As someone with adhd I have the exact opposite experience. I can’t focus on a book if I just sit and read. I will get through 10 pages and realize I processed nothing because my mind wandered the whole time. But if I put on an audiobook and walk to cook or clean the house, I hear every word and comprehend so much more of it.

I do this with work calls too when I can - listen while walking or folding laundry even.

I'm an editor in my daily life, and I LOVE audiobooks because it's the only way to turn off the editing impulse. I have no trouble focusing, though I don't try to listen to audiobooks while doing something else that requires attention. (Driving, walking, or jogging are perfect.)

I will say, though, that for a long/serious book, sometimes the narrator's voice will really start getting to me, and become a distraction.

I don’t think very many people listen to audiobooks while sitting still on the couch. If you have a few minutes for that, you pick up a paper book. Audiobooks are for all those times when you have to be doing something else - making dinner, driving, exercising, etc.

Each has its place and I won’t apologize for optimizing my time and sneaking in a bit more literature in audio form. Giving the business of my current life, audiobooks are an important part of breaking up the drudgery of my constant commitments.

I haven't found this to be the case at all for me. There are certain books that I don't think work particularly well as audiobooks. For example, I tried listening to Little Women and there was way too much dialogue, so listening to the constant "she said" got repetitive. But I've listened to other "classics" recently (One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Scarlet Letter, Don Quixote) and found my comprehension to be a lot better than when I tried to read them as physical books.

The narrator can have a lot to do with engagement and comprehension as well. There are some narrators who just read in a monotone, or they're fine, but I don't particularly care for their voice and that turns me off to the book.

As for taking more time, that obviously depends on your reading speed and time. I can read quite quickly, but I don't often have the time to sit down these days with a book. BUT, I can listen to an audiobook on my commute or while I'm making school lunches for my kids, so I finish audiobooks much faster than I read, simply because I can't devote the time to picking up a book in the same way I can press play on my audiobook.

People like to think there's no trade-off with multitasking.

I'd rather have a paperback book, but I have two hours of commuting most days. I also listen to books while I do chores, cook, and get ready in the morning. During my kids ' sports practices, I often listen to books with an Airpod. I can't imagine life without Audible! I tried Libby but kept having issues with accidentally returning a book in the middle.

Anonymous wrote:Some people actually absorb more through listening than they do from reading. I tend to speed read sometimes and my mind can wander even with an actual book (versus an audiobook). Sure, I'm studying a text more when it's on paper and I'm making notes and re-reading passages, but I'm also not taking English Lit in college anymore.

Mostly I read or listen to books for the enjoyment of it. I get to go through more books by having an audio book and a regular book going at any given point in time, so that I can either be listening while doing something that wouldn't allow me to read or reading when I have the time. Mostly I'm doing it for entertainment, not "serious reading."

You're entitled to your opinion, but you sound like a snob and I don't think anyone cares whether or not you think they've "read" a book from your list of classics or not.

+1

I tend to skim and read physical books too quickly to catch everything. I slow down during audiobooks and catch so much more. I've gone back to relisten to old favorites and have picked up on more/different details than in the past.

On a related note, would you want your teenage kid to mainly get their literature from audiobooks? Because I wouldn't.

I have been listening to audiobooks for at least 10 years now. I listen to probably five audiobooks for every one book I read with my eyes.

I find that I retain better by listening to audio. When I read with my eyes, after about 20 minutes, my mind wanders to all the chores I could / should be doing instead of reading so then I set the book down and go do some chores for 30 minutes or a few hours. Then when I come back to the book I don't remember what was going on so I have to re-skim for a bit. Then after reading again for 20 minutes my mind again wanders to chores I need to do so I set the book down again. Repeat repeat repeat. Pretty soon I resent the book because it is preventing me from getting anything accomplished with my day. I suppose most of my resentment is from knowing that now I have a choice with most books as to whether to sit on my butt all day while reading or get things done while listening to the book via audio.

When I studied for the bar exam they had the textbooks available on CD at the library. I would pop them in my Discman and listen to them all the time. When I went to take the bar I could hear the voice of the reader explaining the various elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress, for example, and I was able to regurgitate it onto the page (I took the bar in VA when they offered it on paper). I learned so much better that way than I did reading the textbooks.

Some people actually absorb more through listening than they do from reading. I tend to speed read sometimes and my mind can wander even with an actual book (versus an audiobook). Sure, I'm studying a text more when it's on paper and I'm making notes and re-reading passages, but I'm also not taking English Lit in college anymore.

Mostly I read or listen to books for the enjoyment of it. I get to go through more books by having an audio book and a regular book going at any given point in time, so that I can either be listening while doing something that wouldn't allow me to read or reading when I have the time. Mostly I'm doing it for entertainment, not "serious reading."

You're entitled to your opinion, but you sound like a snob and I don't think anyone cares whether or not you think they've "read" a book from your list of classics or not.

Anonymous wrote:I'm bad at retention no matter what.

I like audiobooks for stuff I can space out to while taking my dog for walks and gardening. They're great for celebrity memoirs! I've listened to some novels as audiobooks, too, and enjoyed them - Nothing To See Here was a perfect 10, for example. I usually speed them up to 1.25 or 1.5 speed because otherwise they are too slow.

Anyway, glad you found what works for you, OP.

Totally agree, celebrity memoirs are great in this format!

I've also liked some collections of essays.

I have trouble focusing on longer/deeper audiobooks, though.

I've never enjoyed audiobooks (or books on tape in the old days). Too slow. I'm a fast reader. I've tried upping the speed, but, it's annoying to listen to the person talk fast.

Anonymous wrote:Hence "in my opinion."

It should be “in my experience “.

I'm bad at retention no matter what.

I like audiobooks for stuff I can space out to while taking my dog for walks and gardening. They're great for celebrity memoirs! I've listened to some novels as audiobooks, too, and enjoyed them - Nothing To See Here was a perfect 10, for example. I usually speed them up to 1.25 or 1.5 speed because otherwise they are too slow.

Anyway, glad you found what works for you, OP.