Audiobooks for Dummies

When it comes to audiobooks, book lovers have varied opinions on its benefits in comparison to the conventional reading of books. Some say it is same as reading, while other differs and believes that they are a lazy alternative!

However, regardless of the opinions, audiobooks have found their way into the hearts of many book lovers and their popularity is just increasing with time.

And why not? There are many recognized benefits of audiobooks that make them suitable for many situations. For instance, you can listen to audiobooks while driving, cleaning, walking, etc. and save a good amount of time.

You can’t do that while reading, can you?

I’m not saying audiobooks are better than reading. What I mean is that both have their own importance and we should acknowledge and accept them for the great values they bestow upon us.

Here are some of the key benefits of listening to audiobooks:

1. It improves pronunciation and fluency
Listening to audiobooks improves your reading and speaking accuracy and fluency. While the narrator(s) narrates the book, you can notice and learn the way he/she is pronouncing different words.

Not only that, but you can also notice his reading speed, his pauses, stresses, and intonations, which are very crucial in having a good fluency and command over any language.

2. Helps to improve time management
One of the most notable benefits of audiobooks is that you can save a good amount of time by multitasking. You can continue listening to your audiobook if the other tasks do not require much of your attention.

Many people love listening to audiobooks in gym, or while going for a walk, or while carrying out other daily commute be it driving, cooking, cleaning, or even bathing.

3. Builds Critical Listening skills
Critical listening involves analysis, critical thinking, and judgment. Listening to audiobooks is a great way of building your critical listening skills.

Analyzing different complications in the plots of the story and trying to make certain judgments based on your analysis helps you enhance these skills.

4. It improves focus and attention span
While listening to an audiobook, you need to pay attention to what the narrator is trying to convey to you. And you will have to maintain that attention throughout the narration.

It is very easy to get lost once you are distracted while listening to audiobooks. And unlike reading books, you will find it difficult in going back and re-listening it again. So it is important that you are focused and you don’t let yourself distract.

5. It improves memory
There are a lot of things that you need to remember while listening to an audiobook. Name of the characters and their features, name of the places, plots and sub-plots, the sequence of events, important conversations etc. are some of the key information you need to keep in mind while listening to fiction.

The ability to retain these information keeps improving with the number of audiobooks you listen to. And as your brain learns to remember the information from the story-line, it also becomes better at remembering other things of your life.

6. Builds critical thinking and improves comprehension skills
While listening to an audiobook, a lot of information are being processed in our brain simultaneously. It opens up many different perspectives for your brain to comprehend.

If you are listening to a mystery or suspense book, your brain constantly tries to speculate certain outcomes and events. It also has to relate one event to the other to make sense in the story. All this, in turn, sharpens your mind and site enhances your critical and analytical thinking skills.

7. You get an interesting and lively experience of the story
The personality of the narrator(s) can really enhance the flow and feel of the story. They help us create mental pictures of situations and characters and also help in understanding the plot emotions better.

Narrator(s) are very enthusiastic and they bring the story to life with voice inflections, humor, mystery, and varied cadence. And all this makes the story an interesting, lively, and fun experience for the listeners!

8. Audiobooks are highly beneficial for people with visual impairments
Audiobooks are a blessing for people with visual impairments and other reading disorders such as dyslexia, hyperlexia, etc. In recent years, audiobooks have contributed immensely to the literacy development among differently-abled individuals.

For instance, Learning Ally, a non-profit volunteer organization operating nationwide in the United States, produces and maintains a library of educational accessible audiobooks for people who cannot effectively read standard print because of visual impairment, dyslexia, and other reading difficulties.

9. It helps develop empathy
Another important benefit of audiobooks is that they help you to become more empathic. Being empathic means being able to understand and share the feelings of others.

Narrators of the audiobooks help you connect with the characters and plots of the story. You yourself become a part of the book and feel what the characters are supposed to feel. The lively narration by the narrator makes you understand the pain and grievances of the characters.

10. It boosts our mental health
Listening to good audiobooks can boost our mental health. Just like reading books, listening to audiobooks can also reduce stress and calm our mind.

Many people listen to soothing audiobooks before going to bed. This helps them fall asleep and also improve sleep quality. Which again is a huge factor for improving and maintaining our mental health.