E.S. Raye

I’m going to do something this week I rarely ever do–here or anywhere else on the internet for that matter–give a short, but hopefully somewhat hot take.

My takes on the usual pop culture subjects tend to be lukewarm at best, but I think I have a unique perspective on this particular topic, so why not?

This discourse around whether or not listening to an audiobook counts as reading comes up time and time again. And whenever I give my opinion I always just say, “yes.” But that’s usually only because it’s in the comment section of a social media post where there isn’t enough space to dig into the nuance I feel on the subject.

So, do I think listening to an audiobook is the same as reading?

No.

But also sort of yes.

I don’t think it’s quite the same for the singular reason that the narrator makes their own choices. Enunciations, pacing, emotion. These are all things that, were you just reading, you might approach differently in your own mind.

That being said, I have nothing against audiobooks. In fact, whenever this argument comes up I point out that we, as a species, have been listening to each other tell stories for a lot longer than we have been reading them.

To me, consuming stories, no matter the medium, has extreme value. Film and TV, theatre, narrative video games, audiobooks, and traditional books are all different ways to achieve the same goals:

Evoking thought and emotion. Providing a new perspective. And yes, entertaining an audience.

Before I became a writer I used to joke that I had a memory for stories. I often remember tiny plot or character details of something I watched, read, or played years before, because the story had an impact on me. And now I get to use that talent. All those beloved moments from playing games, watching movies, and reading novels and comic books work as influence on me and my writing today.

Audiobooks are, without a doubt, the closest experience to pure reading in this family of storytelling mediums, but I think they all have their value and their place. I have been moved in the same way by all of them, and I know I will be again.

The thing that is important it the story, not how it’s delivered to you, or how you choose to consume it.