Do audiobooks count as reading?

This is a question I have been asked many times. Do audiobooks count as reading? My simple answer is yes. How can they not? You spend as much time selecting and choosing an audiobook as you do a physical book.

I personally have read a small selection of audiobooks. I have always wanted to listen to them but have found that they can be extortionately expensive! No one wants to pay £15+ for a CD/MP3. So how did I overcome this? I realised my local library loans out audiobooks! What a brilliant idea! 

I have found a love for listening to an audiobook whilst driving. They take away from the hustle and bustle of traffic and long journeys. I love how they can make me drift off into another place whilst I am sat waiting for time to pass. Don't get me wrong, I am still concentrating on the road of course, but they are such a good idea for in the car. I am tempted to load some onto my iPod to listen to whilst at the gym.

There is such a variety of books to choose from, from my local library. I am fortunate enough to have a recently revamped library which now has these resources and books to listen too. My library used to look like this...

Which lets be honest, was very resourceful and had the books and help the people needed. However, following the council agreeing to a refurbishment, the lovely library now looks like this...

I absolutely love it! I love the detail the library have paid to certain things. For example, the teddy bear waiting on the chair for anyone to come and have a cuddle whilst sharing a book. The now much more accessible books laid out much clearer and in more detail than the previous tall, dark and looming bookshelves. I was so happy when they announced they would be bringing a better library to my town and here it is.

It is due to this new library layout that I was able to easily find the audiobooks. They are conveniently located as you arrive and there is a full bookshelf dedicated to them. There is a selection of classics and titles which I am unfamiliar with. The only downfall of the selection of audiobooks is there are not any current greats waiting to be selected. I do not know if this is due to the pricing of audiobooks and the more unusual, less heard of titles being a more reasonable price. However, the three or four audiobooks which I have selected from the library I have very much enjoyed.

To go back to the question, do audiobooks count as reading? Absolutely yes! I know people who usually struggle with reading, whether that is due to lack of concentration or dyslexia who have found a love of reading because of audiobooks. Although I do personally prefer a physical copy of a book I would definitely recommend an audiobook to everyone and anyone. Think they are something you would be interested in but are too expensive? Get yourself down to your local library! You won't regret it! They're free and you have a month to listen to them.