Are audiobooks worse?

[@alexhall6023]

Also as someone with a disability who finds audiobooks easier is also important to point out the way audiobooks have opened up reading for people who cannot normally read the traditional way.

[@HeirError]

+

[@c.james1]

Audiobooks have been around for decades, whilst I agree how useful they are. What has changed, however, is how easy it is to access them now; you previously had to go to the library to check out an audiobook on CD or cassette tape.

[@darkdestiny3700]

Funny because for me it's the opposite - I have an auditory processing disorder

[@ivytarablair]

I cannot tell you how many people have thanked me for being an audiobook narrator for exactly this reason - and I love that I can help bring books to people!

[@darkdestiny3700]

@@ivytarablair thank you for your audiobook services

[@doodleleeloo]

YES LIFE'S LIBRARY WILL HAVE AUDIO BOOKS I CAN CLEAN MY ROOM AND FILL MY SOUL WITH BOOKS AT THE SAME TIME

[@Margaretfogs]

Audiobooks remind me of the days when my mom would read us books aloud on long car rides - it's how I "read" the first few Harry Potter books! Such fond memories of how she made the stories come alive.

[@jennamedlyn]

I have dyslexia and audiobooks help me so much to read so that I can understand them. I need audiobooks for school. To me reading is something hard and audiobooks are much more enjoyable. I do read normal books but I can't read very many when I do that because I read so slowly. With audiobooks I read 12 to 15 books a year in traditional books it's usually only 6. I think it depends on the person and one thing that helps one person can be annoying to another. Do what you feel is best and don't judge others if they make a different choice.

[@zebedeesummers4413]

I also have dyslexia and traditional reading/writing is/was so hard for me never read anything I wasn't forced to. I got way better at reading with audio books(whith a visual copy in front of me.) I know read(listen) to more than 20 books a year with way better retention and no migraines. Audio books are not just my favorite way to read but also a large part of my I can.

[@nameslessone]

Me too, Audiobooks help me enjoy books...I do love to read it just takes soooooo much energy to do so.

[@kayeatoast]

Yes!! I am dyslexic too and as a child I hated reading physical books because it was so hard for me. Audiobooks were a life saver

[@michaelstewart8018]

I can relate so much, I have pretty severe dyslexia and have accommodations in college to use audiobooks instead of textbooks. Without audiobooks I would never get a chance to hear so many stories because for me reading is very hard and time consuming.

[@redheadedstepchild9814]

Audiobooks saved me in university!

[@NotHPotter]

Poetically, I'm reading this via subtitles because I forgot my headphones.

[@NotHPotter]

But I definitely think reading requires more focus and conscious effort than listening, although admittedly it's entirely possible to scan a page and process exactly none of it, so maybe they both demand some degree of input.

[@sunsetskye9]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who reads videos sometimes

[@talitajames7652]

Subtitles help hearing people too! Everyone benefits from accessibility

[@LindsayEllisVids]

Not for nothing I read ("read") way more books now that audiobooks are such a Thing.

[@floridianwolf1029]

How the hell are you not upvoted to hell?

[@DevelopmentFirst]

You can’t read audio books

[@cel2460]

+

[@dovelyy]

@@floridianwolf1029 my exact thought

[@EiferBrennan]

@@DevelopmentFirst respectfully disagree, but it's a subjective matter and your definition of reading and mine are equally valid.

[@andreabautista1514]

stressed by the amount of tabs hank has open

[@vlogbrothers]

Me too....

[@alechall7082]

@@vlogbrothers lmao

[@dangermenatwork]

i nearly had a fit

[@AlexKnauth]

Would it be less stressful if they were in a Tree format? Like Tree-Style Tabs? I love trees

[@ToyKeeper]

It's only 44 tabs... that's not a huge amount. At the moment, I have 270 windows open, many of which have multiple tabs. Granted, that's a bad habit... but still. Hank is a long way from the deep end of this pool.

[@gominuke]

i just finished the harry potter series read by stephen fry and i think the experience was equal to the first time i read the books as a kid/teen. bloody brill.

[@daviemorrison8514]

@@MichaelvoxTFIF no...just no.

[@abalkhailomar]

Maybe the story is different when it comes to non-fictional books

[@paigeherrin29]

Love my man, Jeeves! #stephenfrye

[@Kee010893]

Audiobooks have saved me. I have loved reading my entire life and it was such a huge part of my life. Then I went blind. While being blind really sucks, the worst part was no longer being able to read. Basically, audiobooks have brought the love of reading back into my life and I love them.

[@emdavis]

I am a Reading teacher and I 100% approve of, advocate, and adore audiobooks! Why? We read to discover how to live; we don't live to discover how to read. So everyone soak up the stories-however you may find your way to them.

[@kennethstarr1279]

Audiobooks are wonderful, and they turn previously menial things into pleasant excuses to lose myself in a story. My house is nice and clean and my dogs are well walked as a result

[@Pajali]

Kenneth Starr Agreed. Boring housework goes by so much faster. 😎

[@OneTraveller]

I need to get myself some audiobooks, then. My house is a mess.

[@miacoss9809]

Stephen Fry doing Harry Potter is one of the best things ever.

[@forever3004v]

+

[@drunkonkumquats]

Stephen Fry doing Sherlock Holmes is also pretty great.

[@Tharrel]

Stephen Fry doing Stephen Fry is one of the best things in general. You go Stephen. We love you

[@SamanthaRichardsonWP]

+

[@jesjes1923]

I think the Jim Dale version is way better 😬

[@clare7581]

i LOVE audiobooks! I have favorite narrators, I remember where I was listening to some of them...People are missing out on the experience of being read to. It's awesome!

[@BlckSWANWhtRbbt]

Yes! I'll get a book I never heard of because of a narrator I love. Plus, I'm a sucker for audiobooks with music or full casts!

[@clare7581]

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is AAMAZING! He reads Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series.

[@KouRingo]

Close your tabs, Hank. Those are too many

[@davidsmets99]

Omg, yea

[@harry.tallbelt6707]

The real problem starts when you have multiple browser windows that look like that.

[@davidsmets99]

@@harry.tallbelt6707 Nope nope nope nope nope I couldn't handle that!!

[@juneguts]

dont gatekeep tabs!

[@NadDew]

@@harry.tallbelt6707 my computer freeze when I do that Stupid old computer

[@kaylasilvera]

Okay, but audiobooks for blind people, like ummmm hello... it's freaking brilliant, everyone deserves to read and enjoy books. Everyone. (But I also love physical books and always will but everyone deserves to read). I think reading/listening is one of best gifts any human could possibly have. And everyone no matter who they are, whether they are poor or rich (props to libraries) can see or are blind, should be able to read and enjoy books. Period.

[@addiewithapen]

Kayla Silvera YES! thank you for mentioning the blind community! audiobooks is the main reason i am able to be in AP literature class. without them, getting a large print or braille format for some of the books we’ve read would have been nearly impossible or just plain inconvenient. audio has leveled the playing field between me and my peers.

[@jasmeenmalhotra2225]

Audiobooks have completely changed my life! I've been an avid nonfiction listener for more than seven years and it's opened up so many avenues of discovery and learning that simply wouldn't be possible with the work and family responsibilities that I have. I wouldn't be the person that I am without audiobooks. It matters less to me whether I'm a "real" reader or not, and it matters more that I can access all that booky goodness.

[@MrAwesomestar7]

I read a physical book while listening to the audio

[@brixan...]

You win

[@waynejohnson1786]

Big brain time

[@corriemcclain7960]

I have my dyslexic daughter do this. It's helped her in so many ways

[@emmathejourneywoman]

I did that for my Shakespeare class in my undergrad. Found a dramatic reading on Spotify of the plays I needed to read and listened while reading and it was an awesome and much more engaging way of getting into Shakespeare especially when I wasn't familiar with some of his more obscure plays.

[@NadDew]

This works well for me and this the best way to 100% understand books written in English as I'm not a native English speaker

[@fiverthefabulist]

For me, audiobooks were a gateway drug to fiction podcasts. And now I'm addicted.

[@OneTraveller]

Please tell me more about these fiction podcasts of which you speak.

[@fiverthefabulist]

@@OneTraveller Welcome to Night Vale was my first. Then, came Archive 81 and Point Mystic.

[@OneTraveller]

@@fiverthefabulist I love Welcome To Night Vale! I didn't know about Archive 81 and Point Mystic, though. Thanks!

[@OneTraveller]

@@fiverthefabulist This also reminded me that I'd listened to a few episodes of THE TRUTH before, and liked them. It's been awhile, just like it has for Night Vale, so I'll go check them out again.

[@itsjohnthomas]

Good thoughts. Yes, it’s a different communication medium so different from paper books - but I like how you relate it with the oral traditions on communication history - before people read they listened to and told stories to people.

[@nachochips8090]

on the subject of audiobooks: 1. I got An Absolutely Remarkable Thing in audiobook form (really good narrator), and I finished it in 2 days because it was THAT GOOD. 2. The idea of audiobooks being "stories told to you" is interesting, and i know it's impossible / extremely difficult for this change to happen, but I listened to "36 Questions Musical Podcast", and it was the first time that audio made me actually feel like i wasn't "listening to people tell me a story", but rather "actually hearing people, the characters, feel alive" - with music, and sound effects, and atmosphere. 3. I kinda felt the same way about AART (but without the music / sound effects / atmosphere) after listening to it for hours. The voice actor is forever now April May - and it's beautiful.

[@ENBSamiaSiddiqui]

I am actually thankful for audiobooks because of my gradually deteriorating vision, and also because now I've realised that it's also good for people who cannot read a language but can understand it. They just provide more accessibility.

[@moiradarling97]

At a point in my life, I couldn’t read well enough to read Harry Potter on my own. This meant that the two ways I experienced it were from my mom reading them to me, and Jim Dale reading them to me. Every car ride we listened to the CDs. We would listen to them almost on repeat, starting over at the beginning of the series when we finished a book. We listened over and over again until the next book came out. Listening so often that when I saw the first movie on opening day with my family, I walked out of the theater saying to my mom “I think I’ve seen that before...” My four year old brain didn’t understand that I just had the audio books had just made me imagine it incredibly vividly. I still listen to the same Harry Potter audio books, and others, to this day. No one convince me that they aren’t as real or important as reading a book on your own.

[@moiradarling97]

Sorry this is very long but I feel very strongly haha. Also there are probably mistakes all over it.

[@OneTraveller]

I enjoyed reading it. Sounds like you have an awesome geek mom.

[@moiradarling97]

OneTraveller the BEST geek mom!

[@ahmieyeung5812]

I played the Harry Potter audiobooks for my babies when I was pregnant each time. My 2nd was born a few weeks before the last book came out. Jim Dale’s voice calmed him better than anyone's but mine (sometimes better than even mine). At 12, he still listens to the HP audiobooks almost every day and they help him if he is having insomnia and he recently started writing fanfic. 🥰

[@ClocksInMyPlace]

Woah, funny timing. Just yesterday I was saying how I’ve suddenly begun to love audiobooks. I’ve finished 3 just this month and I never finish that many physical books that quickly. I have had a struggle in my mind on whether it counts the same. It helps hearing you, one of the nerds I admire, say it does. So thank you for this video!

[@skylergarrett7659]

As someone who doesn't have a lot of time to sit and read a book (as sad as it is) audiobooks are a great way to still be able to experience a story, I LOVE them.

[@wellesradio]

Skyler Garrett Everyone has time for something they love. You don’t HAVE to read books, but if you love reading you’ll just do it. You and I probably don’t “have time” to watch KZbin videos and post comments, but here we are. People don’t “have time” to get into meaningful, time consuming relationships, but they seek them out regardless. We have time for anything we truly want to make time for. My friend is a medical college professor and director of spinal surgery at a busy hospital and he’s a family man. He rarely takes a vacation. Still reads like crazy. And no, I don’t think he’s a “fast” reader. He just fills those “on our phone”/watching TV minutes with reading.

[@suadela87]

Yeah, it’s nice to be able to get lost in a book while driving (I’m a trucker, so that takes up most of my waking hours). I hear it’s not recommended to read a book while driving. Recently, I’ve listened to a Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, a book I recommend to everyone, including strangers on the internet. Plus the reader does a fantastic job.

[@okuno54]

Hank: "Is every song a story?" ManaMana: "Doo-doooo-dee-do-doo"

[@allisondaugherty5963]

Not to be that person, but (definitionally speaking) songs have lyrics, and I think you'd just consider mana mana vocalizing on nonsense syllables, tbh...

[@hmsoctopus]

The preroll ad for Audible on this was truly *chef's kiss *

[@KillCoMentalMusings]

As someone who's job is editing audio books I could send you a few recommendations from my fathers audio book company of Jimcin Recordings. They have been making them since reel to reel and cassette tapes, so they know what they are doing and can be found easily on Audible.com. Glad to have you promote the audio book industry as it is growing quickly, but also it's getting overwhelmed by those who thing "I can read a book and record it" which can be... let's just say, not great. My own KZbin channel started due to the fact that we recorded an audio book called "Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey". I am so happy to hear about your audio book options, I was part of the Life's Library, however much like you I have some difficulty reading books and only got through one of them before stalling out on the second one. I've got many saved credits now since we are affiliated with Audible so I look forward to the future recommendations of Life's Library once more... hopefully I can keep up this time. :P

[@ivytarablair]

THANK YOU FOR BEING AN EDITOR - A THANKLESS JOB IF EVER THERE WAS ONE :D ahhhh, my narrator-soul sighs, 'what a fantastic book that would have been to record!' :D (an oft-heard refrain at our house, since every other book I read I go, 'Oh man, i would have loved to record that, alas audio exists already!' ) I'd hit you up via email but there isn't a contact on your 'find us on audible!' website :) I'd love to contact you RE narrator-ly things! If you're interested my email is ivytarablair gmail (and website with my published books & sound clips: ivytarablair dot com) AUDIO EDITORS - PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH WORK YOU DO TO MAKE BOOKS SOUND AWESOME :)

[@tiaraono7668]

thank you for the push for audiobooks, Hank! I've always loved reading because I loved stories. But I'm also a very very slow reader thanks to dyslexia. With this and the business of adult life I had stopped entirely consuming books at all for years and I really really missed it. Picking up audiobooks has been a significant quality of life improvement for me! I'm so happy I can finally enjoy these things again. When life's library was introduced, I was disappointed that there wasn't an audiobook option because i knew that without it there was no way i'd be able to participate in such a cool thing! But now I can and I'm very excited! So, thank you again :)

[@WenzelSays]

Side note: libraries. If you like to have both versions (audio and physical) or don't need to own the book- go to your local library!! They have audio, e, and physical books! And if your local one doesn't have it they can order it for you from another branch! They also have lots of places to hunker down to read/listen to your book, do homework, do a craft, and most have clubs that you can drop by! (Book clubs, yarn clubs, geneology, center piece making, how to use different software, etc) And many also have passes to local museums and things that you can borrow for no charge! You're already paying for these services out of your taxes! Use them!!! (I know many people-myself included- like to own all their books, but not every bookstore carries what a library does and you can read it to see if you like it before spending the money for it or finish your school reading list so you don't get stuck buying whatever weird thing your teacher decided to make you read) Libraries!

[@zain4019]

I haven’t watched a vlogbrothers video for such a long time, and it’s so nice to see you two again:) The human experience is amazing!

[@noviatoria2436]

I don't really do audiobooks, as I need subtitles most of the time when I watch TV or KZbin so I can't process just the audio without seeing the text or the person reading it.

[@stvp68]

Novia Toria Same: I need visuals

[@guyplus3053]

As someone who works for a library for the blind and physically handicapped, I would like to point out that talking books are usually the only practical option for our patrons who lose their vision later in life and still want to read. Braille books are great, but not only is it difficult to learn braille, it can be extremely expensive to produce a braille book. Digital braille readers aren't cheap either. Talking books are also a great resource for people who have reading disabilities as well. If you know someone that could use a service like this, please look up your state's LBPH/Talking Book Library. The service is absolutely free and under used.

[@wafflewarble2980]

I love audiobooks. I'm visually impared and have ADHD so consequently struggled to learn to read as a kid. My stepdad persuaded my mum to get me books on tape so I could at least develop an enjoyment of literature and I am so grateful that he did. I was a very "well read" kid as a result. I read my first full physical book at 16 (Prisoner of Azkeban) but I still prefer audiobooks. I used to save up and by Discworld books on tape for £40... and now we have Audible. I know Amazon is evil but Audible is still fucking magic. Makes me a bit emotional how I have such easy access to audiobooks now.

[@awesomful120]

One thing I have noticed about audio content is that if I am playing a video game at the same time as I am listening I will remember both the game and the book/podcast much better. I think it has to do with the whole loci mind palace thing.

[@makeartsteph919]

The amount of tabs Hank had open when screen recording near the end HEALP! my heart rate

[@lunacouer]

I'm so excited you're doing Life's Library with audiobooks!! I quit Life's Library at the beginning of the year, because I wasn't reading the books. Not because I didn't want to. Just some new medications I needed causing funny side-effects, like the inability to concentrate well when reading. Audiobooks swooped in though and saved the day. It'll be wonderful to be a part of the DFTBA book club again. Thank you!

[@johnbartholf777]

I drive 8-10 hours a day and I can get through 2-4 books a week this way. I actually find that when I listen to the books second time, I'm reminded strongly of where I was when I first listened to the book. So when I hear a particular sci-fi book again, I'll be reminded of, say, the coast of Maine where I was this summer. In that way, my retention is higher than just the book. The audiobook actually reminds me of my travels. I'd never heard of Life's Library, but I'll look into it now. Thanks, Hank!

[@deanhart375]

I love audiobooks! And thankfully you raved about The Expanse series on Dear Hank and John so I got to experience the wonderful story! And then you raved about the audiobooks, and it’s become my favorite way to experience that series!

[@cilvet1]

Michael krammer and Kate Reading, narrating all of Brandon Sanderson's books is a wonderful gift

[@kelseybird14]

I love audiobooks and I love regular books :) However, I do like to read a new book (particularly one that is heavy on world building) in print first. I want to experience the text solely through my own interpretation at first, rather than through a narrator.

[@ScrapPalletMan]

2:20 I wish I could read well. I can read and write but it's always slightly difficult. Effortful. Reading aloud is terrifying. And it 51 years old, I don't see that changing soon

[@roakes1956]

Audio book reading is a performance art in its own right. Some of my favourites: - Stephen Fry - the Harry Potter series - Stephen Briggs - Terry Pratchett's Disc World novels - David Rintoul - Ian Fleming's James Bond novels - Suzi Doherty - John Marsden's Tomorrow When The War Began series

[@chadboffin]

Does reading a book and listening to an audiobook use the same part of the brain? SciShow Psych?

[@wellesradio]

chadboffin No.

[@wellesradio]

That was the short answer. I could give you the long answer, but the fact that you don’t want to search and read it (asking instead fora video presentation) tells me you like things condensed.

[@JaydonTobler]

I’ve always been a naturally curious person, but I’ve also absolutely hated books (at least that’s what I thought). I have a partial reading disability. My first year of college and discovered podcasts and found them to be the best thing in the world. And a couple years ago, I thought I’d give audiobooks a try. The first 23 years of my life, I’d read one book from start to finish (because I had to). This year, I’ve “read” 22 and that doesn’t even include the rereads because I usually do them at least twice. Safe to say, audiobooks are probably one of the beneficial things I’ve ever discovered.

[@hellofrominside8524]

I haven’t actually read a book in completion for fun since the Ronda Rousey biography but thanks to audio books I’m immersing myself in Westeros again and can finally talk with my soon to be English teacher best friend about his favorite book, Catcher in the Rye.

[@kateh7484]

Audiobooks take me 5x as long to get through as when I read it myself so it counts.

[@OlivioSarikas]

The good thing about audio books is that you can listen to them while doing other things - which also is the bad thing about them, because it's kind of hard to stay focused and not miss a bunch of lines

[@StephenGA1982]

As a sign in my local library states: Audiobooks are not cheating!

[@user-ev5gj8xe2b]

As someone with both autism and ADHD, audio books are the reason I can still read. Similary to how I draw while listening, I don't do it as background noise. Since focusing on one task at a time usually causes ADHD people stress, they're natural multitaskers so it's preferred that we consume audio media while doing other things. For instance, I can't face my screen and watch your videos, I can't really do that with almost any videos, but I can retain almost all the information you give when I do it while making art or something. I think the decisions they make for me do make up for it personally, simply because I can't read on my own anymore without getting headaches or continuously putting the book down. Although I value how my mind interprates things more than someone else's, I'm willing to give a little bit of that power over so that I can still consume stories, because I love stories.

[@joeljacques3635]

Though I haven't been diagnosed, I'm fairly certain I'm dyslexic. When I was younger, I really loved reading; I was good at it and it was easy. As I got older, reading became much more difficult and I began to hate it. I went from reading dozens of books a year in my free time to none. This past summer, my best friend bought me a few books for my birthday: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, and gave me a bookmark she'd sewn by hand. I'm a very sentimental person, and having someone go through the effort of selecting and purchasing these books for me that they thought I'd like, as well as taking the time to make me a bookmark meant a lot to me, and I was determined to get through them. I had heard of audiobooks before, and decided to see if there were versions of each book available on KZbin and lucky for me, there were. I didn't want to just sit and listen, because I get distracted very easily and probably wouldn't appreciate the story, so I read along to the audio, which I set to 2x speed. I got through both books within the span of three days; thanks to audiobooks I'd read more in three days than I had in the last three years. Over the course of the summer, I added to my collection of Vonnegut books, and found audiobook versions of all of them, which made my friend very happy. I'm in my last year of high school now, and got put into AP Literature (which was just a really bad idea on my school's part), and audiobooks are really helping me get through it. Thanks to Luzzie, Kurt Vonnegut, and the fine people who upload full audio versions to KZbin, I've found my love for reading again. I don't think I realized how much I missed it.

[@Alexandra-nn8fu]

I feel a much more emotional connection to books when they are being read to me. When I pick up a book I want the information in my brain. This means that I end up reading too fast to pick up all the details of a story because I am too impatient to just read it all. Audiobooks help me with that a lot.

[@faeoori]

1. I'm dyslexic. I love reading but it's a slow process for me with lots of rereading. 2. I don't have time to read much any more sadly. I spend about 4 hours driving each day and I certainly can't read during that time, but I can listen. 3. For some books I feel that the reader truly enchantress things. I'm currently listening to a book where one of the main characters changes his accent on a whim. This amazing reader brings that to life in a way that the voice in my head could not. Audio books are different, but by no meansworse. They allow me to continue to enjoy wonderful and satisfying stories, where in another life I could not. I have audible now, but before that I got those little audio mp3 players from the library. They were a life saver for me.

[@coldandabsurd]

I used to dislike audiobooks, because I could never engage with them the same way as I could with written words. I sometimes have auditory processing issues that make it hard for me to keep up with audio the same way. But I started listening to a lot of podcasts (including all of yours and John’s) and it helped to retrain my ears, I guess. Then I listened to an audiobook at the behest of a friend. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, performed by Christian Coulson. The narrator was so perfectly embodied, so easy to deeply feel, that it completely changed my opinion of audiobooks. Now I tend to read more via audio than print. Some of that is because I can multitask while listening, but honestly I’ve come to really love audiobooks on their own merits.

[@Amidamaru717]

I love audio books as well, mostly because, while nothing can replace that feeling of being in a comfy chair with a good book in hand, I have read many series I would never have gotten too by physical books through audiobook while driving, working and working out. I actually just started the last book of the Malazan Book of the Fallen on the way to work this morning, via audiobook as physically this series is just so daunting, it never would have happened otherwise, despite owning it physically as well.

[@abdsleman8936]

Listen hank i have a message for you, some weeks ago i watched your old video about Egypt you did a great job but i wasn't happy when you called a person who ruled for 1 year a dictator especially because he was recently dead when i watched yes i know it's an old video but i hope that you will make a new video to explain really what happened and who is the real dictator. 😊😊

[@TeeRaeJay]

I read the LOTR trilogy a number of years ago and was so distracted by the older style of English (it's so wild that it hasn't been THAT long ... but the English is different!) That I could NOT get into the story and by the end I barely remembered what I had read! Now that my partner is reading the story to me and he brings so much love and passion for the story out in the way he reads it I am completely immersed and enjoying it. TL;DR it's a different way to experience a story and can make stories more accessible to some.

[@sandersonmcdonald9124]

I love reading to you!

[@mouseluva]

I find physical books easier to maintain focus on than audiobooks, but I also cannot read on my long commutes due to motion sickness, so audiobooks and podcasts are absolutely wonderful on the bus! I look forward to my hour or so each way on the bus to uni twice a week, because it's such enjoyable audiobook time - there's nothing else I could be doing so I can really get into them!

[@misslaput7010]

I am a newly registered nurse, and accepted a job at a rural hospital. I used to hate driving so the though of my commute being 45 minutes 1 way and 45 minutes back home after a single 12 hour shift sounded like hell. Audiobooks have made me enjoy that commute, and enjoy that time alone where i just get to sit and enjoy being told a story. I love audio books and i love reading, however I too am a slow reader when trying to understand stories and it's very efficient for me to enjoy audio books where I have less time to sit down for myself to read.

[@Hippopotalust]

I LOVE audiobooks too. For me, I am an audible learner. Listening to audiobooks absolutely is the most pleasurable way to consume books. I read 50+ books a year with my ears. Books I could never get through with my eyes because my eyes see patterns and not words. If I can imagine a person place or thing more complexly after consuming a book - be it visually, or audibly, defines whether I have "read" the book in my opinion - because we measure reading not by the action of our consumption, but by the breadth of our comprehension. Very happy to hear this change is coming to Lifes Library!

[@Pandaemoni]

I used to knock audiobooks when I was young (now I am super old). I find they are different for me because I don't retain audiobooks nearly as well. I learn and recall in part based ion the visual stimulation of reading. I also get through books faster than I can in audiobook form. I remember even better when I highlight and take notes as I go. What I assumed, wrongly, was that everyone was like me and so therefore everyone was better off reading. When I realized that was a mistaken assumption, I had to let go of my position as an anti-audiobook/pro-dead-tree-book snob (slowly, as it was harder to let go than it should have been).

[@nathanessary4498]

As someone who grew up with severe dyslexia I enjoy audiobooks! For a long time as a kid this was the only way I was getting to know all these amazing stories that traditionally are only told in book form. Because it took so much mental processing power to actually read them (like sounding out the words) the context would get lost in the process and I wouldn’t retain information. So with all that said thank you for sharing this thought, and thank for help support audiobooks!

[@RunningTowardSunshine]

This is a conversation that needs to be had.

[@annam9534]

I landed a job doing park maintenance about 6 months ago, which mainly consists of being on a 4 man crew and driving a riding mower for around 7 hours a day, doing both leaf control and mowing. The main reason why I love this job (and it is my favorite job so far) is that I can listen to an audiobook on the mower. Otherwise, I'd be bored out of my mind and would probably not enjoy my job as much. The stories make my life better. I don't care how they get from the author's head to my brain. I just care that somehow they find their way from one place to the other.

[@brittanyblakeley2174]

I really appreciate this discourse about being a slow reader and how that's not any less valuable or less engaged. ♥️♥️

[@skylerwitherspoon]

I just bought two audiobooks, then opened up An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (my physical copy) to start re-reading it, and seven pages in got a notification for this video. Then I got an ad for Audible's Heads Will Roll, which I have already listened to, because I love Kate McKinnon. Anyway thanks for your wonderful book, I'm very excited to reread it right now even though I have four papers to write.

[@WarrenGarabrandt]

I immediately took that reading test when I saw that you took it. I consider myself to be a slow reader, and it can take me a long time to get through a book. Like most people though, I had different reading "modes". A very leisure pace that allows me to experience and enjoy the content, a faster "this is an assignment I need to get through" pace, and "ain't nobody got time for this" pace that scans as fast as by brain can receive the information. It's definitely worth noting that this frantic pace is NOT enjoyable at ALL, and causes me to get a headache after just a few minutes, but I can get through technical information quickly and find a specific piece of data I need without wasting all day doing it. Here's an opportunity to actually quantify this, and see how everyone else does. Leisure pace: 240 words/minute (1% below national average) Fast pace: 408 words/minute (63% above national average) Frantic pace: 645 words/minute (158% faster). I repeated the frantic one a few times trying to get faster, but this was the best I could do and still get all the questions correct. I thoroughly have a headache now, but totally worth it I think. What did everyone else get?

[@debramoore2585]

I both read and listened to How Green Was My Valley. John, you have to hear Patrick Tull narrate that book. Really, you do.

[@Kangakool]

I grew up kind of SNOBBY against audiobooks. I didn’t like how the voice was different from the voice in my read. In adulthood I got a job that had me driving around A LOT and I got so tired of listening to all the same songs on the radio. Someone suggested audiobooks to me, and I was like... ok? I LOVED IT. I began to look forward to driving so that I could listen my books! That was almost 6 years ago, and I’m still loving audiobooks, and I listen to books way more than I read them with my eyes. But I will say, I still love reading with my eyes! Every so often I’ll read a book with my eyes, and I just love the experience! Like you said, there’s nothing quite like either way, but they are both good!

[@allyjay2214]

Thank you so much for the audio version! I don't have time to physically sit down to read books but I love listening to books while hiking with my dog or driving.

[@Blindblondephd]

As someone who is visually impaired and who loves to read, I always am baffled by the idea that "audiobooks don't count." Lugging around multi-volumes of large print textbooks in high school (pre-Kindle years) was not particularly fun or easy to use. Even with large font Kindle options, audio just makes things easier with my slower reading rate. We should just be happy that people read, period.

[@larsdahlgren739]

As a mega dystlextic audiobooks are perfect. Books are not only about reading, but learning too. For eksample reading "How to win friends and influence people" has been really sharpening for me. I love that I, through audiobooks can get to experience some of what "normal" people experience when reading. Audiobooks have broken down a barrier to entry that has been a big challenge for me, and I really appreciate them for that:)

[@iamgerg]

Stories are awesome. I love listening to stories. I had a long conversation with a Haida elder about why telling stories is important. I have dozens of photos of Haida people I only share when I can tell the story.

[@Xartab]

About the speed of your reading: I read about as fast as you do, and apparently that's very slow for an average college student (which I'm not anymore, but I remember that I didn't read any faster when I was in university, unless it was for an exam) It brought back to mind the day that I finished reading _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ , which took around five hours. At the end of the endeavour I remember feeling empty and dizzy, as if having breezed through the whole book had just filled my head with fluff without giving me the opportunity to really digest the story. It felt so much like a wasted Harry Potter, that I decided then and there that I would read slower, take my time to really chew the words and be sure I didn't miss anything, at least when it came to books I was reading for pleasure. I've never come to regret that decision.

[@108Romato]

I love you man! Before I knew audiobooks, it took me three months to read a book--if I reached the end of it. I am dyslexic and I have an eye condition. Reading a paper book is exhausting, frustrating, painful even. When I discovered audiobooks, 10 years ago, my first read was the Iliad and the Odyssey. And I have not stopped reading ever since. On average I read a book a week. But I never say HOW I read my books when I discuss the content. Could be Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Neil Gaiman, Huxley, Orwell, Darwin... you name it. Some people still believe that I am still not reading. Not REALLY.

[@roy4173]

I found an audio-book feature on Netflix that I try out whenever it's available. The quality of the descriptions can be hit or miss but I highly recommend trying out "Audio-description" under the "Audio" options for the Dragon Prince. It has one of the best narrations I've listened to so far. I always listen to the full episodes using audio descriptions only before I go to bed, then I re-watch the episode later.

[@WordBondage]

I'm chronically ill to the point that I am mostly bedbound and housebound and I switch between audiobooks and regular books depending on how I feel and some of the books I audiobooked were an absolute treat. I audioread all The Witcher books narrated by Peter Kenney who was sublime in making different voices for characters and I can wholly recommend it. It made it almost like those plays on the radio. That experience hooked me on audiobooks.

[@stephaniej4532]

Audiobooks help me when I mentally don’t have the strength to read a physical book.

[@randomjasmicisrandom]

I read to my wife and try to do so every night. Our children grew up and we identified me reading aloud as something we both miss. We have read all sorts of things, not always things I would have chosen, but I have still enjoyed the books and the time we spend together.

[@cannonfodder4376]

My switch to audio books has primarily to do with an odd psychological change that has happened to me last year. For some reason I suddenly lost the ability to focus and get immersed in what I was reading and while it has sort of recovered, I am sure it never will fully recover. Where as before I could get lost in a story for hours now I struggle to get immersed at all. Let alone remember things I have read. Combined with an increasingly hectic life schedule, audio-books became the next logical choice. But many narrators can indeed make books come to life and they can be fantastic. I wonder if it is a symptom of getting older, but to have that change happen in less than a week at 23... I still lament that loss in quiet reading.

[@LostxinthexMusic]

I read a TON when I was in high school. I devoured books. When I went to college, reading kind of fell away. That was 4 years when I only read a handful of books. Then I went to graduate school and was spending 14 hours a day away from home with about 5 hours of that time spent driving. I started listening to podcasts and it was a nice way to feel some degree of human connection when I was spending very little time around other humans. I finally started working full time and began listening to audiobooks during my 30- to 45-minute commute and have read more books in the last year than I had during the previous 7 years combined. As an avid reader, I am 100% in favor of audiobooks.

[@cassaroooo]

I love reading books and then listening to them if I love them. My dad read to me for a long time when I was a child, like up to highschool. He would read to me out loud and then I would take a turn reading. Listening to stories has always been so important to me.

[@moonlady3000]

I love audiobooks so much. They're really my favorite type of media. I still like to read quite a lot (mostly fanfiction, I'm not gonna lie), but I admit that I don't have a lot of retention when I read text anymore. So I started listening to audiobooks because I loved the Harry Potter ones so much (back when they were on cassette) when I a teenager. And then I found that I absorbed more of the story that way? Possibly, this is because I can do things with my hands while listening to them.

[@PanikaMCD]

really love how you pointed out that audiobooks allow you to see the book through another person's lens--if not through multiple lenses of multiple people. I know a lot of people get frustrated with adaptations that don't reflect their exact experience with a text and I'm going, "you're just getting information on how other people connected with the book and maybe learning how to look at it in a different way. it's gonna be okay." it's most especially great when you are working with texts which were written prior to the 20th Century when most people got their stories in audio form. but I would love someone to get the Kindle people to stop insisting book people like me get e-readers. I'm totally cool if someone prefers to carry around an e-reader instead of multiple books because that's what works for them. I'm not okay with them telling me I should. as a writer, I've developed my own notation system--lots of people do even when they're not writers--and it's just not going to be reflected in an e-reader coder's view of what annotation should be. it's one thing to listen to an audiobook or watch an adaptation to look at a book through another person's lens, but I don't want to take notes through another person's lens. PLUS: you can't get your book signed if it's an e-reader which is fine for people who don't value that, but I value that.

[@AustinNebbia]

As an audiobook narrator with a disability (I'm legally blind, reading normal-sized print books), I can attest that my narration of a book is always, first and foremost, the version of the story that serves the *author's* vision of the text. It's the version the author hears in their head first, and beyond that, it's the version I and what I hope is most people would also hear in their head when they visualize the story. (Barring any subjective character or voice work, of course.) I don't really have a side in this one way or the other, I adore both; but if anyone has questions on the audiobook experience please feel free to ask me!

[@CampMelp]

It depends SO MUCH on the content! I love audiobooks (LOVE love them), but especially when it comes to books that are lighter in nature or more plot-driven. Fantasy is PERFECT in audiobook form. I tend to think classics and highbrow literature work a bit better in book format, mostly because I get stuck on awesome passages or sentences while reading and I wanna, like, highlight favorite spots. I switched my LL subscription to audio format for next year, because I think it’ll help me get through the books more quickly. I love that there’s an option to still get the cute supplemental stuff even if you don’t need a hard copy of the book. :)

[@lozzy992010]

I find that it depends on how if I want to be active or somewhat passive in the story. When I read a book myself I have to do all the work in creating an image of the world around me bu when I’m listening to an audiobook it’s as if it’s a group project of creating the world. I love both.

[@LikelyToBeEatenByAGrue]

I love an audiobook for novels. I just can't do nonfiction audiobooks. I have to be able to refer all over the book and find that impossible without a physical book.

[@TicaAndEnemies]

I also really love audiobooks, i've listened to them since they were in CDs! It was so important for me as I learned how to speak english more naturally. And even now, I love listening to an audiobook on a commute or just as I'm falling asleep. It's just really nice having someone read to me.

[@RebeccaKatsuya]

Erm, Hank, you weren't pointing to anything at the end. Maybe it was just for me, but no link or video came up, you were just pointing to your framed poster. It looks like a good poster though. Maps are cool. Is it a map?

[@climateanxiety3349]

You’re definitely right about how the story is different when being read to. My SO and I read The Night Circus at the same time, but I mostly listened to it while she actually read it. There’s a character that appears at different ages without her name being specified, and it took her much much longer to realize they were the same, but I knew as soon as she spoke because they were the only two with a Scottish accent.

[@ERYN__]

I love when I can do both at the same time. One example of this is Coraline by Niel Gaiman, I had both the book and audio CD(possibly tapes) from the library. I read along with Niel himself, and every so often there would be discrepancies either in word order, or word choice, crisps for chips or chips for fries.

[@zeyarmin1885]

Thanks for Pushing the audiobook option. I have signed up for that subscription! Looking forward to it

[@samdobie6748]

I get a much better mental image of a story when listening to audiobooks. I like the emotion a good storyteller can add as well.

[@JamesOKeefe-US]

I joined :) so excited to get started! 1:32 it's marginally different :) So true... How many audio books listeners have said at one point: "that isn't how they (our protagonist) would have said that" :) we hear it and correct it to our perception in our brain and move one. At least I do :)

[@adastra9306]

I love listening to audiobooks, for many reasons. But I am mainly glad they exist for the sake of my dad. He has dyslexia but love stories. The only physical book he has read is ”The Hobbit” and he taught me to read from it when I was 4-5. By 6 my reading far surpassed his. But then a fair amount of years later when audiobooks became a thing the world of books finally opened to him too. He reads/listens to everything from Swedish history books to crimestories. I have loved reading since I was a child, and now he does too, that makes me more happy than I can say. ❤️

[@AnthonyDGreen]

I got so depressed a few years back I could barely bother to watch TV. But I need sound to stop the thoughts I have that keep me up all night. Audiobooks gave me a way to go to sleep that requires literally no energy. Even if I can't bother to turn over or open my eyes or get out of bed or whatever I can listen. I can't NOT listen. It's great. I like books and stories but ever since I stopped having a long commute on the train/bus it's been hard to make time for them but, again, audiobooks combined with my strong personal desire to never go to bed in silence, create this opportunity for me to enjoy "reading" again in the part of my day that's free-bed time. I've "read" more in the last 2 years than in the 10 before it. I too wanted to know if audiobooks "count" (with that precise phrasing, so I'm happy others ask the same question). And it was a little different, though related to your two points. We all know reading is good for you and as such it's supposed to be painful. It's supposed to be unpleasant or boring or cumbersome in some way, like exercise or eating vegetables (which are delicious fwiw). It's why a lot of people don't like doing it but those who do read get the idea that they're doing something not as gratifying as TV/film in exchange for being somehow mentally healthier (smarter). Audiobooks aren't painful/tedious and so the question of whether it counts is like asking if mouthwash still works if it doesn't burn. It feels like you're cheating and some "judge" is going to tell you it doesn't "count" unless you had to exercise discipline and overcome the obstacle of hating it to get through it. It's not just about measuring your reading list and psychology, it's about not trusting and/or valuing things that come easily or pleasantly.

[@kylieanderik266]

Dear John, I watched Looking For Alaska back when it had come out. I had been anticipating it for so long and the show was so great(so was the book). At the beginning of this week my teacher told us that we needed to have a book to read and do a project on for two months. Automatically my mind went to you and Looking For Alaska. Then a few minutes later she said that the book could not have been made into a movie. And this is the moment that I wished the series on Hulu had waited a few more months to come out(trailers included). -sorry

[@o0Meeshell0o]

I sometimes have difficulties understanding content when I read the words but it's much easier to grasp when I listen to the words. I will often listen to a book for the overarching story then read the book for details.

[@mcsmaria28]

I love physical books. My mom bought me a kindle for. Christmas one year, but I still bought real books. I love the smell of books and I like the feeling of turning a page. As a new (ish) mom, I don’t have the time to read as much anymore, so I’ve turned to audiobooks and it’s great, because I’ve managed to “read” a lot of books and I’ve been able to get through books that I haven’t been able to finish in traditional form. But, when I can, I still try to read physical books even if it takes me a hundred years.

[@derekwebster110]

Hank Green, you are among my favorite people who is presently living and I haven’t yet met.