Why Not Try an Audio Book? by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

Audiobooks saw a big uptick in sales during the pandemic. Why did so many people listen to audiobooks rather than reading from digital or paper versions of stories? There are many reasons, and they often depend upon the individual, but one of the main reasons is the ability to enjoy a story with a more social feel. If you go for a walk to get out of the house and don’t like being around others, you can still enjoy the feel of being social by listening to someone talk to you.   

Reading may seem more personal, since you come up with the sounds and images yourself. However, with audiobooks, there’s still an intimate feel of enjoying a story, firsthand. Although you don’t form an impression of how various characters sound, you can still imagine how they look. Some people may even be better able to visualize the characters when they hear the sound of ‘their’ voice.  Listening is also having someone talk to you alone, right into your ear, using inflection, accents, and dramatic pauses to illicit an emotional response.

Several studies have been done comparing the comprehension retained between audio and written words and it was found that since you can rewind and relisten to audio, just as you can reread portions of written text, there was little difference between what was retained between the control groups.

One huge advantage that audio books have over written text, whether in paperback or digital, is that you can multitask while reading. Although this may cause some distraction depending upon the activity, listening to a book on audio isn’t likely to lesson your cardio while on a treadmill or how much dust you pick up while vacuuming.  

If you haven’t tried audio books before, you should at least give one a try. If nothing else, it will lessen the boredom of waiting in a lobby or in a long line. You can listen to them on your phone with a sound blocking head or earphone jack, and these days even planes have phone chargers.

If you need suggestions, here are a couple more:

Like a little diversity and a tingle running down your spine?