Reading is Reading
There has been some discourse in the book world recently about reading. More specifically a BookToker or perhaps BookTokers saying that unless a person are physically reading with their eyes then they are not reading.
Now I am not going to dignify these people with space by naming them. However, know these kinds of small minded people exist in this world. I feel this is something that is important to be addressed.
READING IS READING (I state it again)
No matter how you consume the words you are reading. According to studies from multiple universities as well s the US Department of Education there are seven *SEVEN* styles of learning. (Kinaesthetic, Visual, Aural, Social, Solitary, Verbal, and Logical) In these styles of learning, there are many different types of technics used to create a positive learning environment for people. There are MANY MANY different methods used to allow individuals to consume information.
You can learn about the different learning styles in this article.
Perhaps a person can’t physically hold a book (or e-reader) so they rely on audio books. Maybe a person is unable to see words on a page. Sometimes there might be a person that can read and hold books, but the words on a page are a jumbled mess. Or they are unable to comprehend what they are seeing. So audio books are their best recourse.
These BookTokers claiming that audio books aren’t reading is a ridiculous notion. Reading is reading whether one takes the time to read those works on the page. Or they enjoy the hard work of one of the amazing narrators in their field listen. The nearsightedness of these people is appalling. I know many people who when they read, it takes an extremely long time to get through the literature. And at the end, they don’t have a good comprehension of it. But allow them to hear the words aloud and it’s a whole different world. I know people that have such severe ADHD that the thought of sitting and reading a book frustrates them to no end. So they LISTEN to their books because it allows them to multi-task and focus themselves.
People truly need to check their privilege and realize that there are people in our world that use other methods of reading (and learning). There is ZERO issue in that. Realize that it doesn’t matter how those words enter your head… the fact that they are there is the ONLY thing that matters.
