Ignore the purists – listening to a book instead of reading it isn’t skiving or cheating | Gaby Hinsliff

to one YouGov survey back in 2016 deemed audiobooks a “lesser” way of consuming literature, and only 10% thought listening to a book was wholly equal to reading it. The view that listening is cheating prevails even though nobody thinks it’s lazy for a student to sit through lectures, and going to the theatre isn’t considered intellectually inferior to reading the play at home.

There’s an intimacy too to listening, a confessional air that suits soul-baring interviews and taboo-busting discussions about sex or menopause or parenting. And to hear a book read by its author is sometimes to understand, by the inflections of their voice, a meaning you wouldn’t otherwise have picked up.

What troubles me most about listening, I suppose, is that it’s harder to share. You can recommend a podcast to a friend but you can’t leave it on the train seat for the next person when you get off, as I’ve done all my life with finished newspapers . You can’t give your goddaughter your dogeared, spine-cracked copy of an audiobook that meant everything to you when you were her age.

All of which makes me think reading will never yield to listening completely; that like vinyl, handwritten love letters and cinema in the age of television, it will live on for pleasure or for romance but also because there are times when nothing else quite fits the bill. But if it turns out I’m wrong – well, you didn’t hear it from me.

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

‘Cheap compared with most holidays’: booking a vacation just to readMaking a reading list the focus of an entire holiday is a convenient way to spend your time off. And as people who’ve done it found – it can be life-changing
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

Academics warn of ‘arms race’ in contract cheatingAcademics believe about 8 per cent of uni students are regularly cheating on their assignments, as universities concede they’re embroiled in an “arms race” with outsourced providers of fake essays.
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »

Australia defy injuries at MCG to close in on Test series win against South AfricaCameron Green and Mitchell Starc ignored their busted hands while Alex Carey hit a maiden Test century on day three at the MCG
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

The music quiz of the year! Who accused Beyoncé of ‘theft’ and which 90s band announced plans to reform?From groundbreaking duets to the charts and Bob Dylan’s artwork. How closely were you listening in 2022?
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

The hiring trends that will shape the jobs market in 2023Recruiters say continuing skills shortages mean jobseekers will keep calling the shots in 2023, and working from home isn’t going away any time soon.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »

Why we are finally listening to women (but are still deaf in parts)Women have struggled to get access to a slice of the economic and social pie for decades. We came a long way last year but there’s plenty of room for improvement. When are men going to get pregnant Why do they keep pushing this rubbish. We are not the middle east or Afghanistan. Women do just fine where I live and work.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »