He argues that decoding is not the point for people who want to appreciate the language and the story. “Listening to an audiobook might be considered cheating if the act of decoding were the point audiobooks allow you to seem to have decoded without doing so,” he writes in his science and education blog. Daniel Willingham, a University of Virginia psychology professor, takes issue with the verb “cheat.” Verbs and their meanings! Either way you are receiving the story.” “But I suppose you listen to audiobooks and read print books/e-books. “That’s over my head, ontology-wise!” he dodged diplomatically. In a March Q&A on the Literary Hub website, author Colson Whitehead (“The Underground Railroad”) was asked whether he thinks listening to an audiobook counts as reading. Although there seems to be little solid evidence that listening is cheating, doubts persist. A quick web search pulls up a 2013 link, with many more recent installments. The question has been out there for years. Yet, a vague inner voice keeps asking, “Is this cheating?” That’s how I got through Annie Proulx’s wonderful but sprawling 700-page “Barkskins.” Audio also allows me to finish the monthly book club selection and still hit a few from my own list. If I really want to make progress, I mix the audio with a print copy, because I can read faster than I listen.

Old-school books on CD play while my hands are busy with cooking or craft projects. A smartphone app allows me to capture the time I spend walking the skyways on my lunch hour and waiting for the bus. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to pick up the pace. That’s a big reason why I’ve become a fan of audiobooks. With more and more books joining my to-read list, the challenge is only growing. How many of these books am I really going to read before my own final chapter? As a reader of a certain age, I have begun to take an actuarial view of my bookshelves.

Listening to audiobooks vs reading