Photo credit to Ben White On Unsplash.
Today I have the pleasure of hosting Bella Raine on my blog! She is an author, artist, fellow student at the Young Writer's Workshop, and friend that I got to meet very recently. Her and I decided to do a post swap on reading and you can find my post, Why We Should Re-Read, here.
You can learn more about Bella and sign up for her email list at bellaraine.com, but until then, I hope that you enjoy her bookish article as much I do!
Do Audiobooks Count As Real Reading? | 3 Reasons Why Audiobooks Make Your Life Better
Audiobooks. They can be quite the controversy; namely, do they count as “real reading”? Let me settle this once and for all. Absolutely, without a doubt… YES! In fact, audiobooks can even benefit you in different ways than reading can! That’s what I’m going to lay out today– how audiobooks actually are better than books in some ways!
This year I have listened to 106 hours of audiobooks, that’s over 4 straight days of audiobooks! 😲 So yes… if you couldn’t tell already, I’m slightly obsessed with audiobooks, but enough about me, let me tell you WHY!
One | You Can Multi-Task
I’m a big multi-tasker! If I’m doing a craft, coloring, painting, anything where I’m doing something with my hands, I want to be listening to something! I love music but most of the time I’ll pop in my headphones and turn on a book. When you’re reading a real paper copy of a book, reading that book is the only thing you can do, which is amazing in itself. (I’ve yet to unlock the secret to painting while reading a book… If you do, please let me know! 😜) But audiobooks enable you to feed your soul with books while crafting, cleaning, running, etc!
Two| “Grammatically Correct Sophistication Language Patterns”
This concept/phrase comes from Sarah Mackenzie from Read Aloud Revival, and it’s fascinating! Often when you physically read a book— sometimes without knowing it— you’ll skim, skip, and breeze over challenging parts of prose. But when you listen to an audiobook, those “grammatically correct sophisticated language patterns” are fed into your brain, without you being able to skip over it! And that does wonders for your writing brain, helping improve your understanding of story, your prose, and your overall knowledge of the English language!
Three| More Invested In The Story
This is more of a personal opinion, but for me when I listen to an audiobook I feel more immersed in the world. The characters come alive with voices, inflections, and emotion. The suspense is palpable. I feel as though I am in the story. I definitely feel like that while reading a book also but there is something special about listening to a book, in my opinion.
Have I convinced you? I hope so! 😉 If you’re not sure where to find a place to listen to audiobooks, try Hoopla, Libby, and Audible! Hoopla and Libby are free through your local library whereas Audible is a paid subscription (well worth it, I believe). You can find my top ten favorite books here, if you’re wanting a new audiobook to check out!
There you have it, friends! See you among the shelves!
- Bella Raine