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“read novels, because they will put you in someone else’s skin”
Dec. 30th, 2025 10:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyherenyaI gather that parts of the internet have been having a conversation an argument about whether audiobooks count as “reading”.
It’s not the first time I’ve heard about the existence of people who adamantly believe that audiobooks are not reading, but it might be the second. Growing up, adding audiobooks to my reading record just seemed like the obvious thing to do, and even studying literature at university, I never encountered nor contemplated the suggestion audiobooks were excluded from reading.
When I first heard about this argument, I thought about how I use the word reading.
If someone asked me if I’d read a particular novel in childhood, it would not make sense to reply, “No, my parents/teacher read it to me”. And if someone asked if I’d read the latest book in a fantasy series yet, it wouldn’t make sense to reply, “No, I listened to the audiobook”.
Because presumably my imaginary interlocutor does not want to know if I read the words myself with my own eyes, they are asking about whether I have encountered the story. Depending on what sort of conversation we are having, I might volunteer more details about my experience with the book, but it also might not be relevant.
“Yes, but I listened to the audiobook so I didn’t get to see all the illustrations” would make sense. So would “No, I haven’t read it, but I did see the adaptation”.
… it has just occurred to me that it is likely some of the people arguing that listening to audiobooks isn’t reading are younger than my reading record notebook. They could possibly even be younger than my LibraryThing account!
I’m not trying to be dismissive of other’s opinions purely based on their youth – and even if some of this brigade are much younger than me, I expect that others not.
My realisation was that my habits (of considering audiobooks are things one “reads”) are so long established, they’re old enough to be running around having opinions on the internet.
• Mariana by Susanna Kearsley: I had read all of Kearsley’s later novels – and reread quite a few of those – but I had not read this one.
When Julia, a children’s book illustrator, buys herself a house in a rural English village, she begins experiencing episodes in which she “becomes” Mariana, a young woman who lived in the house in the mid 1660s.
I was surprised, and delighted, by the way the pieces of this story fall into place. However there was a point where I became puzzled by the depth of Julia’s preoccupation with becoming Mariana. ( In the end, it DID make sense. ) This is not my favourite, but there were lots of things I enjoyed about the story.
• The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White (audiobook): I’ve enjoyed a bunch of White’s historical Christian fiction so I dived into this one without properly reading the blurb.
This story is set in Paris in 1940 during the German occupation. Corinne Bastien lives in an apartment building next door to the Library of Burned Books, which was established for books and writers banned in Germany and for years the library has been like a second home. Christian Bauer, a German professor, has been appointed to oversee all the libraries in Paris, and he is particularly determined to track down the missing titles that Corinne’s mother borrowed from the library.
It is certainly, uhh, a choice to make one of the protagonists technically a member of the Nazi party. Even though it’s immediately clear to the reader (if not to Corinne) that Christian does not agree with what his government is doing, big yikes! ( I had a whole lot of misgivings. All that said, there was actually a lot I enjoyed about this story! )
And I loved Christian’s speech about the importance of reading:
But for the record, I don’t consider it excellent advice in every context. I believe that there’s a time and a place for reading things that will offend or distress you, and a time and a place for choosing to not read those things. It’s a good idea to read things you disagree with, but that doesn’t mean you should try to read all of these things. Do not drown yourself in the horrors of the internet.
• The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman (audiobook): This is the sort of story I particularly enjoy listening to, so I was pleased to discover the audiobook was available on Spotify, because it wasn’t on Everand and my library has been ignoring my suggestion/request.
This story alternates between the past and the present. In 1927, Livy, a pilot, tries to find a way to participate in the Dole Air Race from California to Hawai’i. In 1987, Wren, a craftswoman whose wood-and-glass light fixtures have “yet to take off in the huge way she had imagined”, unexpectedly inherits a hundred-acre property on the Big Island from her great-aunt.
As expected, I was really interested in Livy’s experiences flying! I also enjoyed Wren’s experiences of living on Hawai’i – that part of the story had a vivid sense of place ( and also just had details that I liked, including Wren adopting a stray dog ) I’ve read a handful of Ackerman’s historical novels and so far, this one is my favourite.
I had a few more books I was intending to review now but I had a lot more to say about these ones than I realised I would! I think this is long enough.
Books read but not yet reviewed: 3
Books started but not yet finished: 2
Books borrowed from the library but not yet started: 3
It’s not the first time I’ve heard about the existence of people who adamantly believe that audiobooks are not reading, but it might be the second. Growing up, adding audiobooks to my reading record just seemed like the obvious thing to do, and even studying literature at university, I never encountered nor contemplated the suggestion audiobooks were excluded from reading.
When I first heard about this argument, I thought about how I use the word reading.
If someone asked me if I’d read a particular novel in childhood, it would not make sense to reply, “No, my parents/teacher read it to me”. And if someone asked if I’d read the latest book in a fantasy series yet, it wouldn’t make sense to reply, “No, I listened to the audiobook”.
Because presumably my imaginary interlocutor does not want to know if I read the words myself with my own eyes, they are asking about whether I have encountered the story. Depending on what sort of conversation we are having, I might volunteer more details about my experience with the book, but it also might not be relevant.
“Yes, but I listened to the audiobook so I didn’t get to see all the illustrations” would make sense. So would “No, I haven’t read it, but I did see the adaptation”.
… it has just occurred to me that it is likely some of the people arguing that listening to audiobooks isn’t reading are younger than my reading record notebook. They could possibly even be younger than my LibraryThing account!
I’m not trying to be dismissive of other’s opinions purely based on their youth – and even if some of this brigade are much younger than me, I expect that others not.
My realisation was that my habits (of considering audiobooks are things one “reads”) are so long established, they’re old enough to be running around having opinions on the internet.
• Mariana by Susanna Kearsley: I had read all of Kearsley’s later novels – and reread quite a few of those – but I had not read this one.
When Julia, a children’s book illustrator, buys herself a house in a rural English village, she begins experiencing episodes in which she “becomes” Mariana, a young woman who lived in the house in the mid 1660s.
I was surprised, and delighted, by the way the pieces of this story fall into place. However there was a point where I became puzzled by the depth of Julia’s preoccupation with becoming Mariana. ( In the end, it DID make sense. ) This is not my favourite, but there were lots of things I enjoyed about the story.
“It's too easy, you see, to get trapped in the past. The past is very seductive. People always talk about the mists of time, you know, but really it's the present that's in a mist, uncertain. The past is quite clear, and warm, and comforting. That's why people often get stuck there.”
I struggled to absorb the thought, unhappy.
“It’s better this way,” she told me gently. “Really it is. Otherwise you might go on reliving that single summer, year after year, when you ought to be getting on with life in the here and now.”
• The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White (audiobook): I’ve enjoyed a bunch of White’s historical Christian fiction so I dived into this one without properly reading the blurb.
This story is set in Paris in 1940 during the German occupation. Corinne Bastien lives in an apartment building next door to the Library of Burned Books, which was established for books and writers banned in Germany and for years the library has been like a second home. Christian Bauer, a German professor, has been appointed to oversee all the libraries in Paris, and he is particularly determined to track down the missing titles that Corinne’s mother borrowed from the library.
It is certainly, uhh, a choice to make one of the protagonists technically a member of the Nazi party. Even though it’s immediately clear to the reader (if not to Corinne) that Christian does not agree with what his government is doing, big yikes! ( I had a whole lot of misgivings. All that said, there was actually a lot I enjoyed about this story! )
And I loved Christian’s speech about the importance of reading:
“A page? Every day?”In context – the characters’ circumstances, the books Christian was recommending, who he was addressing – it’s excellent advice.
“A page, at least. A chapter. A whole book. Read novels, because they will put you in someone else’s skin. Read poetry, because it will give wings to your soul. Read science, because it will show you what’s possible. Read politics, because it will teach you how strongly people care about how their fellow men are treated, wherever they stand on what the best way is [...] Read things you hate and things you love and things you never thought you’d understand. And never, never accept the excuse that you’re not strong enough to handle it if you read something that offends you. You are. You’re strong enough to be offended and then try to understand why. You’re strong enough to grant that someone can be different and still be worthy of dignity. And if you aren’t?” He slammed one more book onto the stack. “Then read more, until you are.”
But for the record, I don’t consider it excellent advice in every context. I believe that there’s a time and a place for reading things that will offend or distress you, and a time and a place for choosing to not read those things. It’s a good idea to read things you disagree with, but that doesn’t mean you should try to read all of these things. Do not drown yourself in the horrors of the internet.
• The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman (audiobook): This is the sort of story I particularly enjoy listening to, so I was pleased to discover the audiobook was available on Spotify, because it wasn’t on Everand and my library has been ignoring my suggestion/request.
This story alternates between the past and the present. In 1927, Livy, a pilot, tries to find a way to participate in the Dole Air Race from California to Hawai’i. In 1987, Wren, a craftswoman whose wood-and-glass light fixtures have “yet to take off in the huge way she had imagined”, unexpectedly inherits a hundred-acre property on the Big Island from her great-aunt.
As expected, I was really interested in Livy’s experiences flying! I also enjoyed Wren’s experiences of living on Hawai’i – that part of the story had a vivid sense of place ( and also just had details that I liked, including Wren adopting a stray dog ) I’ve read a handful of Ackerman’s historical novels and so far, this one is my favourite.
Flying was her life.
Years of toil had brought her here. Not a journey of a thousand steps, but a thousand hours in the air. Or actually, more like four thousand seven hundred twenty-two. But who was counting? She was, actually, in her logbook. One of the diligent requirements of being a pilot.
I had a few more books I was intending to review now but I had a lot more to say about these ones than I realised I would! I think this is long enough.
Books read but not yet reviewed: 3
Books started but not yet finished: 2
Books borrowed from the library but not yet started: 3
