It is wild to me that there are people who think audiobooks is "cheating" literature.
Oh, so reading books is a competitive sport now?
unironically, it makes me sad that so many people (even people who like books!) still treat reading as homework
"audiobooks don't count as reading" is a sentence that only makes sense if reading "counts" for something.
This is true for all the dumbass discourse around reading: Does fanfiction count as reading? Do graphic novels or comics count as reading? Do you have to read "the classics"? Is reading short/easy books "cheating"? Is it okay to not finish a book, should it "count" towards your total? The answer to all of these questions is: log off.
What standard are you holding yourself up to? Why does it matter at all? Who is "counting" and why? You're 37 you can't get a good grade in reading anymore, it's not real
Another way people treat reading as homework is when they treat reading books by marginalized authors as eating their fucking vegetables: "Oh this book taught me so much about the X experience or the Y struggle. This book is such great Z representation" And?? Is the book good? Did you enjoy it? Or was this just a title that checked off the requirements for your homework assignment and now you can go back to reading the books you actually wanted to read? Did you want to read at all or do you just think you should?
I say this as the snobbiest book person I know: read for enjoyment or don't read at all. Is reading good for you? Yeah, but so are a lot of things. Find the ones you like doing.
