Does listening to an audiobook count as reading?

[[deleted user]]

Hi, I just wanted to know everyone's thoughts on if an audiobook counts as reading... thanks!

[Ilona]

The consensus here is that it does :) In this thread you can find some opinions on the topic: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Lucy-Bookworm]

100% it does! I have found some books that are even better as audiobooks than as paperbacks & have been able to explore books that I may not otherwise have encountered.

[Kelly]

100% agree! Audiobooks count. I had a customer years ago who had gone blind and she was an avid reader....so she always had audiobooks so she could continue to read.

[Marina]

I personally think so! I love reading on the road but I get really bad motion sickness so I have to switch to audiobook during those times, I think it's just different ways to consume stories from a book.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I don't count them - it's the difference between reading a book and having someone read a book to you. But I do listen to audiobooks and enjoy them very much. I think it's a personal decision as to whether or not they "count" as reading.

[Kim]

Absolutely! If you read or listen to a book I think it counts.

[tyra ♡]

i personally am not a huge fan of audiobooks because i feel like my attention drifts off when i'm not reading something with my own eyes, BUT i do think that audiobooks 100% count as books. you're still getting to enjoy the story/plot/etc. which means it's completely valid to count them as books. you're getting the same content, just in a different format

[M]

I'm personally not a fan of audiobooks and am on the side of not counting them as read books :)
Why can't we change the verbiage a bit?
Instead of saying "I read the book XYZ" when really they mean they listened to the audiobook and never actually turned a page, why can't it be "I listened to book XYZ ."
It drives me bonkers**screams internally** lol

[Dorothy]

Mo wrote: "I'm personally not a fan of audiobooks and am on the side of not counting them as read books :)
Why can't we change the verbiage a bit?
Instead of saying "I read the book XYZ" when really they mea..."

Those of us who are tired /unwell rely on audiobooks when we do not have the strength to turn the pages.

[Magdalena]

I don’t count audio books personally, since reading is an ability that it is important for me to keep honing. Listening is a whole other ability, albeit also important to keep sharp!

People have different motives for reading, and if someone else counts audiobooks as reading it doesn’t bother me.

[ayesha 🎀]

I would count audio books

[Beth]

I absolutely count audio books! As was stated upthread, there are books that I've enjoyed as audio books that I would have never read otherwise, and I'm glad for the knowledge/experience I gained.

[Theresa, Readathons]

I think audio books count. It's a great way for my special needs adult son to enjoy reading. He would be missing out, otherwise.

[TerryJane, Challenges]

I certainly count audiobooks. They allow me to enjoy reading again, and to read more books that I can possibly eyeball read since my vision (BVD) limits me to reading just a few pages at a time.

I was thinking, braille books are also read through a sense other than sight, but I've yet to see anyone question whether they should count. Audio readers consume the same materials as other readers -- same story, dialog, author's notes, etc. They are not changed like a TV, movie, or theatre adaptation, so I don't know why there's even a question. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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EDIT: By the way, audio publishers sometimes provide a PDF file of additional material with photos, glossary, resources, character list, timeline, etc.

[=MYSTIQUE=]

I believe audiobooks count. I also like to read the book while I’m listening to the audiobook. I want to support the author any way I can so I get the audiobook and read through to book on Kindle once so they can profit from both.

Side question (not sure if it’s ok to ask here, if not please point me in the right direction. Thank you):

1. If I borrow a book in English and read that version then borrow a book in a different language does the author get paid for both versions that I read?

2. Then on top of that, if there is a graphic novel of a book I already read does the author make any money if I read the graphic novel as well?

[TerryJane, Challenges]

=MYSTIQUE= wrote: "

1. If I borrow a book in English and read that version then borrow a book in a different language does the author get paid for both versions that I read?

2. Then on top of that, if there is a graphic novel of a book I already read does the author make any money if I read the graphic novel as well?"

I don't know how authors are paid for various versions of their work, but there may be an authors group on Goodreads that could answer your question.

[Nicole]

I just wanted to hop on here and give a different perspective. I guess unpopular opinion, though I preface it by saying that many people have difficulties with physical books (or ebooks) and I completely agree that you can engage with a text via an audiobook. For me, listening to a book and reading book feel completely different. I do not count audiobooks toward my book count for the year. I have a lot of difficulties listening to audiobooks, so I only do memoirs or nonfiction with audiobooks, if at all. Everything else I read. There are some reading challenges out there that may require audiobooks, and then I definitely listen to a book being read then. Therefore, on GR audiobooks (and ebooks I might add) are counted in my book count (because that's where my book challenges are recored) and then I have book app to keep record of my library and I use Storygraph - there I only have physical books recorded. Storygraph is my actual count for the year. This is me though. I have no opinion whatsoever about what other people decide to do.

[Karin]

I think listening to audiobooks counts as much as reading them for Goodreads challenges even thoug it's not technically reading. I love them if I am driving or doing certain things, but otherwise my mind can wander.

Some people get a lot more from listening; when my son had to read novels in high school I'd get the audiobook out. He'd read it, but also listen separately (doing them together didn't work for him). Too bad there aren't audiobooks for college texts!

[Gary]

I count them. In most cases I have the ebook going at the same time. I frequently have a paperback or hardcover edition, certainly true of The Wheel of Time series. I was a late adopter of audiobooks, but really enjoy them. I have 5 books left in my serial reader challenge. 2 have audio books 3 do not. I am halfway through one of the 3.

[Ciara]

I personally loathe the experience of listening to audiobooks...so I absolutely count them, as a reward for the suffering I experienced while listening to them. I only do it when I'm doing a reading challenge & one of the prompts is "listen to an audiobook" (the worst!), or if I am on a deadline to read a specific book & the only format I can get it in is audio (double the worst!).

But some people really love them, & some people even rely on them because the circumstances of their lives make listening more accessible than reading in the traditional way. I love books too much to get up on a high horse & tell those people they aren't really reading. I read a large-print book for the first time recently & I gotta say, it was a gamechanger. I never thought of myself as a person who "needed" large-print (& I don't NEED it), but it made the reading experience so much more frictionless. There are blind people in my extended family, my boyfriend is seriously hearing impaired, I don't know. I don't want to condemn these different formats that enable people with assorted disabilities to access books, you know?

[Karin]

Ciara wrote: "I personally loathe the experience of listening to audiobooks...so I absolutely count them, as a reward for the suffering I experienced while listening to them. I only do it when I'm doing a readin..."

I love them if they are well done and I am driving somewhere or doing something where I can also concentrate on it. I can't stand just sitting and listening to them because they are slow. If I'm sitting still I have to be reading print books.

[Noorj]

Obviously

[Leona]

I count them.

[Sahira]

I count it as reading. I do enjoy listening to audiobooks but I can't listen at 1x speed. It has to be at least 1.5x speed. If I have the ebook or printed book, I would listen and follow along with the book.

[Amber]

I think audiobooks are great for when you cannot sit down and read a physical book. Physical books will always be my favorite and top choice for reading but I enjoy audiobooks when I am traveling in the car or when I am doing things around the house.

With saying that though I enjoy audiobooks when I can't read, and it counts as far as getting the story... I don't count it as reading exactly. I am trying to include them on my reading challenge this year though I do feel somewhat guilty lol.

[Shannon]

I believe audiobooks count as reading a book. What I believe that doesn't count as book is when it is least than 100 pages.

[Mary]

Yes! it counts

[Lexi]

I ABSOLUTELY count them as reading!!!
What I have found myself doing, especially with romantasies and books that I don’t want to DNF, is playing the audiobook in the background and reading its physical copy counterpart alongside it. At the right speed you can finish the book quicker and still find out how everything ends. 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️.