music). My new release, BRENTWOOD'S WARD, is available in audio format at Amazon. Go ahead and pre-order HERE.
