Audiobooks Count as Reading: Why Story Connection Matters More Than Format
By
Angelica Thorne | Fiction
Summary
A reflective essay arguing that audiobooks count as reading, challenging the cultural bias that privileges visual reading over listening. The author contends that what matters is whether a story connects with and stays with the reader/listener, not the format through which it enters the brain. The piece addresses accessibility needs, the history of oral storytelling, and the arbitrary nature of format policing, ultimately advocating for a more inclusive understanding of what it means to engage with literature.
Source
Key quotes
· 5 pulledReading is not a purity test. It is a relationship between a story and a brain. If the story lands and stays with you, the method did its job.
The format police need to sit down. The story living in your head matters more than how it got there.
For many people, audiobooks aren't a preference. They're the only way in.
We've decided that reading with your eyes is the 'real' way, and everything else is a shortcut or a cheat. That's not tradition. That's gatekeeping.
The oral tradition predates the written word by tens of thousands of years. We are hardwired for story, not for paper.
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