[kamranjon]

In your examples you are always doing something else while listening to an audio book. This was the authors point. Reading is the activity - and I definitely agree - I still listen to audio books, but for a different purpose, to avoid boredom when exercising, etc but I don’t consider this reading. I really think most people can learn quite a bit, especially in this age of instant gratification, by sitting down and performing just the task of reading. For me it is a huge boon for my mental health to engage in this way. I think you could do it with audio books too, but I don’t know a single person who engages with them in that solitary way, it is always an addition to some other activity.

[bonoboTP]

There are activities that are quite autopilot, like vacuuming, washing dishes etc. Such activities have always allowed for listening to language, typically in a group.

Of course this is not for difficult math textbooks or dense philosophy.

[kriro]

Listening to audiobooks for me is a learned skill. when I started my mind used to wander off and I couldn't tell you what I just listened to. Now for autopilot activities I'm hyper focused on the books. I have increased the speed to roughly 1.3x which seems to be the sweetspot for my brain. Faster sounds like robot-voices to me and slower made me wander off.

I completely agree with the "mental health" boon to taking time, slowing down and focusing on an activity. This can be done with audiobooks, too. I sometimes sit on my couch and listen to an audiobook, too.

[jasonlotito]

> but I don't know a single person who engages with them in that solitary way,

We exist. You won't know because it's solitary. You have to ask, and I doubt you've asked people specifically if they "engage with them" in that way.

I also think it depends on what you are reading. I read for enjoyment using audio books. I read to learn using real books. If you equate the two and assume someone using audio books is using them for non-fiction to learn something, I really think you are out of touch.

[kamranjon]

I actually have asked many people, because it's something that's frequently on my mind (I had a bit of a revival with reading and do have some strong opinions about how it's helped me). Are you suggesting that you listen to audio books while sitting silently in a chair at your home? That's great! I just don't think that is true for the majority of people. The benefit by and large, as far as I can gather, for most people, is being able to consume something while doing something else. And like I said, that's fine - and I use it myself when exercising - but I just don't consider it reading - and think of it as a separate type of activity that doesn't require the level of engagement that reading a physical book does.

[agumonkey]

I still want to try audiobooks more, but I agree that cutting your mind and diving into the words is something quite special. And I was convinced that ebook readers or tablets or whatever from the 2010s would be able to top that but so far I never saw it getting close. Weird.