The latest Sword and Laser podcast includes a very well-framed discussion of a simple, relevant question: is listening to an audiobook of a novel the same thing as reading the novel?  This subject apparently began as a debate on Goodreads, resulting in a Sword and Laser straw poll, which revealed that a plurality of people (46 percent) believed that they were “both equally valid, but different.”  Another 39 percent believed the were essentially the same, while a small minority (15 percent) answered that they were different.

I tend to agree with the plurality: the two media are equally valid, but different.  The differences, in my mind, are related to style and the subjective impact of a book on each particular reader.  The existence of a third-party audio narrator necessarily adds another layer between author and reader, and the narrator’s audio interpretation of the text is just that: an interpretation.  The narrator’s choices regarding tone, inflection, accent, volume, pace, and rhythm create a subjective interpretation of the book that belongs to neither the author nor the reader.  Does this affect the listener’s ability to absorb the essence of the work?  No.  Is it a difference substantial enough to argue over?  No, probably not, particularly if the narrator is any good (and the talent level of the particular audio reader makes a huge difference).

I’ve only recently started listening to audiobooks regularly, through Audible.com.  I spend a lot of time in the car, so listening to audiobooks effectively doubles my reading time.  But I have to admit, I generally avoid listening to serious or heavy novels.  I save the stuff I really care about for print, both because I’m old fashioned and prefer it, and because reading comprehension is an issue for me with audiobooks: unlike with a paper book or ebook, if your attention wanders and you miss a line in an audiobook, you’ve got to scrub the file back, which can be difficult when you listen in the car.   In a book you’ve got the text right in front of, ready to be read and re-read in a tired haze ad nauseum while you wonder how tired you’ll be the next morning.

What do you think?  Do you listen to audiobooks?  Are they the same?  Different?