Opinion: Audiobooks are underrated

By Lubna Abdallah 

The winter semester is now in full swing, which means that, surprise surprise, I have about a gazillion novels and articles to read for my classes. While I absolutely adore reading and picking apart complex literature (I’m an English student duh), a part of me longs to just read for fun again, as I did during those two glorious weeks of winter break. But how can I read for fun when I only have time and energy to read for school? Luckily for me, I have recently discovered the immeasurable delights of the audiobook. Obviously, I was aware that audiobooks were a thing, but I had only ever used them to speed through readings for class (on 2x speed hehe). Lately, however, I have begun to really appreciate just how convenient audiobooks are—a convenience which has allowed me to keep up with my personal reading interests during this busy Winter semester. When I think about it, a huge chunk of my time outside of class and studying is spent mindlessly doing chores, like washing the dishes or folding laundry. Not to mention, I sit on a bus to and from campus for at least an hour a day. Instead of allowing my mind to wander idly during these mind-numbing everyday tasks (which, if you know me, can only lead to disaster), why not throw on an audiobook? Strangely, I have actually started to look forward to doing chores and taking the bus, because that means I can listen to an audiobook at the same time. 

Recently, I have been diving deeper into audiobook offerings by the London Public Library (on their digital platforms Libby and Hoopla!), and amazingly, I have found a plethora of books that were on my Goodreads TBR for ages, like Yellowface by R.F. Kuang and 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I relish the uniquely immersive experience that audiobooks provide, especially when the book is narrated by a passionate and expressive narrator. Last semester, for instance, I eagerly listened to all of Kelly Bishop’s The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir, read by Bishop herself! I found that hearing Bishop read out her own words was even more powerful and heartwarming than if I had read the printed book myself. This is why I am the biggest fan of autobiographies in the form of audiobooks: because lots of authors read out their own narratives, adding an extra layer of depth, authenticity, and emotion to their stories. Also, as an aspiring creative writer, I have been finding immense value in listening to books on literary criticism and the writing craft, such as Stephen King’s On Writing and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. I have learned so much about writing just from listening to these books—all while simultaneously doing chores! I sincerely recommend that all you readers take a moment to A) Get a public library card if you don’t already possess one and B) explore the audiobook collections that your library has to offer, on Libby or otherwise!

However, I would be doing you readers a disservice if I didn’t bring up one of the downsides of audiobooks, at least in my experience. I am someone that tends to zone out, and I will admit, it is very easy to passively listen to an audiobook without completely digesting the content. That’s why I have tried to stick to non-fiction audiobooks rather than novels; with non-fiction, there usually isn’t an overarching narrative you have to follow along with, and usually you can listen to isolated chapters without needing to know what’s going on in the book as a whole. For example, Shannon Reed’s collection of witty essays Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out was a super easy and digestible audiobook for me! That being said, I highly encourage you to seek out what works for you, whether that’s immersing yourself in a fiction audiobook or purely sticking to printed books. 

After all, reading for fun should be exactly what it sounds like: fun.