ontheedgeofeverything

I am a firm believer in accountability, which is why I am going to be completely transparent with you and admit that I am eating humble pie when it comes to audiobooks. For a long while now, I have scorned the idea of audiobooks because I take issue with people who claim to ‘read’ books, when in actuality they listen to them through the form of an audiobook. My reasoning for not loving them eventually grew into a general dislike for them, so I refused to give them a try and wrote them off as something I probably wouldn’t enjoy.

I cut a lot of grass as part of my work on the farm, and because I am sometimes on the mower for hours at a time, I ended up having to rely on an audiobook to complete a book in my book club before we met to discuss it. I knew I would not have enough time to finish it solely by reading the text, so I decided to swallow my pride and finish what I had left to read using an audiobook.

I wouldn’t say I loved the experience, but I also didn’t hate it, hence why I’m writing a post about audiobooks. Do I believe my initial outright rejection of all of them to be a reasonable stance on the topic? No, I do not. And, after being somewhat forced into listening to one for once, I quickly realized audiobooks are fantastic options for people who spend a lot of time travelling to pass the time.

I still believe listening to an audiobook does not equate to actually reading one, because the experiences of reading and listening are entirely different. But, I do think there are likely people out there who despise reading and enjoy audiobooks, so I suppose it’s a matter of what best tickles your fancy.

Photo by Jukka Aalho on Unsplash