Can We Just “Read” Audiobooks Instead?

Post by Anisha Singh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at San Francisco State University.

Audiobooks have become my constant companions, whether I’m commuting, doing dishes, or juggling daycare drop-offs. As a parent, it’s often the only way I “read.” But as an educational psychologist who studies how people understand text, I’ve been wondering: Am I actually learning anything? The short answer is: It depends.

Genre matters significantly. Humans are naturally wired for storytelling, giving us an inherent ability to follow narrative arcs. Research shows that for fictional works, comprehension is nearly equivalent whether people listen to audiobooks or read print. But when it comes to expository texts packed with complex ideas or technical information (e.g., textbooks), print tends to support better understanding.

Focus matters a lot, too. While all reading needs attention, listening to books requires special skills to ignore distractions. When that gorgeous Golden Gate bridge appears outside your bus window it is easy to lose track of what the narrator was saying. Research shows that people who listen to lots of audiobooks (or podcasts) get better at tuning out these distractions and staying focused on the audio content.

Audiobooks are great for picking up facts. But, if you’re trying to understand complex ideas, audiobooks aren’t always your best choice. Here’s why: When reading print, your eyes naturally jump to confusing sections without even thinking about it. It’s as if your brain and eyes team up to make you understand. With audiobooks, though, it’s not so simple. Try finding that important sentence you missed a few minutes ago—you’ll be hitting rewind repeatedly, guessing where it might be. This extra hassle means we often just continue listening instead of clearing up our confusion. The result? We might miss connections between ideas that would be obvious if we were looking at the page.

The narrator’s voice may also significantly affect the experience. Some listeners find certain vocal qualities distracting, regardless of content quality. A narrator’s pacing, intonation, and even accent can enhance comprehension or create an additional cognitive burden that detracts from learning.

Next time you debate whether to listen or read, consider your purpose first. For enjoyment or straightforward information gathering, feel free to press play. But when deep learning is your goal, especially with complex material, traditional reading might still deserve its place in your intellectual toolkit. The best approach might be strategic: Save your audiobook time for fiction and narrative non-fiction, while reserving your eyes for texts requiring deeper processing and frequent review.