Audiobooks - Yay or Nay?

I think it's safe to say that most of us keep track of how many books we read every year. Some of us do the Goodreads Challenge, others simply list off and maybe review these books in monthly or yearly wrap-up blog posts. Maybe we share how many books we've read with others, or maybe we keep it to ourselves.

But in any case, I'd like to pose this question: do audiobooks count to your book-reading goals?

I personally think listening to a few audiobooks is certainly fine, and can certainly be counted towards your Goodreads Challenge or other reading goals. I only end up listening to three or four throughout the year, usually while driving to and from work (I only have about a 10 minute drive).

As long as you are paying attention to the audiobook and actually listening, I think counting a lot of audiobooks is still fine. I know there are some folks who either don't have lots of sit-down time or else struggle to concentrate for more than five minutes on a print book but can stay focused while listening and doing some hands-on task (like cleaning or drawing).

If your main method for consuming literature is audiobooks while driving to work or cooking dinner, that's perfectly fine. Just make sure the audiobook doesn't become background noise and you zone out for three chapters. Just like my whole "if you speed-read the whole book and skipped whole pages and remember almost nothing about the plot afterwards, did you really read it" thing (cuz I can be soooo guilty of this). Use discernment here, y'all.

If you read audiobooks and turn the reading speed up fairly high...I have mixed emotions. At first I might be inclined to say that that's cheating, but then again, some folks can read or listen at fast speeds and still comprehend the whole thing. If you're one of those superfolks, more power to ya.

Ultimately, you do what works for you. Listen or read or do a mix of both. But if you're listening to audiobooks at twice the speed and not even actually listening half the time...maybe it's best you don't count that book. Same as if you speed-read a book and skip pages at a time...maybe don't count that one, either. Use common sense. And maybe be sure to tell people "I listened to audiobooks at double speed this year while driving to work" so they aren't in shock that you consumed over 200 books...

What do y'all think? Yay or nay to counting audiobooks? Pet peeves about reading challenges? Time to rant in the comments!

Also, what kind of reading challenges have you set for yourselves this year? I'd love to know!