I’ve read 27 books so far this year, and almost all of them have been audiobooks. You may be thinking, “Mady, that’s a ridiculous number of books, and is that even reading?” Yes, it’s actually proven that audiobooks are equally effective as reading books for activating the part of your brain that processes semantic information, but that’s beside the point. (Read this National Literacy Trust research report for more details). 

In recent years, immersive audiobooks have become more common, where instead of one or two narrators reading the novel, audiobooks are narrated by a full cast. In some immersive audiobooks, there are even sound effects to further connect readers to the scenes they’re listening to. For example, if you were listening to a book and a character was walking through the forest, you’d hear the crunching of leaves as they walked and the chirping of birds around them. 

One audiobook I listened to with immersive elements was Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. While this particular book did not include sound effects, the audiobook was narrated by a cast of characters rather than one narrator. The book itself features around 20 different narrators, presented in an oral history format, so listening to the audiobook with different voices for the different band members, interviewers and other characters was very helpful for distinguishing between characters in my head. 

Another audiobook I listened to with immersive elements was None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. The two main characters in the book are co-hosts of a podcast together, so the audiobook had a different audio sound during the podcast segments versus the regular narration. Because this book is a thriller, the audiobook also had some atmospheric sound effects in between the regular and podcast narrations which added another layer of interest to the book. In the case of None of This is True, I felt that the immersive effects only added to the suspense of the book, and it didn’t feel disruptive to the pacing of the novel whatsoever.  

While immersive audiobooks may not be for everyone, they can take away some of the stress of reading books that people who don’t read often may face. I know many people who struggle with books featuring a large cast of characters, but an audiobook with different narrators for each may help them keep each storyline straight. For people who find themselves bored of reading words on a page or even listening to a regular audiobook, the other sound effect elements may allow them to connect deeper with the story, as if they were watching a movie. 

For me, audiobooks have made it easier to read more books than I have in past years even with my busy schedule. I’d recommend trying out an immersive audiobook because you never know, it might just be your new favorite.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Mady Kiser at [email protected].