Audiobooks should count toward your reading goal

If you’ve ever been on the bookish side of social media, you may have come across one of the most heated debates among readers: do audiobooks “count” as reading? 

The question arises from the idea of reading goals. At the beginning of each year, readers around the world set a number of books they hope to read throughout the year, often on online reading trackers such as Goodreads or Storygraph. When someone finishes reading a certain book, they log it and count it toward their individual goal for the year. 

As with many things on the internet, reading goals have become competitive in nature. Readers feel they need to prove themselves as “real” readers based on how many books they have read in one year. And so the question was born: should listening to audiobooks count just as much as reading a physical book? 

The short answer: yes. 

As someone who has been an avid reader my entire life, I can confidently say that audiobooks are just as legitimate as physical books. Honestly, I was fairly anti-audiobook up until last year. That tied hand-in-hand with me being anti-ebook as well, because I would’ve much rather held a physical book in my hand than anything else. 

But I saw the light in 2024; of the 81 books I read, audiobooks counted for around one-fifth of my reading. Never before had I read audiobooks, but I plan to make them a part of my reading journey for a long time to come. 

The single most important benefit of audiobooks is the accessibility they give to reading. Not only do audiobooks provide a way for blind and visually impaired people to read, but they also provide many with ADHD or dyslexia a more enjoyable reading experience, according to Casey Harrison, a certified academic language therapist. 

Even on a historical note, the art of storytelling has been an oral tradition far longer than physical books have been in the hands of the people. In that sense, audiobooks are more authentic to the original way of storytelling. 

Some argue that since audiobooks and books are different mediums, readers can’t possibly consume books the way the author initially intended. But if that were the case, should we not consider reading the “The Iliad” as actually consuming it? “The Iliad,” an ancient Greek epic poem, was likely orally composed for performance, according to the University of Michigan. 

If that’s the argument, does anything that’s translated from one language to another count as actually reading it? I don’t think many people would agree with that, and I don’t think it’s any different for audiobooks. 

Just because the author wrote down the words to be read in physical book form does not discredit a reader consuming the exact same words in another way. Nothing about the words are being changed, someone is just reading them aloud. 

Science actually shows similarities in how the human brain engages with the written versus the auditory story. A study from The Journal of Neuroscience found our brains take in narratives the same way whether we visually read it or listen to it. There isn’t a fundamental difference in our cognitive processes whether we read a physical book or audiobook.

I will admit that reading and listening are separate sensory experiences. I am a constant utterer of the “the book was better.” The argument that you could not count a movie as reading is something I agree with, but I do think audiobooks are fundamentally different from watching a movie. 

Proponents of the “audiobooks aren’t reading” side often say that since the narrator provides inflection and tone, there isn’t much left to interpret as a reader. In that case, narrators are interpreting dialogue, but the burden is still on the reader’s brain to imagine what the setting looks like, what the characters’ facial expressions are and everything else in the scene. 

Whether you read a book on the page or through headphones, you’re still engaging with a long-form story that requires you to think critically about plot elements.  

Another difference between audiobooks and movies is the time it takes to consume either medium. Some of my favorite sci-fi and fantasy books are over 15 hours in length. I could watch at least five movies in that time. Additionally, I would actually save time if I were to read the words on the page instead of the audiobook. 

Even though audiobooks are a bigger time commitment, I find myself having more time to read them than I do physical books. As a busy college student, often the only instances I have time for myself is when I’m commuting. Being able to read as I walk to class or go to work allows me to fit my favorite hobby into my demanding schedule.

Audiobooks can enhance the reading experience so much, especially when it is the author reading their own book. I particularly enjoy that circumstance when it comes to memoirs because hearing the author tell their own story is incredibly moving. One of my favorites is Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died.” 

I highly recommend any audiobook read by Moira Quirk, one of my favorite audiobook narrators.  She reads a lot of sci-fi/fantasy and historical fiction. She has such an affinity for accents and character voices that she can make any text feel as if it has come to life. 

If you have a library card, Libby is the place to go for audiobooks. Libby is an app and online platform that functions as a digital library. You do need a library card through an actual library to access it. 

If you are a current Lincoln or Lancaster county resident, you can get a library card for free at Lincoln City Libraries. As a student, you can bring your college ID and a recent piece of mail from your Lincoln address to any Lincoln branch library to sign up. Many other public libraries around the nation also offer access to digital materials, I encourage looking into the offerings at your local library. 

Or, if you need a place to purchase audiobooks from, I recommend Libro.fm. The app and website are super easy to use and they have all the audiobooks you could ever want. However, the best part of the site is that you can choose any independent bookstore to support and a portion of the money you spend will go to support that store. 

At the end of the day, your reading is yours. You shouldn’t care what other people decide is or isn’t reading, instead read whatever you want. Reading can be such a rewarding hobby, and I’m thankful audiobooks are creating more readers and providing accessibility. Personally, I will be counting audiobooks toward my reading goal for years to come.

Published in the Daily Nebraskan, read here.

Art by Sophie Goessling