Does listening to an audiobook count as reading?

Turning commutes into chapters, long car trips into epic journeys, and providing company – day or night – audiobooks are loved by many.

But a prejudice still exists against them: that they somehow don’t “count” as reading.

"I always feel like it’s inaccurate to say I've read a book when I've actually listened to it, although I don’t know why,” says Brittany Whiley.

With a busy toddler, she says she often doesn’t have time to sit down with a book, but listening to one as she commutes or cleans the house doesn’t feel like it has the same benefit.

“I keep saying I haven’t read a book in months, when I have actually listened to quite a few audiobooks,” says Whiley.

And she’s not alone in her views. It’s a question that sparks real debate online, with a recent NPR/Ipsos poll in the US also found 41 percent of respondents don’t consider audiobooks as a form of reading.

But many experts would disagree.

Dr Anna Siyanova is a psycholinguist at Victoria University of Wellington, and says audiobooks count as reading. “It’s a definite yes”.

“If an adult who is already a fluent reader listens to a book attentively and engages with its content, they have experienced the same story, ideas, and language. From a comprehension perspective, listening to an audiobook is a legitimate form of reading.”

Literacy expert Sue McDowall sees significant value in audiobooks in the literary landscape. “Many of the benefits that come from reading books also come from listening to them.”

How our brains process stories

As Siyanova explains, although information enters the brain differently, listening and reading create similar mental representations of a story.

“Listening and reading engage partly different cognitive mechanisms,” she says. “Listening involves processing spoken language and its rhythm and intonation, while reading requires visual recognition of written words and their conversion into meaning.”

“But despite these differences, both modes draw on many of the same language and comprehension systems in the brain.”

Comprehension and retention

This raises another question: do we understand and retain what we hear as thoroughly as what we read on the page?

A 2016 study in the US looked at exactly this, with 91 participants asked to read sections of a non-fiction book. Split into groups, one group listened to the sections, a second group read the sections, and the third group read and listened at the same time. Afterwards, they were quizzed on the material.

“We found no significant differences in comprehension between reading, listening, or reading and listening simultaneously,” says lead author Dr Beth Rogowsky.

Automatic or repetitive activities like cleaning, walking, gardening, doing washing or driving on familiar routes are less likely to interfere with listening, whereas tasks requiring language, decision-making, or frequent attention shifts can significantly reduce comprehension.

And while most people still listen at 1x speed, Audible reports that 1.2x and 1.5x are the most common choices for people increasing their playback speed. However, experts have not yet established at what point audiobook speed hinders comprehension across listeners.

Engaging children in books

The large caveat is, of course, developing readers. For children and others still building literacy skills, time spent reading printed books provides essential practice in decoding, word recognition, and fluency that listening alone cannot provide, says Siyanova.

But in addition to time spent with books, listening to stories read aloud can be a powerful tool to keep children engaged in books and help them become motivated readers.

Christchurch City librarian Donna Robertson sees audiobooks as the next step along from being read to by parents, and gives children exposure to different stories, voices and styles.

Simple enjoyment

Don’t overlook a very simple aspect of audiobooks; they can be an excellent form of entertainment with high production value.

“Audiobooks convey emotion, intonation and rhythm. A skilled narrator can add dimensions of meaning and feeling that are absent from the printed page. They can be an exceptionally valuable source of both linguistic input and enjoyment,” says Siyanova.

Librarian Donna Robertson points to 2017 Booker Prize-winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders for its unprecedented 166 narrators, including Jeffrey Tambor, Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller and Lena Dunham.

“It’s like listening to a play, it’s incredible.”

Accessibility benefits

Before he lost his sight nine years ago, Graham Bolton was a keen reader, but now consumes far more books than he ever did.

His favourites are books about broadcasting, thanks to a career in radio, but he also enjoys biographies, especially music memoirs.

“I went through a whole period of listening to autobiographies of famous singers and rock stars, Elton John, the Beatles, and other artists that I played when I was a DJ.”

He says audiobooks, which he accesses through the Blind Low Vision Library, have been vital for keeping him connected and independent.

"It's added real value to my life, no question at all.”

Bolton says because he lives alone, audiobooks are also a comfort, and he uses an Alexa device to play his books in his living room or his bedroom.

Bolton now runs support groups for people losing their sight, and says audiobooks help people retain an important part of their lives when vision loss occurs.

“It's a part of their life… It's a really valuable service.”

The benefits of reading - in any format

With flagging literacy rates nationwide, audiobooks are just another format to access books.

And both reading and listening books bring many of the same cognitive benefits, says McDowall.

“That includes building understanding of book language and how stories work, developing interpretive skills such as predicting and making inferences, and expanding vocabulary.”

There is also research showing that engaging with texts in any form, especially fictional texts, can help develop empathy, perspective taking, and social participation, she says.

Most popular audiobooks in New Zealand

2025’s most popular audiobooks on Spotify Premium:

A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

How to access audiobooks

Borrow free audiobooks through your library using the Libby or BorrowBox app - you’ll just need a library card.

Pay for a subscription or buy audiobooks through Audible, Spotify, Google Play Books or Apple Books

Purchase through Libro.fm, which gives you the option to choose a local bookstore to receive a commission from the sale.