Aug 7th, 2008 | Books survey

Does listening to an audiobook count as reading the book?


My friend listened to an unabridged audiobook version of Crime and Punishement claiming it is the same as reading the novel. I disagreed. She asked me if she is expected to now read the novel in order for it to be considered actually reading the novel...so I ask you...



Does listening to an audiobook count as reading the book?


47 votes, 143 views , 7 comments
 
 
Poll tags:Books, Audiobooks, Crime And Punishment

 
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Comments (7)
Gigi
(Reply)
Minnesota, United States

posted Aug 12th, 2008 at 18:17 CDT

aren't a lot of them abridged?

Drowlord
(Reply)
Texas, United States

posted Aug 8th, 2008 at 13:25 CDT

The joy in having a friend read the same book that I read is that we can discuss the characters, the plot, the settings, clever phrases that we enjoyed, etc... and I really think that I could enjoy that with a person who listened to a book, rather than having actually read it.  (provided that it was unabridged)On some egotistical level, I appreciate that the actual act of reading is (and should be) more prestigious.  However, I am inclined to split hairs of this sort on totally different types of things (like programming a function vs reading source code for a function).  When it comes to reading, I'm not that snobby about the means by which someone acquires the knowledge -- just the level of retention and comprehension.  In fact, I'm often pretty happy to discuss a book that I read with someone who watched a movie adaptation of the book.Not that I read that much, these days.

Dnscal
(Reply)
Pennsylvania, United States

posted Aug 7th, 2008 at 16:08 CDT

I agree with Drowlord, your not actually reading but you are taking in the information. I don't think I'd like to read a book or listen to the audio book -- I'll wait for the movie to come out!Readings books to me is like a punishment, I can thank my former Teachers and my Parnets for this.  When I would get in trouble they would tell me to go read a book. And til this day for me reading is like sitting in the corner!

Alterego
(Reply)
California, United States

posted Aug 7th, 2008 at 15:24 CDT

If you spent precious time reading an epic novel all the way through, and someone else claimed to have read it by listening it while commuting to work...would you feel they actually read it?

Alterego
(Reply)
California, United States

posted Aug 7th, 2008 at 15:22 CDT

True, it does deserve concentration, but do you get as much out of listening to it?

Mscrowe
(Reply)
Florida, United States

posted Aug 7th, 2008 at 11:06 CDT

You still have to concentrate.

Drowlord
(Reply)
Texas, United States

posted Aug 7th, 2008 at 10:59 CDT

I don't consider it to be "precisely" the same as reading, but I frequently claim to have "read" a book that I actually listened to via audiobook.  When all is said and done, my exposure to the information is nearly identical to a reading experience.

 
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