Reading Books or Listening to Audiobooks? (Explained)

Audiobooks have largely replaced hardcover books these days. Although not everyone is a fan of audiobooks, some people find them very useful.

Did you know that 1 in every 5 Americans listens to audiobooks?

Well, it just shows the sudden popularity that audiobooks have gained over the years in comparison to readable books. But what’s better? Reading books or Listening to Audiobooks?

Listening to audiobooks is better than reading books because of reduced labor, better comprehension, professional narration, and the improvement that it brings to the listening of a normal person.

But that’s not it.

If you want to learn about the different benefits of reading a book and listening to an audiobook and why exactly listening to audiobooks is better than reading a book, sit back, relax and read this article till the end.

Listening to an Audiobook or Reading a book – What’s more effective?

Now that we know how beneficial audiobooks and traditional books are, let’s compare listening to an audiobook and reading a book to find out which way of learning is more effective and all-around better.

Which is easier to do?

Definitely, the easier way of learning is listening to an audiobook. You don’t need to strain your eyes after a rough day of work and simply plug in your headphones and listen to your favorite audiobook.

Which gives satisfaction?

This one’s tricky. If you’re a collector, then physical books would definitely give more satisfaction to you. But at the same time, listening to professional narrators and characters in your audiobook can be extremely satisfying as well, so I guess it’s a tie.

Which increase mental functioning?

I’d say listening to audiobooks is more stimulant for brain function. The reason for this is basically the fact that as you hear words, not only your ears are hearing the words, but your mind is comprehending the words while your imagination builds the scenario world as well, which means increased brain function.

The benefits of reading books

Imagine being curled up in a ball under your blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and your favorite book in your hand. Sounds nice, right? Well, that’s because reading brings a sense of satisfaction and peace to a person. That’s why it’s such a widely popular way of learning.

Reading is incredibly satisfactory, but that isn’t all. There are many amazing benefits and advantages linked with book reading that you might not have known about. Let’s take a look at the benefits of reading a book.

Increases Reading Skills

When you’re taking an interest in reading a book, and you’re regularly taking out time to read it, you’re increasing your reading skills without even having to try anything special.

This is because you’re reading more and more, and your reading skills are enhancing with each sentence. You’re going to be able to read faster, better, with lesser mistakes and better pronunciation. And that can be extremely beneficial from a business communication point of view as well.

Mental Stimulation

If you’re not familiar with the term Mental Stimulation, it basically means that your brain remains under function for longer. This is healthy for the brain than sitting idle because with all the information passing through your brain, your memory will get better.

Reading helps in mental stimulation. Have you noticed that you remember the entire plot of your favorite book series very thoroughly? That’s because after reading it, it resides in your memory, making your memory better and improving on it.

Knowledge Expansion

Reading books can increase the knowledge of a person drastically. Whether you’re reading science fiction or historical novels or even a piece on how to live a better life, you’re constantly learning something new, and this new information will prove beneficial somehow in your practical life.

Trust me, it may sound exaggerated, but it is true. Book reading increases the IQ of a person and the analytical and logical reasoning capabilities of a person, which are both amazing benefits.

Richer Imagination

They say, the richer the imagination of a person, the more creative they are. This statement is definitely true because of the simple fact that you read about different characters and their roles and different scenarios when you’re reading a novel. These scenarios wouldn’t have any meaning if you couldn’t allow your imagination to create the scenario in your mind and picture the whole situation.

That’s why reading books increases the imaginative capabilities of a person, and book readers have richer and more vivid imaginations in comparison to non-readers.

Better Vocabulary and Writing Skills

When you’re reading a book, you see new words and their spellings, and with each new word in the book, you’re researching its meaning, and you’re increasing your vocabulary.

At the same time, since you’re reading the words, you have a better letter structure understanding, and you can write better. Thus, reading books can increase both your vocabulary and writing skills.

The benefits of listening to audiobooks

Audiobooks have been around since the early 1930s, but it wasn’t till the start of the 2000s that listening to audiobooks became incredibly popular with the general public.

An incredibly convenient way of listening to your favorite novels, book series, and even academic syllabus, audiobooks are definitely the way of learning of the future. It is definitely becoming more and more popular over time.

Authors are creating audio versions of their top-selling books just because there is a huge market for audiobooks, and there hasn’t been a better time to be an audiobook listener.

Benefits of listening to an audiobook

We know reading is beneficial for the mind, but what about audiobook listening? Well, it is definitely highly beneficial, in fact, more than you might think. Let’s take a look at the benefits of listening to an audiobook.

Increased Comprehension Skills

The skill of understanding and comprehension is essential if you want to succeed in both your personal and work life. Well, by listening, you can increase this skill.

According to researchers, listening can increase comprehension up to 76%, which is incredible. When you hear words, you can comprehend them better than usual; this is normal human behavior. That’s why listening to audiobooks is an incredible activity.

Better Pronunciation Skills

When you listen to a book, all the words used within that book, whether you’re familiar with them or not, you’ll be able to hear the correct pronunciation of them.

This makes a person’s speaking abilities better and helps them speak more fluently and smartly, thus increasing their pronunciation skills, which cannot be achieved without listening.

Easier to do

One of the main benefits that are listening to audiobooks brings is that you can do it anywhere, at any time, without any constraints. The same cannot be said for the traditional way of book learning.

When you can’t focus on the pages of a book, or you’re driving, or you’re resting with your eyes closed, immersed in your world of imagination, listening to your favorite audiobook can make life better and easier.

Quick learning

It is said that 85% of the things we learn in our childhood is through the sense of hearing. If you consider this fact, it shows that things are easier to learn, understand and store in the memory if a person listens to them. The same goes for listening to audiobooks; that’s why I believe they’re so incredible.

Can you say you read a book if you listened to it?

This question is asked a lot on the internet, and I wanted to answer it to reply to people who proudly put forth this question.

Yes, you definitely can say that you’ve read a book if you’ve listened to the audiobook version of it. In fact, you can brag about listening to the audio version because it’s that better, in my opinion. Well, you don’t need to be too cocky about it, but you definitely should be proud.

Why choose to listen to audiobooks?

The main reason I believe listening to audiobooks is better is that it doesn’t only promote listening skills but also increases the ability to read and the reading accuracy of a person. So, you’re benefitting both skills with the help of just a single activity, which is an incredible feat.

Conclusion

In conclusion, listening to audiobooks is much better than reading books. Although reading books is great and incredibly nostalgic, the future definitely has a much larger scope for listening to audiobooks.

I hope I could convey the message properly to you and adopt listening to audiobooks with time. You’re definitely going to have an incredible time listening to professional narrators painting the beautiful picture of the imaginary world of literature.