Is Listening the Same as Reading?

I love to read books.  But I have a confession to make:  Sometimes I listen to books instead of reading them.  

In my CNN days, I had a habit of decompressing from the news by cycling home and listening to whatever was new on my Audible downloads, sometimes overshooting my house just to hear the end of the chapter.

But when I mentioned this to a friend, they exclaimed: “But that’s not the same thing! That’s cheating!”

Is listening to a book as good as reading? Apparently a lot of deep thought has been expended on this question.

Certainly listening to a story is different than reading a story. You are experiencing it through the filter of the narrator’s voice, which can be a magical experience. And, for me, the narrator can make the connection to a story even more powerful. I’ll give you some examples.

Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, narrated by George Guidall: I was drawn in by Guidall’s resonant voice that hovers somewhere between a drawl and a twang. For my ears, he was an excellent guide to this sprawling American epic, capturing the thoughts of old and young, male and female, mining the dark humour that sustains the novel. I also like this revealing read on the story behind the voice.

Madeline Miller’s Circe, narrated by Perdita Weeks: I started listening to this on a long flight back to the US and I just couldn’t stop, even when I had landed. It felt like a guilty pleasure, it went by so fast. Week’s silky but steely voice grounded the fantastical elements of this feminist reimagining of one of my favourite characters in Greek mythology.

Chimamandah Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, narrated by Adjoa Andoh: This was my first introduction to Adichie’s vibrant writing. And it was love at first listen. What I especially liked about Andoh’s narration was the way she sounded like an old friend who is gently telling me some hard truths, re-introducing me to an America I only thought I knew and then kindly introducing me to a whole new world in Nigeria.

Oops. I did not intend for this post to sound like a plug for Audible. It just happens to be the place I look for audio books.

No matter where you stand on the issue, you’ll get a laugh out of this video from the Baroness Von Sketch Show. Enjoy!