Audiobooks Count. Here’s Why.

Some readers feel audiobooks are “cheating.” They worry that listening to a novel while folding laundry doesn’t count the same way as sitting in a chair with a paperback. We hear this in our inbox every month, usually from people who quietly love audiobooks but feel a little guilty about it. Here is our answer: listening is reading. Many researchers say comprehension is similar for most books, whether you take them in through your eyes or your ears, and the joy of a story well told is the same either way.

This piece is for the skeptics and the secret listeners alike. We will look at what listening does well, where print still has the edge, how to pick a great narrator and how to fit more books into a busy life without giving up anything that matters.

What the debate gets wrong

The “cheating” argument usually rests on the idea that reading is mainly about decoding text. That is an important skill, especially for children who are learning to read. But for most adult readers, the real work of reading happens after the words are decoded. We follow a plot, picture a scene, care about a character, notice a theme and remember what happened. Those things happen whether a book is printed or spoken.

Storytelling is also far older than writing. For most of human history, stories, poems and histories were passed down by voice. Epic poems were recited, folk tales were told around fires, and sermons and speeches shaped whole communities. Listening isn’t a shortcut around literature. It is one of the original ways we experienced it.

Think about how many of us first fell in love with books. For a lot of readers, it was a parent reading at bedtime, a teacher reading to the class after lunch or a grandparent telling the same story every summer. Nobody suggested those children were cheating. They were hearing a story, imagining it and asking for more. Audiobooks simply extend that experience into adulthood, with a professional narrator in place of a tired parent doing all the voices.

There is also the question of what reading is for. If you read to relax, to learn, to escape or to understand other people, listening can deliver every one of those rewards. Our editors would much rather see a busy parent finish twelve audiobooks in a year than feel too guilty to start any of them.

Stories began as spoken words. Audiobooks are just going back home.

Our books editor

When they shine

Commutes, chores and long drives become reading time. That is the most practical case for audiobooks, and it is a strong one. Many of our readers tell us they finished more books in a year of listening than in the five years before. A thirty-minute drive each way adds up to roughly five hours a week, which is enough for a novel every week or two.

Here are the moments our readers say audiobooks work best:

• Driving to work, school pickups and weekend errands
• Walking the dog, jogging or long hikes on easy trails
• Cooking, cleaning, gardening and folding laundry
• Road trips, especially with the whole family listening together
• Winding down at night when your eyes are tired from screens

Audiobooks are also a gift for readers with low vision, dyslexia or other conditions that make print reading harder. For many people, listening isn’t a convenience but the most comfortable way to enjoy books at all. That alone should settle the question of whether it counts.

Books that sound better

Some books seem made for listening. Memoirs read by the author feel personal and immediate. Comic novels often get funnier with good timing. Books with a lot of dialogue, regional voices or multiple narrators can come alive in a full-cast recording. And poetry, as our poetry editor would remind you, was always meant to be heard.

Where print still helps

We don’t want to oversell it. There are books where print has a real advantage. Dense nonfiction with charts, maps or complex arguments can be hard to follow by ear, especially if you are also driving. Novels with unusual formatting, footnotes or shifting timelines may be easier to track on the page. And if you are studying a text closely, you will likely want a copy you can mark up.

Attention matters, too. If your mind drifts while you listen, you may miss more than you would in print, simply because it is harder to glance back a paragraph. Many listeners solve this by pairing difficult books with simple tasks, like walking, rather than busy ones, like merging onto a highway.

Key takeaway: Match the format to the book and the moment. Many readers switch between print and audio for the same title.

Pick the right narrator

A great narrator can make a book unforgettable. A poor match can make a great book feel flat. Since you will spend hours with this voice, it is worth taking a minute to choose well. Most audiobook apps and library services offer a free sample of a few minutes, and we strongly suggest listening before you commit.

1. Listen to the sample at normal speed. Notice pacing, tone and whether the voice feels comfortable to you.
2. Check how they handle dialogue. Good narrators make characters distinct without turning them into cartoons.
3. Look for narrators you already love. Many apps let you search by narrator, which is a great way to discover new books.
4. Consider author-read memoirs. Even if the author isn’t a trained performer, hearing their own voice can add warmth.
5. Try adjusting the speed. Some listeners prefer a slightly faster pace, while others slow down for complex books.

Making listening a habit

If you are new to audiobooks, start with a book you would enjoy in any format, ideally something with a strong plot. Mysteries, thrillers, memoirs and light comic novels are all good first choices. Save the slow, dense literary novel for later, once you have found your listening rhythm.

Your local library is the best place to begin. Most library systems lend audiobooks for free through apps you can use on your phone, and many have short wait lists for popular titles. Some readers keep two books going at once, one in print at home and one in audio for the car, so there is always a story waiting.

It also helps to give listening a home in your day. Maybe the mystery only plays in the car, or the memoir only comes out on your morning walk. Tying a book to a routine makes it easy to pick up where you left off, and it gives ordinary tasks something to look forward to.

Count every book

If you are taking part in our reading-challenge countdown, yes, audiobooks count toward your total. So do graphic novels, poetry collections and books you read aloud to your kids. Reading isn’t a contest about format. It is about spending time with stories and ideas, and finding ways to do that more often.

So put on your headphones without apology. Let the narrator carry you through the dishes, the traffic and the long walk home. When someone asks whether you have read that new novel everyone is talking about, you can say yes, and mean it. The story found you, and that is what matters.