Antonia Bernardin

There are some book snobs in the world who will shout that audio books ‘don’t count’ as reading.

But that’s ableist, superiority complex B.S. And this blog 100% does not agree with it!

So, here is an honest audio books pros and cons list:

Pro

1.

Books all the time! No need to spend a single second in reality.

Listen in the car, at the gym, shopping, doing chores and any other mundane task.

No need for reality here.

2.

No heavy books to carry.

3.

Hear the story told in the character’s ‘voice’.

Sometimes they get the voice wrong but most of the time, it adds to the story.

4.

If you are a spicy book reader… well, do I need to elaborate on the benefits there?

5.

Double your read count (see point 1)

6.

On a serious note: if you struggle with reading, for whatever reason, audio books are a great way to access the beautiful wide world of literature.

7.

You can change the speed to suit you. So if you watch YouTube or Tiktok in 1.5 or 2X speed, audio books can keep up with your attention span.

Or, if you need/ prefer more time to take in the story, you can slow them down.

8.

Books you don’t have the patience to read can be much more accessible as audio.

Sometimes I don’t think a book is worth spending precious free time reading but is great as an audio while you do other things.

9.

It’s noise that’s not quite so blaring for your brain. A lot of people aren’t comfortable with silence, audio books, like podcasts, are a gentler noise to have going and a little less stimulating (unless it’s a big scene).

10.

They can help you sleep.

This is very particular to me, I use audio books to fall asleep because that way I won’t listen to my internal soundtrack and lie there thinking about that thing I said 1 time 10 years ago to someone that was embarrassing and so on…

Cons

1.

No book smell.

2.

Can’t add them to your little book dragon hoard once you’re done.

3.

…

…

That’s all I’ve got to be honest.

In conclusion, audio books are great. Go give them a try.

(P.s in the affiliate links below, I’ve got codes for free trials of different services. If you sign up I might get a free month but if not, you got a free trial!)