
Are Audiobooks as Good for You as Reading? - nikolasavic
http://time.com/5388681/audiobooks-reading-books/
======
simonsarris
Reading is good, but re-reading is _sublime._ If you think of reading a book
as something "good for you", the amount you gain on the second time around (in
what you commit to memory, and what you notice in detail, esp for works of
fiction) cannot be overstated. If you've never re-read a book I highly suggest
picking up your favorite work of literature and giving it a go.

Now many people don't want to re-read a book because they could be reading a
new book with that time, and many people say the world (even driving) is too
distracting for full concentration on an audiobook. Let me propose that you
try "re-reading" your favorite books by listening to them on audiobook. I have
been doing this on my commute and it is 95% as good as giving the book a
textual re-read.

You are already familiar with all of the material, so spacing out for a minute
here and there is no big deal. I don't want to descend into wacky hyperbole,
but I really super strongly recommend listening to audiobooks that you have
already read. Try it!

~~~
derekp7
I've had good success flipping between an audiobook while commuting, and
reading the next chapters at home at night. My brain was able to seamlessly
meld the two modes together.

~~~
soganess
This. So much this.

Specifically when reading fiction for pleasure, an audiobook can provide too
much "color" not indented by the author. This, alone, makes it hard to
recommend an audiobook as a solo source. However, having that second voice can
force you to rethink your readings of specific situations. It can challenge
you to really dig in when your understanding does line up with the reader's
tone.

The first example that comes to mind is the English translation of "100 Years
of Solitude" on Audible. All the voices have a comedian's intonation,
especially Melquíades, who is supposed to be an Armenian gypsy, but instead
comes across like a poor man's Count Dracula. That said, the temporal
complexity of the novel is really clarified with a second voice, regardless
how over the top it is.

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emodendroket
I don't know if it's just me. I listen to a lot of podcasts and audio lectures
because, well, what else am I going to do while I do housework? But audiobooks
I find pretty much impossible to listen to without my mind wandering, even if
it's a book I'm interested in.

~~~
unoti
It's possible what you're doing takes too much higher order thinking. Try it
while driving or walking, instead of housework!

~~~
coherentpony
Driving doesn't require higher order thinking?

I can't do anything else while I'm driving. I'm constantly looking at where
people are; who's around me; and where I think other people are going.

Maybe it's just me but I couldn't possibly keep my concentration on a story
being read to me while I drive.

~~~
lucb1e
Very different for me: unless I'm in a busy and unknown city, driving is
pretty much autopilot for my brain.

I guess that is why so many people try to do things like texting while
driving. Not saying that's a good thing, just that I think many people feel
the same way and their minds want to occupy themselves with other, more
interesting things.

In case you can't relate, I guess it would be similar to taking laundry out of
a washing machine. It's hard to automate in the sense that you still have to
operate that five-fingered hand and think about whether you grabbed something,
whether something you're half-holding might fall between the basket and the
washing machine (if you have such a gap, that's something to watch out for),
so there is definitely some thought to it, but it's also definitely mind-
numbing (imagine doing this half an hour without interruption). If this really
took half an hour, I bet many people would try to use their free hand to text
or scroll past news.

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teilo
There is too much variance from reader to reader, narrator to narrator, and
one type of material to another for surface-level studies to be helpful here.

People read and comprehend differently. For example, when reading it is very
easy to skim, even when you don't intend to. In other words, reading too fast,
such that you speed through parts you consider boring to get to parts you find
more interesting. With an audio book, you cannot do this.

Also, distraction is not necessarily more of a problem in audio books than
with printed material. Some people, myself included, can actually continue to
read while their thoughts are in some other place. I often find myself reading
one thing, while thinking of something else entirely, and having to go back
and re-read what I just read. This is the mental equivalent of hitting the "30
second back" button on an audio book.

In general, I find myself absorbing audio books better than printed books,
particularly when it comes to fiction. It forces me to take the book at an
even pace, and thus I often come away with more detail and remember it better.

But the subject matter also makes a difference. I prefer audio books hands
down for fiction, _unless_ the narrator is Ben-Stein-boring or difficult to
listen to. For non-fiction, audio books may or may not have the edge. For a
non-technical subject such as history, audio books have the edge. For all
math, unfamiliar science, or anything that requires a slower, more detailed
examination of a subject, printed books win every time.

------
BooneJS
I only started listening to audiobooks when my commute grew to over an hour
each way. They’re great to pass the time and I learn a lot from nonfiction,
but I really wish I could dogear sound snippets.

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chad_strategic
I listen to audiobooks when I’m coding or on the bicycle. But most the books I
listen to are kinda of “lesser qualility”. Like I listen to this book called
“stealing fire”, it kinda of a new take on old business concepts. Had I
actually sat down and read the book I would have been annoyed, that I wasted
my time with it. But listening to it while doing something else made it seem
okay. My retention was decent, there where times when I had to rewind. In the
end, that’s fine because the book wasn’t that good.

I read real books on the kindle. Academic and interesting books that I want to
completely get absorbed into.

It isn’t said enough but I think that the kindle paper white is one of the
best e readers. It does hurt the eyes, it has very connection to the internet
so u won’t get distracted. At the end of the day it just works great. (The
OS/UX/UI is an little weird)

~~~
liveoneggs
how can you focus on a book and write code? is it really so mechanical?

~~~
WillPostForFood
writing tests?

~~~
lucb1e
Depends on what kind of tests you're writing, but even there I'd say it takes
too much concentration to do both. At least if you don't want to miss 50% of
the fragment you're listening to.

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ElCapitanMarkla
I think it totally depends on who the reader is. Currently listening to Ed
Thorpe’s A Man for all Markets while I walk the dog each day. I wouldn’t say
he’s the best speaker I’ve ever heard but just the fact that it’s him has me
gripped.

Dan Carlin’s podcasts, I could listen to him all day.

~~~
NeedMoreTea
Totally. A poor narrator can ruin the finest author's work. There are some
narrators that are superb at characterisation and voicing and can pull you
into a story completely. Then there are a lot in the middle and some that make
a terrible job of it - yet never seem to fail to get repeat job offers.

Sadly I find Audible heavily over represent the poorest readers and quit my
subscription over it years ago.

Author and narrator are equally important when I'm deciding whether to buy.
The best narrators have me seeking out what they've narrated and see if
there's anything else that appeals.

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smsm42
Audiobooks are much better for me than reading. If I read at the time I
typically use audiobooks, I'd be dead _and_ arrested. Seriously though, I
spend non-negligible time per day driving around, and audiobooks are a
godsend.

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antt
I use espeak to listen to text without having to rely on another human for
reading it.

I find it's just another tool for getting information, one that's replaced
skimming since it's less mental effort and higher retention. A lot of text
doesn't need anything more to be understood, some I listen to multiple times,
some I slow down to understand better, some I have to read to see in context
of diagrams/maths/code and some I need to go through with pen and paper (or
keyboard and computer).

An unexpected benefit for my own writing is that it highlights spelling errors
and odd grammar much better than anything.

In general literary writing, like the article, is perfectly suited for
listening to rather than reading. And at my current listening speed of ~750
wpm it frees up a lot of time.

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santa_boy
I just picked up audiobooks with a lot of skepticism a few months back. I was
surprised to find they are actually very useful!

I live in Bangalore where a 2-3 hr daily commute is quite normal and
audiobooks are very easy to adapt to.

Similar to reading, I feel audiobooks have the same issues related to adoption
... whatsapp, facebook, HN, disturbance from people and email. These
distractors are pretty much eliminated while driving .. so the car is really a
good place to listen!

I finished Skin in Game, Option-B, Growth Mindset so far and actually quite
happy with the results. I must confess, the level of distractions in today's
world is unfathomable and my resilience is quite sad.

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dominotw
[http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00986283.2010.48...](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00986283.2010.488542)

I cant tell what the podcast is about. If its something boring as 'course
material' then the outcome is predictiable, its easy to get distracted and let
your mind wander if you are listening to something boring.

But if you are listening to something captivating like the serial podcast then
podcast is actually superior, audible cues by the narrator add another
dimension to the experience.

------
amanzi
For me - I prefer fiction audiobooks over non-fiction. Non-fiction often
requires re-reading certain paragraphs or flicking between sections to refresh
my memory on certain points. But with a good fiction book I can just relax and
let the words wash over me and get lost in the story.

My favourite book on Audible is The Green Mile by Stephen King read by Frank
Muller. It's an experience that can't be matched by a physical book. The
narration is top notch and you feel really invested in the story.

------
Insanity
Regardless of this. Reading is something I either do to learn something
interesting or to relax. Depending on this I choose my medium for consumption.

Frankly ebooks (kindle) have my preference now for almost everything except
books containing code or mathematics. Paper books are better to me in that
domain.

If something is "good" for your specific use case will depend on many things.
Convenience being a factor as well as personal preference.

------
bcheung
For me, no, written books are better than audio books, but audio books are
better when I'm in a situation where I can't be reading (commute in car,
jogging, cooking, etc).

It makes sense that audiobooks have less comprehension because people tend to
listen to audio books when they are engaged in other activities at the same
time. With written books people are usually more focused.

~~~
unoti
> It makes sense that audiobooks have less comprehension...

And yet, interestingly, their study didn't find any significant difference in
comprehension.

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protomyth
I love reading an actual book (iPad is a bit of a pain), but I’m in the car
over an hour a day. So, I do like audiobooks and have an Audible subscription.

My enjoyment really depends on the narrator. An appropriate to the material
narrator is a joy, but some are just awful. The authors reads 1776 and he is
awesome. I do love the radio dramas with a full cast.

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kregasaurusrex
With audiobooks and podcasts, I don't feel anywhere near the same levels of
retention compared with reading a book or watching a video. Even when wholly
focused on the audio during a bus commute, my mind doesn't have the same
levels of immersion when reading a book or news article.

~~~
colechristensen
Have you tried increasing the speed of the audio?

I find retention and understanding to be greatly increased when I don't get
bored or distracted in between words and phrases.

~~~
jstandard
Interesting, I've generally had the exact opposite occur for me, though it
depends on narrator and context.

I typically listen while driving. Anything past 1.25x was an illusion of
productivity trap. I could hear the words and understand the concepts, but
there wasn't any time to digest what I'd heard.

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rokhayakebe
Whatever captures most of your attention should be better for you in terms of
comprehension and memorization. You can hardly read a book and pay attention
to something else. You can walk and check your Instagram feed while listening
to an audiobook.

~~~
nohnce
Validity of this study might be disputable since I'm not as experienced
scrutinizing scientific studies, but visual and auditory information is shown
to have close corollary effect. Retention and comprehension is supposedly
similar, so I agree with you. Engagement is definitely key.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081613/#!po=8....](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081613/#!po=8.92857)

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purplezooey
That's not the question. It's whether audiobooks are as good for you as
quietly sobbing wondering how many hours of your life you've given to the
Sunol Grade.

------
maxxxxx
For me it depends a lot on the reader. With some readers I get totally
absorbed whereas with other readersi can't keep listening although the content
may be very good.

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frizkie
I don't think people read because it's "good for them".

~~~
emodendroket
Oh, come on now. You don't think anyone ever read Virgil or Milton or the
Bible or a dense history book more out of a desire for self-edification than
from enjoyment? As Twain once said, "the classics are the books everyone wants
to have read but nobody wants to read."

~~~
esrauch
I don't think anyone (for acceptable tolerances of "anyone") reads those at
all.

~~~
emodendroket
Are you being serious? You think nobody reads the Bible?

I've read all of them for what it's worth

------
lowry
There is lack of decently read audiobooks in English at any price, and the
situation changes little over time. Dictors are horrible and even blockbuster
titles like "The Name of the Wind" have poor recordings.

On the other hand, I have access to a wealth of audiobooks in Russian, ranging
from free-as-in-beer recordings from Vlad Kopp, Serguey Kirsanov and Igor
Knyazev to literally hundreds of $2-4$ offers on litres.ru.

Interpreting audiobooks is an art. Some audiobooks are great performances that
influence popular culture, like "Hard to be a god", starring Leonid Yarmolnik.
Vlad Kopp gathers concert halls for his live reading performances. Igor
Knyazev has a cult following.

If there is an example of copyright stifling culture, this is it. Russians had
laxist copyright rules for a while, and the art of producing audiobooks
flourished.

~~~
yesenadam
I was going to ask about this (English ones being badly read) - I tried a few
out years ago, and...every non-English name, place, book, etc was grossly
mispronounced. As if somehow no-one realized that was important. And I really
would rather not hear something written by an English, French or German writer
read in a US accent, mispronunciations or not.

I used to have a few cassette tapes with famous poets reading their own poems,
they were amazing.

