Do Audiobooks count?
My 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge is set at 50 books and, at the time of writing, I’m on 39 complete and more than 20 in progress. My bestie has read 22 out of her target of 24 and my dad is sitting smug with 63 out of 70.
Part of the reason Dad and I are so much more ambitious than bestie is that she has a strict policy of “audiobooks don’t count”. She recently spent some time stalking the Goodreads challenges of others and was amazed that people with full time jobs and even more kids than she has were setting (and achieving) much higher targets than she was. Cue a mild rant about how most of the books on these people’s lists have been “read” through audio rather than hardcopy. To her, that simply doesn’t count.
On the one hand, I too consider “reading” to be something you should set aside special time for. Ideally with a blanket, a cup of tea, a heavy hardback and a bookmark that cost more than a three-course meal. To bestie, that’s what it means exclusively. Because her house is full of tiny humans and her life is full of stress, the blanket/tea/bookmark combo is the way she gives time back to herself. Yes, yes, yes. God knows how she manages it, but she does, and she’ll get zero arguments from me. However, I don’t seem able for that. I manage about ten minutes in bed at night before I pass out, and I read for research on my writing days, but outside of that I struggle. So why is my reading target still higher than hers?
My day job is cleaning, being alone tackling various levels of human vulgarity in the same rooms again and again. It’s exactly as fulfilling as it sounds. So how do I make productive use of that time, keep myself entertained? One word: Audible. For years my passionate reader father tried to convince me I needed it. I resisted partially because I’m a purist but even more because of the cost. I can’t remember how or why my mind changed, but boy did it. I can research for my own work while I’m polishing worktops, I can download the latest big release novel and get lost in it while I’m pulling hair out of a shower drain. When there’s a group of freebies I’m excited to get through, I can let my credits build up and then have a book-buying spree with none of the guilt.
No, it isn’t the same, and shopping on an app is nothing compared to rummaging around in a bookshop, but it is a world better than nothing. Nothing is what I would largely get if I were stricter with my reading habits, I’m too easily distracted and don’t currently feel able to make more time for it. But it is my greatest love, the way I give time back to myself too, and so I do what I need to do to make it happen.
Besides which, so much incredible work is flooding the market every day. As a writer I need to keep an eye on what other writers are doing, what’s selling, what do/don’t I like about the new releases? I need to constantly search and watch for anything ever written about North America, botany, witches, whatever else I need to learn about for my own work at any given time. It would be churlish of me to turn down a seemingly inexhaustible resource that costs me the same amount as a single physical book a month would do. (I still buy those as often as finances and husband allow though – obviously)
My verdict – I’m still a purist. One day when I’m not working two jobs AND trying to build a career AND training for a half marathon AND by the way, anxious and restless as all hell, maybe things will change. For now, however, yes, audiobooks count, because I’d be missing out on so much if they didn’t. But each to their own. Just keep reading.
P.S. As long as they’re unabridged. Abridged is a deal-breaker.