Anyone wanna chat books? I love to read, I always have and Iâve recently started wanting to be a writer of any kind (starting slow with a blog). At the end of 2021 I started keeping track of my reading and setting goals for myself in Goodreads. Late 2022 into early 2023, I went to a few âSilent Book Clubâ meetings and one of the girls mentioned that sheâll listen to the audio version of the book while sheâs reading and it helps her read faster. Hmm, interesting idea.
So of course, thatâs not the first time Iâd ever heard of audiobooks but itâs the first time I ever really considered listening to them in my own life. But, also of course, my weirdo brain didnât like the idea at first because I didnât think I had the concentration to listen to audiobooks, like my thoughts would wonder and I would miss too much, so I ignored the idea.
Then September of 2023 rolled around and I was only 11 books into my 30 book goal so I decided to give an audiobook a try (I also think I wanted to read a certain book and could only find the audio version on Libby). Anddddddd, I LOVED it. I loved that I could listen to a book and do dishes or clean the house or exercise or really do anything at the same time.
Now I mostly exclusively listen to audiobooks but will occasionally not be able to find the audio version of one and read the hard copy. But, hereâs what I really want to chat aboutâŚ. Do you consider listening to audiobooks as reading? I have a *semi* (not really at all) harsh critic who challenged me back in 2022 of who could read the most books. I won in 2022 so we played again in 2023 and won again because I started listening to audiobooks. When my 2024 goal was a bit higher then previous years, they claimed that Iâm cheating by listening to audiobooks (I blow through them so quickly because Iâm usually listening to one during any free time from wake up to night night).
But to me, regardless of how I choose to consume the book, it still counts towards my âreading goalâ. Iâm still spending 5, 7 and sometimes 9 hours on the same book, Iâm just able to accomplish other things during those hours while people who read physical books would have to dedicate the same amount of hours on only that one task (unless reading and walking on the treadmill or on a stationary bike or something similar). Now, I donât really care if others think that audiobooks donât count as reading, I listen to them because I enjoy getting lost in made up worlds and non-fictional drama that I donât have to sort through, lol. I just know that hard copy versus audiobooks is a bit controversial amongst the book community and wonder what you all think!
All that to say, I love books, whether reading the words with my eyes or listening to them with my ears. If youâre also a fan of books, find me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/chaoticallykaleigh
And for funsies, hereâs a few of the authors/books I currently or recently loved đ¤
- Katie Bailey – The Quit List, Seasonâs Schemings, Holiday Hostilities, I Think He Knows (Gilmore Girls references galore!)
- Gracie Ruth Mitchell – Five Stolen Rings
- Jenny Proctor – BIG fan of all 4 Hawthorne Brothers books đ plus, the Some Kind of Love series
- Sophie Sullivan – Canât Help Falling in Love
- Jordyn Taylor – The Paper Girl of Paris was quite different than my normal reads but I LOVED
- Katharine McGee – The American Royalâs series was *chefâs kiss* (even my husband got caught up in them)
- Sarah Adams – When In Rome series
- Annah Conwell – But Heâs a Carter Brother series
Drop any author/book recs you have in the comments, I would love to hear about what youâre currently loving!
Tata for now!
Xoxo, CK
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