What is Better? Reading Or Listening to Books
Welcome to the great showdown of the 21st century! In one corner, we have the age-old tradition of reading books, which requires the dexterity of the fingers and the artistry of the mind. In the other corner, we have the modern marvel of audiobooks, promising to serenade your ears with voiceovers to paint the picture. It's the clash of the literary titans, and I’m here to unravel the delightful mysteries of this battle.
Both have merit. Both reading and listening empower you to be the director of your own mental movie. Imagine having the liberty to choose the ideal cast for each character's voice or to adjust the lighting and ambiance of each scene. You can slow down time to savor a poignant moment or fast-forward to uncover a plot twist. With every paragraph or spoken word, you command the camera angles, zooming in on emotions and panoramas that captivate you. In this realm, you are not merely a passive audience; you are an active collaborator, bringing the story to life with your creative vision.
This ability to direct continues to weaken over time by selecting the movie version over books. We can then no longer design the character the same way. We get forced to use someone else’s interpretation of how a scene unfolds. We end up with production companies and studios cutting and slashing pivotal scenes and moments or the movie would be 5-6 hours long. Or worse… completely ruining a character.
While I don’t spend a lot of time on non-fiction, unless it’s comic books and watching tons of movies. There is such an importance of actively using your mind to create abstract imagery. It is a skill. A skill we hone as youth and then lose as we age. We have become so accustomed to movies and other visuals we lose our ability to direct scenes. We stop creating faces and subtle characteristics of characters. How often do we hear, “The book is better than the movie”?
Therefore, whether you passively listen or actively read, you are making progress with your imagination and deepening your understanding of a topic. Both will educate you. So which is better?
I prefer audiobooks. Working out, car trips, and walks can be multi-tasking events for someone who doesn’t have much free time. It’s not safe to read and drive, but I can still listen. When you have a 45-minute drive to work, it becomes an amazing opportunity to learn while on the road. Secondly, audiobooks also allow for the adjustment of speed to finish the book in half the time. It does take a bit of time, but we can listen pretty quickly. If you ever understood an episode of “Gilmore Girls” (a show notorious for talking too fast) then audiobooks are a very efficient way to finish a book. Sometimes, if lucky, there will be voiceovers of the characters to help you design or follow along.
On the other hand, reading is hard. To sit still and focus on each sentence is difficult as my mind wanders off. Though we think we can multi-task, we shift focus between things quickly. I often will end up rereading the same line a few times and not realize it. Reading may take a ton of time too. Nonetheless, reading a book takes more skill than listening.
Even with this seeming to lean towards audiobooks taking the spotlight, I can't fully concede. There's an irreplaceable skill in the art of reading a book. While our trusty phones accompany us everywhere, books only require a bit of light and are ready to be delved into. The act of reading, of feeling the texture of pages under your fingers, and the quiet joy of turning each page is an experience that stands unique. It's a dance between your imagination and the author's words, an engagement that kindles a connection to the written world that can't be paralleled. So yes, audiobooks offer a captivating auditory journey, but let's not forget the allure of holding a book in your hands and weaving your own interpretation of the tale.
