As you may know, I love books. I love perusing bookstore shelves, curling up with a new novel on the couch, and the feel of the paper across fingertips. However, more than anything, what I truly love are stories. Whether gossiping with friends over coffee, late-night movies, editing a Tartan article, or cracking open a new book, I love stories in all their forms. Today, I want to make the case for audiobooks, a way to encounter stories that, in my view, are every bit as valuable as “traditional” books.
Long before books or writing, people told stories. Oral storytelling is one of the oldest forms of historical record and communication. From Homer’s epics to the story of a 37,000-year-old volcano passed down among the Aboriginal Gunditjmara people, spoken stories captivated audiences. Most of our own first encounters with narrative were stories told to us by our families, long before we learned how to read. So, why is there this notion that modern oral stories are somehow less authentic?
While there is some evidence that people are more prone to distraction when listening to audiobooks and sometimes retain less, on the whole most people comprehend similarly when reading or listening for pleasure. Listening to audiobooks can also help people practice their listening skills, allowing some to even “catch up” to “traditional” readers.
People who obsess over what is and is not “real reading” are missing the point: reading is supposed to be fun. Listening to an audiobook in the car or while cleaning your apartment might not keep you super focused on the plot, but is still a worthwhile engagement with stories. If that’s the medium that works for you, there are some truly amazing audiobooks out there.
Still, most crucially, audiobooks were created for and are vital to disabled readers. They only exist because disabled folks advocated for accommodation, creating a reading space for themselves. When people discount audiobooks, they are also discounting their value to the many people who depend on them. It’s great that more non-disabled folks have also been listening to books, but we must also acknowledge why they exist and not pretend like audiobooks are somehow “cheating” reading.
In 1932, the American Foundation for the Blind established a recording studio attributed as the place where audiobooks were first developed. Now, they are a growing revenue source for the publishing industry. As of 2023, audiobooks have had 11 straight years of double-digit increases in audiobook sales with a revenue increase of 10 percent in 2022.
Not only are audiobooks an important creation, but it’s clear that they are well-loved. As book lovers, we need to stop policing other people’s reading habits and focus on what we all love: the stories.
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