04-12-2021, 10:55 AM
(04-12-2021, 10:31 AM)Trigger Wrote: Scientifically reading a book vs listening to an audiobook would be one and the same as they both stimulate the same brain activity and responses
So I've heard, and I certainly don't know enough to contradict the scientists who say so. But to me, when you read, you've giving your full attention to a book. But when you're listening, you're just not doing the same. People usually use audiobooks so they can do housework at the same time, or exercise, or drive. To me, that just can't be the same experience.
Then there's the stuff you miss out on if you're doing audio - things like drawings (Michael Crichton books, for example, usually have explanatory drawings along with the text), or maps, or simply made up languages in made up alphabets that just can't be spoken (I read a lot of fantasy so get a lot of this).
Then there's the fact that audiobooks have now become more like radio plays. It's not a straight up reading of the book any more. There's a cast of readers, and background music appropriate to the scene. All this is great entertainment. As I said, I've no problem with them as a form of entertainment. But it's not reading. You're hearing characters using accents and tones of voice, that are being interpreted for you, instead of letting you use your imagination as you would if you were reading it yourself.