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For me, listening to an audio book is an experience that sits firmly in the middle between reading a book and watching a movie. It's neither reading nor is it watching, but listening. Different activities, different experiences.
I have been trying to really get into audio books because I sometimes believe it would be more time-efficient, but I've not been too successful. It works best when I practice juggling or exercise, but already doing dishes or other housework causes me to lose track of the story. Just sitting there and doing nothing but listening doesn't turn out so well, either: I tend to get bored or sleepy.
I also find it easier to get immersed into books. An audio book never made me forget my surroundings and time, or sucked me into the story as much as a book that is read by myself.
Perhaps this is just a matter of what we're used to and thus something that can be practiced, or it might be that English isn't my native language and listening is a different (brain) process than reading. Reading written English fluently and effortlessly came many years earlier for me than listening to and comprehending (in real time) spoken English. The gap is much smaller these days, but the ratio of written and spoken English that I "consume" is heavily biased toward the former.
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