Listening is not the same as reading in my book, but it is certainly a great substitute in the car.

Your opinion closely mirrors my own on this topic. I'm a HUGE fan of audio books but the experience IS very different from actually reading a book. Like you, I listen while driving (or working ...) and my concentration level simply isn't as high. I sometimes have to rewind because my attention wandered and I missed something.*

If someone asks what I've been reading lately, I'll tell them about the books I've picked up and the ones I've listened to, but I'm always careful to point out which ones were audio and which ones were "traditional" - I think that is an important distinction.

Some books really work well in audio format and others simply don't. Audio books I'd recommend include:
- The Thirteenth Tale
- People of the Book
- Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles

*But that happens sometimes when I read too - I'll have to reread a page b/c my attention wandered or I was distracted.

>"That's not reading," I protested. "That's cheating."

If you watch a movie at home instead of in a theater on the big screen, is that cheating? If you don't read a book in its original language, is that cheating?

Some books are greatly enhanced by audio. Last year, Winterwood by Patrick McCabe was one of my favorite audiobooks. I could never have imitated his Irish accent, his singing or his pronunciation of various Celtic names and places. By the end of The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, I had learned a lot of German swear words. And although I had read "The Odyssey" in high school and college, I didn't really feel like I understood it until I heard it. I gained so much listening to it that I never picked up on when I read the text.

I love audiobooks, although I still read about twice as many books as I hear. There is something special about curling up with a good book and appreciating the words on the page, but to insinuate the one way of absorbing the story is inferior is just literary snobbery, in my opinion. (Sorry!)

I don't feel listening to audios constitutes reading a book but that's my opinion. Many people do feel it is actually reading. I listen to audios in my car or at night when I'm trying to sleep. I never review them because to me I haven't read them.

Aside from physically liking the feel of a book in my hands; I also pick up the story much better. I process words much better than audio-a lot of the audio just goes in one ear and out the other. So, it's definitely books for this girl!

So far the reader score seems to be: cheating (3); reading (1). You all made great comments. Like Kathy, I wouldn't be without an audio book in the car. I'll make it a point to check out the titles Heather suggested.

But Lisa made some really intriguing points, and I wonder if what we're talking about here isn't so much the format, i.e. where the artwork is consumed, but how well it is absorbed.

Like Darlene, I process words much better visually than aurally, so I tend to assume that's the same for everyone. But Lisa suggests that it is not.

From that perspective, watching a movie from the comfort of my cat-scratched, red leather recliner isn't cheating; I absorb the content equally well either way.

Reading a book in translation isn't exactly "cheating." It is, for most non-native speakers, a necessity. But it's not ideal. Much DOES get lost in translation. My guess is that most authors would prefer that their books be read in the original language when possible ... but would rather have them read in translation than not at all.

Put me in the camp with your friend. I think of reading and listening as pretty much the same thing. When I listen to a book, though, I REALLY listen. I have no choice; I'm just not good at multi-tasking. I couldn't listen to books while driving. If I tried it, I'm sure I'd cause an accident. Yikes!

One of the things that has surprised me with the Kindle is how much I love the text-to-speech function. The robotic voice doesn't bother me at all. I just hope the Authors Guild doesn't succeed in its attempt to turn it off.

Thanks for this post, Mary. The whole reading vs. listening thing has been on my mind since Tuesday, when I went to the NYC demonstration by the Reading Rights Coalition (many of the members are blind) about the speech-to-text-function on the Kindle. It's interesting, I think, that they are arguing for the right to LISTEN but they call themselves the READING Rights Coalition. Count them in your friend's camp too!

This is a great discussion. I think that they are two different experiences and they each serve their purpose. I think that for most prolific readers, the audiobooks are additions to their book reading. I think that you are still experiencing the story but may not benefit from the reading experience in listening to audiobooks.

I tend to listen to audiobooks in the car and so does my husband as he has a long commute. He has listened to many books that he normally would not have read. He listened to The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and said it was one of the best fictional audiobooks he has heard. The narrator made the story come alive. He wouldn't have read this book so he got to experience it in a different way.

>I absorb the content equally well either way.

It's obvious from even this small sample that people absorb information in different ways. Books are essentially stories and stories are meant to be told. The fact that some people don't listen well doesn't mean that listening to a book isn't a valid way of absorbing the story.

Some books are a much better experience on audio than in text. A good reader can really enhance a story. Another good example is The Known World; I'd read the book for my book club, but listening to the audiobook told me so much more about the story. The subtle differences in the accents and manner of speaking added a whole layer to the story that I didn't get from the text. I would argue that instead of not having read the book, as some commenters maintain, I actually know the story better than they do.

Gail, Bonnie, Lisa, thanks for your thoughts.

As Bonnie and Lisa point out, having talented actors narrate the stories really does enhance the experience -- which, as the Sun's theater critic, I can certainly appreciate.

And, as Gail says, it is doubtful that members of the Reading Rights Coalition would consider audio books "cheating" -- though I can't help wondering if this group also is divided between those who prefer Braille to audio books.

Our strong preference for either processing the world through either the eye or ear seems to have something to do with the nature of those organs. The eye is always half a step in the future, mentally scanning how many words are left before the sentence ends, how many pages before the chapter concludes. The ear is in the present. This is its glory and its downfall, because once a sound is gone, it's gone and can't be retrieved.

The thing that fascinates me, though, is how deeply ingrained our individual preferences are, how natural, universal and "right" they seem.

I don't think audiobooks qualify as cheating, though I have heard about people who left book clubs because they were villlified for listening to recorded books.
For me, reading and listening to a book are different experiences.
So are movies in English and those with subtitles. I recently saw The Class, a French movie about the struggles of a high school class of poor immigrants. I enjoyed it, but subtitles could not convey the subtleties of the students' language, the slang and accents that a French-speaker would appreciate. Having to "read" the movie left me feeling a bit cheated.

I read and listen to many books and consider both to be "reading the book" but then, like Mary, I really listen. I don't believe that one method or the other is necessarily a higher quality reading experience.

Certain books are better suited for one delivery method or the other--there have been books I couldn't stand reading but enjoyed listening to (e.g., the Harry Potter books) & vice versa (e.g., Robert B. Parker's books). Much depends on the narrator; much on the text.

And certain activities are better suited to one or the other: I love listening to a book while I walk but would never just sit in a chair and listen. I do sometimes listen to books while driving but am careful to choose suitable books, as others have mentioned (not too subtle, etc.) and am not afraid to rewind if temporarily distracted.

A long time ago, I would have agreed with you. But after listening to Harry Potter on audio book, I must confess (and profess) that the audio versions are better than the print versions. Jim Dale gives such a strong performance that it casts a shadow on Rowling's words.

To some degree though, I could see how the audio, print, and movie versions of any book can be considered a separate performance. They are all given in different mediums, but is the story any different? I know, movies tend to not follow books that closely, but an unabridged audio book is word for word the same as the print version. So is the story any different?

Maybe you can expand your argument to include e-books? Would a book "read" on a Kindle be any different than a book read on paper?

I think in the end, the answer is this. If you read on paper, read on the screen, or listen with your ears, then you get the same information and therefore "qualify" as having "read" the book in question. The deliver is different yes, but the message is the same.

I discovered the joy of audio books this past year. After listening to many cd's of speeches I decided to foray into more complex materials. My big one was ""My Life" by former president Clinton. 42 CD's! I listened in the car and when I went walking. I would never have tackled a book of over 1000 pages for 2 reasons. First, I am a slow reader and more importantly I have trouble holding heavy books as I have arthritis in my hands.

It was wonderful to be able to "read" and enjoy the slight "drawl" of the reader, I felt as if Bill Clinton was speaking to me personally.

I have finally found a way to "read" many of the books my friends talk about that I never take the time to "read"

Keep the audio books coming. I may try the amazon "reader" next.

What a great group of readers this blog attracts! I've been sidetracked by Other Deadline Assignments, but did want to respond to the last few comments. I have to say, I ADORE the Harry Potter books. Even though I've never listened to them on tape, it's hard for me to imagine that I would get more enjoyment out of J.K. Rowling's ability to construct this fully realized world than I did by reading them. TK4ZONE, my question wasn't so much about the medium, as it was about the different ways our minds process things we hear versus things we see. Essentially, it's a question about how learning takes place. But, you have all convinced me that this is a highly individual matter, and that a great many people hear with the same concentration and rate of absorption as I do when I see. Thanks again to everyone.

Personally I prefer reading books but I can't quite put my finger on the exact reason. I suppose there's something a bit more tangible about it though perhaps just it goes back to my childhood when all I had were books. That being said I do also enjoy audio books but I never listen to them at home, only when traveling. I love the convenience of them - it's really tricky to read a book while you're driving - I know, I've tried! The only thing I don't like about them is that you occasionally encounter titles where the publisher's choice of narrator leaves something to be desired. Thankfully I haven't encountered that too often though. As far as comprehension of the material I honestly can't see that listening versus reading would make much difference as long as you maintain focus and don't let your mind wander. I suppose one great strength of reading instead of listening is that when your mind wanders the book pauses itself!

This discussion is great. I would urge book lovers to enjoy both reading and listening to books--preferably unabridged and read by the author. Sometimes listening is great on road trips (Ted Turner's "Call Me Ted," and Warren Buffett's "The Snowball"), but other times a quiet space of concentration is more suitable, depending on the book. Consider the richness of reading Khaled Hosseini's "Kite Runner." Then listen as Hosseini himself reads it, bringing Afghanistan into your space, with deft language nuance and his own stark, shifting emotions. He reaches your soul in both, but I felt more of a sense of "being there" when listening to Hosseini. I found the language factor to be similar with Alexander McCall Smith's books on Africa; you virtually "hear" the books' language singing and even smiling. Azadeh Moaveni's "Honeymoon in Tehran" is on my A list for either read or heard books. On the other hand, I instinctively did not venture to listen to, but preferred to read, Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel" and "Collapse."

My hope is that the price comes down for unabridged audio books.

Listening to audiobooks is more of a benefit to me nowadays because I can actually finish what I start. It would take me too long to finish reading a 1000 page book. With a great reader, audiobook is much more enjoyable than reading. But it's definitely not cheating because I get the story same as reading.

I am of the firm opinion that listening is not cheating. For centuries, stories were told by people and they had a wide reach purely through word-of-mouth. Reading tomes has been in vogue only for the last two centuries or so. Audio books are just an electronic version of 'word-of-mouth' narration. Much as I like the smell of an old book , I get to listen doing the most mundane of chores - cooking, laundry, dusting.... No job is thankless when your mind is on a book.

As Jim Dale (narrator of HP books in the US) mentioned, a good narrator can add a dimension to the character that you did not know existed. And for those of us who are not familiar with a foreign language that is interspersed in a novel, listening rather than reading makes it less daunting.

Lastly, Byatt's Possession is one of my favourite books. However, I could not get past the first 20 pages when I started reading it. When I listened to the audio version, I was completely mesmerized and did not want the book to end. I have the opposite problem of the author of this blog. I register about 70% of a book when I read, but my ears are completely tuned to the spoken word!

Every day I go to work by the sub. I cant read because of its movements and noises. After buying my Audible my life have changed. I hear my favorite magazines and books, and hear it through my Ipod. By the way - its very nice to fall asleep with as well..

I bought it through a product reviews web site (Consumer Product Reviews), and I got a Audible Coupon from them: two free Audiobook downloads.

It has really changed my life, so I had to share it with you guys.
Cheers,
R.N
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