My rant against audiobooks

Hear ye, hear ye. My name is Naina Raisinghani and I read books. This is my rant against audiobooks.

I don't think that listening to an audiobook qualifies as reading. Why you ask:

• First, you aren't really reading the book so the experience is broken somewhat.
• Second, you are usually listening to audiobooks while you are doing something else (commuting, doing errands, driving) and as a result you are not paying full attention to the content of the book. This means you aren't noticing the nuances of the imagery or using your imagination.
• Listening to a book doesn't allow you to pause and reflect or flip to another page and revisit a scene. All of this results in a less immersive experience. This is true for both fiction and non fiction books.
• While some audiobooks are narrated by the author, most aren't. This means you are now being influenced by someone's reading of a book. While the author has a strong understanding of how they wan the book to be presented, an unknown reader might not.
  • Note: I have been listening to comedian's memoirs in an audiobook format while driving. I have also been laughing my ass off while doing so. There is something to be said about Seth Rogen talking about his weed infused frenzy.
  • I read Barack Obama's first memoir. IT WAS LONG. I am told his audiobook is much more tolerable. I will be listening to the audiobook the next time :P
• I will admit to my bias here and state that the fact that a whole bunch of tech bros claim to "read" audiobooks also has me biased against them.

So yes, come for me audiobook readers. I am intrigued to hear what you have to say! :P