Audiobook vs reading: Which is better?

One of the big debates among readers is which is better? Audiobooks or Reading? There are benefits to both.

It's well known that reading - no matter what type of books you enjoy - is one of the best ways to keep your mental faculties sharp. It's also an enjoyable hobby and one that can open your mind to new worlds, knowledge, and ideas.

Thanks in no small part to technology and apps such as Audible, though, listening to audiobooks has become an increasingly popular alternative to reading print books. The question, then, is does listening to audiobooks offer all of the same benefits as reading traditional books? Are audiobooks just as informative, entertaining, and beneficial from the perspective of brain health as reading written text, or are they yet another way in which technology is ruining a good thing?

It turns out that listening to audiobooks and reading the written word both offer some of the same benefits along with several unique benefits of their own. To help settle the audiobook vs reading debate, let's take at the pros and cons of each.

Audiobooks vs reading: Brain benefits

Research showcasing the brain health benefits of reading on a regular basis is wide-ranging and undeniable. However, research comparing the benefits of reading vs listening is much more sparse. According to professor of psychology and author Dr. Kristen Willeumier, though, there is good reason to believe that the reading experience provided by audiobooks offers many of the same brain benefits as reading a physical book.

In an interview published by Well and Good, Dr. Willeumier explains that listening to an audiobook or podcast activates many of the same areas of the brain as reading written text. While listening to books activates the part of the brain responsible for language processing and reading a book activates more areas responsible for visual processing, both activities engage semantic processing of information in the same areas of the brain. This means that audiobooks and traditional books can both expand your knowledge, improve your memory, and sharpen your mental faculties in largely the same way.

With the rise of text-to-speech and AI generated voices, listening is going to play a larger part in your life.

Audiobooks vs reading: Knowledge retention

Reading comprehension is a measure of how much knowledge you are able to retain from reading written text and is especially important if you are reading a nonfiction book in hopes of learning something new. Different learners, however, learn differently, and whether you retain more knowledge from reading or listening is ultimately a matter of personal preference.

One advantage that reading does have over audiobooks when it comes to knowledge retention, though, is the fact that re reading a section of text is much simpler when reading print books compared to listening to an audiobook. With a physical book or e-reader, you can easily read a sentence, paragraph, or page as many times as you need to. Doing the same while listening to an audiobook, meanwhile, requires a lot of rewinding.

Nevertheless, many people find that they retain information better when listening to someone else as opposed to reading it for themselves. If your listening comprehension is more adept than your reading comprehension, you may find listening to audiobooks to be the best way for you to learn new material.

Reading vs audiobooks: Enjoyment

Whether listening to the audio version of a book will be more enjoyable for you than reading it is a matter of personal preference. However, there are a few important factors to consider when comparing the enjoyment offered by both.

In some ways, listening to an audiobook can be more immersive and enjoyable than reading traditional books. A talented narrator is capable of replicating tones and inflections that can bring a book's characters to life, allowing you to hear the emotion in their dialogue and creating a more immersive experience. Since listening to an audiobook also allows for multitasking, it's a great choice for those who lack the concentration required to enjoy traditional reading.

However, there are also several reasons why reading may be more enjoyable for some people. Compared to listening to an audiobook, reading a book engages your imagination more. It requires you to voice all of the action and dialogue yourself in your mind's eye, painting the scene inside your mind rather than having someone else describe it for you. There are also instances where a narrator is not able to fully capture a character's voice.

While good narrators will exhibit a wide vocal range, even the best narrator might not be able to fully replicate all of the different voices in a book. For example, male narrators often struggle to replicate female voices, and vise versa. Some audiobooks solve this issue by having multiple narrators voice different characters in the book. However, these books are far less common than those voiced by a single narrator.

In the end, a good book is going to be a good book regardless of whether it is read or listened to. However, it's still important to decide which type of reading is going to be more enjoyable for you.

The pros and cons of reading vs audiobooks

If you've made it this far, you already have a pretty good

It’s well known that reading—no matter what type of books you enjoy—is one of the best ways to keep your mental faculties sharp. It’s also an enjoyable hobby and one that can open your mind to new worlds, knowledge, and ideas.

Thanks in no small part to technology and apps such as Audible and Speechify Audiobooks, though, listening to audiobooks has become an increasingly popular alternative to reading print books. The question, then, is does listening to audiobooks offer all of the same benefits as reading traditional books? Are audiobooks just as informative, entertaining, and beneficial from the perspective of brain health as reading written text, or are they yet another way in which technology is ruining a good thing? Do audiobooks count as reading?

It turns out that listening to audiobooks and reading the written word both offer some of the same benefits along with several unique benefits of their own. To help settle the audiobook listening vs reading debate, let’s take at the pros and cons of each.

Audiobooks vs reading: Brain benefits

Research showcasing the brain health benefits of reading on a regular basis is wide-ranging and undeniable. However, research comparing the benefits of reading vs listening is much more sparse. According to professor of psychology and author Dr. Kristen Willeumier, though, there is good reason to believe that the reading experience provided by audiobooks offers many of the same brain benefits as reading books in the traditional way.

In an interview published by Well and Good, Dr. Willeumier explains that listening to an audiobook or podcast activates many of the same areas of the brain as reading written text. While listening to books activates the part of the brain responsible for language processing and reading a book activates more areas responsible for visual processing, both activities engage semantic processing of information in the same areas of the brain. This means that audiobooks and traditional books can both expand your knowledge, improve your memory, and sharpen your mental faculties in largely the same way.

With the rise of text to speech and AI generated voices, listening to spoken word instead of reading text on a page or screen is going to play a larger part in your life. This is especially great news for people with reading difficulties like dyslexia or other learning disabilities, meaning they can study information and enjoy their favorite books through audiobooks and enjoy many of the same benefits as reading physical books.

Audiobooks vs reading: Knowledge retention

Reading comprehension is a measure of how much knowledge you are able to retain from reading written text and is especially important if you are reading a nonfiction book in hopes of learning something new. Different learners, however, learn differently, and whether you retain more knowledge from reading or listening is ultimately a matter of personal preference.

One advantage that reading does have over audiobooks when it comes to knowledge retention, though, is the fact that re reading a section of text is much simpler when reading print books compared to listening to an audiobook. With a physical book or e-reader, you can easily read a sentence, paragraph, or page as many times as you need to. Doing the same while listening to an audiobook, meanwhile, requires a lot of rewinding.

Nevertheless, many people find that they retain information better when listening to someone else as opposed to reading it for themselves. If your listening comprehension is more adept than your reading comprehension, you may find listening to audiobooks to be the best way for you to learn new material.

Reading vs audiobooks: Enjoyment

Whether listening to the audio version of a book will be more enjoyable for you than reading it is a matter of personal preference. However, there are a few important factors to consider when comparing the enjoyment offered by both.

In some ways, listening to an audiobook can be more immersive and enjoyable than reading traditional books. A talented narrator is capable of replicating tones and inflections that can bring a book’s characters to life, allowing you to hear the emotion in their dialogue and creating a more immersive experience. Since listening to an audiobook also allows for multitasking, it’s a great choice for those who lack the concentration required to enjoy traditional reading.

However, there are also several reasons why reading may be more enjoyable for some people. Compared to listening to an audiobook, reading a book engages your imagination more. It requires you to voice all of the action and dialogue yourself in your mind’s eye, painting the scene inside your mind rather than having someone else describe it for you. There are also instances where a narrator is not able to fully capture a character’s voice.

While good narrators will exhibit a wide vocal range, even the best narrator might not be able to fully replicate all of the different voices in a book. For example, male narrators often struggle to replicate female voices, and vise versa. Some audiobooks solve this issue by having multiple narrators voice different characters in the book. However, these books are far less common than those voiced by a single narrator.

In the end, a good book is going to be a good book regardless of whether it is read or listened to. However, it’s still important to decide which type of reading is going to be more enjoyable for you.

The pros and cons of reading vs audiobooks

If you’ve made it this far, you already have a pretty good understanding of how the benefits of reading compare to the benefits of audiobooks. To reiterate, though, let’s take another look at the pros and cons of each:

understanding of how the benefits of reading compare to the benefits of audiobooks. To reiterate, though, let's take another look at the pros and cons of each:

Speechify Audiobooks

If you want to listen to your favorite books or start a book club, Speechify Audiobooks is a great way to go. Not only will you enjoy a free audiobook when you try it out, but you’ll also be able to enjoy tens of thousands of great titles in many languages, including New York Times best-sellers. You can even enjoy titles in other languages besides English.

Try out Speechify Audiobooks today.