Is listening to an audiobook cheating?

Not long ago, I came across the story of a young man named Douglas Lawrence, from Toronto, Canada. He belongs to a small neighborhood book club—a quiet circle of people who don’t just discuss literature, but share in that ancient ritual of stepping into distant worlds together. During one of their meetings, Douglas brought up a passage that had moved him deeply. What surprised the group was his answer when they asked which chapter it came from: he said it was “an hour and a half before the book ended.”

They looked at him with surprise, and perhaps—with just a flicker of it—that quiet condescension that arises when we believe we’ve found the “right” way to experience something.
They accused him of cheating.
—“An audiobook isn’t the same. It’s not as enriching. Not as intellectually demanding,” they said.

Douglas didn’t argue. He smiled. He remembered how, before discovering audiobooks, his dog walks were filled only with trivial thoughts—wondering whether he’d brought enough bags, worrying about small things. But once he began listening to stories during those walks, the world around him softened. Time opened. Those ordinary moments became gateways to extraordinary journeys.

That story stayed with me. Not because of the judgment—people are quick to judge what they don’t understand—but because of how often we forget to value the different ways stories reach us.
I, too, have listened to audiobooks. And I can tell you, some narrators don’t merely read. They breathe life into the characters. Their voices carry the rhythm of myth and memory. Listening to them feels like being told a tale by an old sage around a fire—one of those tales you never want to end.

Of course, some readings don’t quite resonate. Not every voice strikes a chord. But the same is true of printed books. Not every story we hold in our hands stirs the soul.

One audiobook that left a lasting impression on me is called Por si las voces vuelven (In Case the Voices Return) by Spanish author Ángel Martín. With a blend of raw honesty and tenderness, he recounts his descent into a psychotic episode: how the television began speaking to him, how colors and scents became omens, how meaning twisted itself into everything his senses perceived.
At some point, a box inside his head opened, and voices began to speak—nonstop.

He recalls a moment on the road when he became convinced that gasoline was a placebo, a tool of mass control. Determined not to be fooled, he kept driving and refused to stop for gas. He ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere, far from the nearest town. A perfect symbol, perhaps, of how one can be deeply lost even while still moving.

In the same story, he tells how he once arrived home carrying gifts and flowers, overflowing with joy over what he believed had been his girlfriend’s stunning performance in Wonder Woman. He posted about it online, celebrating her supposed role in the film. But when he gave her the gifts, what he expected to be a celebration became something else entirely. His girlfriend wasn’t an actress. She hadn’t starred in any film. That was the moment she realized something was terribly wrong—and brought him to the psychiatric hospital.

Listening to that audiobook felt like sharing a quiet coffee with the author. As if, between sips and silences, he trusted you enough to tell the story of the moment he “went mad.” There is humor in it, yes—but also a luminous kind of truth. Spoken stories carry something sacred. When a voice reaches us like that, it feels less like we chose the story… and more like the story chose us.

Is listening to an audiobook cheating? No, it isn’t. This isn’t a shortcut, nor is it lesser—it’s simply a different kind of encounter. And for many people, it’s the only way in.

People with ADHD often describe audiobooks as a lifeline—an open window to the worlds they struggle to reach through traditional reading. For them, sitting down to read can feel impossible. The same goes for those with visual impairments, or those whose lives don’t allow for long, silent hours with a book in their hands.

We shouldn’t measure learning or storytelling by a single standard.
Culture isn’t a competition. It’s a river.
And everyone steps into it from a different shore.

Read, listen, imagine.
And never deny someone the joy of discovering beauty on a path that isn’t yours.

Listen to an audiobook.
Believe me—you won’t regret it.

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Douglas Lawrence story: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-should-i-be-disqualified-from-my-book-club-because-i-use-audiobooks/#comments

In Case the Voices Return (Por si las voces vuelven) author’s official site: https://mundoangelmartin.com/libro-por-si-las-voces-vuelven/

Go Touch Some Grass (Another read from The Hearth Nook): https://thehearthnook.com/2025/05/15/hearth-writer/