There are some die-hard book lovers out there who love the feel of a paperback or magazine in their hands. They love to curl up with the latest best-seller in front of the fireplace and escape to a different world. Can these people get just as much enjoyment out of listening to audiobooks?
There is some debate over whether they are quite the same thing and of course everyone has their own opinion. It really comes down to the individual and whether or not they are willing to keep an open mind to trying new things.
Kudos to Olga Khazan, a Forbes.com contributor, who understands that the issue is not necessarily black vs. white – that conversion of some books to audiobooks will work better than others. According to Khazan, it can depend on the type of book. With difficult topics, for example, physical reading may pose an advantage, because you can go back and re-read the sentence or paragraph until you understand what is being said. It’s harder to do that when you’re listening.
Physical environments are different when listening to books as well. Often, people are listening and doing other things at the same time, such as exercising, driving or cleaning. if you consider yourself a multi-tasker, then listening to audiobooks may suit you just fine and you won’t miss curling up with that paperback after all.
