Moon joyMay 22, 2021

Reading audiobooks is still reading.

If you say you read an audiobook you don't have to "correct" yourself. I'd argue that you /shouldn't/, that you'd get less correct.

There's no need to say "well no I didn't read it" if it was an audiobook. There's no need to put "reading" in scare quotes.

It's reading just as much as reading print is.

I know there are worse problems, but it sucks having my favored reading format denigrated by sighted people, even to the point of them denying it's "real."

Show threadMoon joy

For the avoidance of doubt (I think I've just been softblocked over this??), I am not saying that visual and aural reading are identical. As a partially-sighted person with typical hearing, I find one modality much easier than the other!

I'm not making a point about sensory input. You can prefer one to the other! That's fine! This is a call to action, to stop saying and to watch out for others saying that audiobooks aren't "real" or don't "count" or are somehow inferior to print. That's all.

Jan 5, 2022 at 10:24pmWeb
Show threadfelix coldwater 🌻Jan 5, 2022
@bright_helpings i think people get mad at me bc i don’t specify that i include audiobooks in reading like i’ve been subtooted over this implying i’m being ableist for talking about how people should read more. but like it’s the same thing why wouldn’t i include audiobooks in this. it’s literally the same content lol
Show threadMoon joyJan 5, 2022
@shade I have sure encountered some weird ideas since making posts like these! People are wild.
Show threadfelix coldwater 🌻Jan 5, 2022
@bright_helpings just think it’s funny how this sort of thing is policed and there are snobs on both sides. it’s the same with people reading from actual books vs e-readers. ur both reading the same thing what’s the issue lol
Show threadMoon joyJan 5, 2022
@shade Yeah a small but noisy minority of people who bang on about books or the joys of reading or whatever don't actually like those things, they like feeling superior to other people.
Show threadDraic inna n-airscél n-amraeJan 6, 2022
@bright_helpings
Do you mean you saw my reply but suddenly it isn't there?
That was merely me deleting it, because I felt not completely sure if it actually was a good idea to post it...
Show threadClifstanNov 24, 2022

@bright_helpings
I've recently switched to mostly audiobooks and still struggling a bit with calling it reading but it's not that I think audiobooks are less valid (I grew up with listening to books read aloud as being a normal form of experiencing books), it's more like that I think of reading as the process of deciphering text, and so there are two perfectly valid ways of experiencing a book, reading and listening.

I am still making the switch but I grudge a bit just saying "I listened to X book" isn't just a good way to say it that adds information on how I experienced the book.