Does Listening to Audio Books Count as Reading?

I had a good rhythm going.  It’s pretty sad – between working and taking care of Xavier, the only time I could edit was between 7 and 9 at night.  Thank god Xavier goes to bed early.  A snow day here and a holiday there, and I was able to finish most of the editing pretty quickly. Just have to make a sermon chapter or two consistent with the others, change a song, and check on a few other things.  I’d say I could finish in just a few days.  So what happened?

Research papers.

The worst thing about teaching – grading.  The worst kind of grading – essays. The worst kind of essays – research.  I should finish grading those this weekend.  Until then, I’m off the grid.

So how can I read if I don’t have enough time to edit?

Audio books.  Wait, does that count as reading?

Driving to and from work gives me an hour a day to listen.  Not to mention catching a few minutes of a book here and there while cleaning, cooking, etc.

I’ve listened to a few lately that I really enjoy.

1.       The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.  No wonder why this one the Pulitzer prize.  The mix of slang and sophisticated words makes this very funny.  Plus I didn’t know much about the Dominican Republic’s Trujillo and the secret behind Kennedy’s assassination.  And the reader is fantastic.

2.       The Know it All by A.J. Jacobs.  It doesn’t seem like a book about trying to read the entire encyclopedia would be very funny, but it is.  Good reader.

3.       The Lost Gospel of Judas by Bart Ehrman.  OK, if you’ve looked at St Peter Killed God, you should know I’d be into this type of book.  I was surprised how easy listening to this book was.  The narrator was a little snide / cocky, but for some reason that made it even better.

Hopefully by the next post, I’ll be caught up and finished most of the editing.