The 'Immersive' Habit That Finally Cured My Reading Slump
I am a voracious reader and I always have been. I always carry a book with me when I travel, even if I’m just getting the bus to the city centre, I basic live part-time at my local library and I love nothing more than being asked for book recommendations.
However, sometimes the world gets on top of me, life is too busy and I am too perpetually overwhelmed to really take in a book. Even one I know I’ll love. Even one I know I have loved before. It’s miserable.
The last time this hit me, though, I discovered immersive reading.
How immersive reading cured my reading slump
Immersive reading, if you didn’t know, is when you listen to an audibook while reading a physical or digital copy of the book at the same time. It sounds overstimulating but I promise as somebody that’s very sensitive to sound, it’s really not.
The first book I tried it with was Andy Weir’s 2021 book Project Hail Mary. I knew I wanted to try it as I loved The Martian but for the place I was in mentally, just trying to read my boyfriend’s hardback copy wasn’t enough. So, I made the most of my Libby app and loaned the audiobook from the library.
Why does immersive reading work?
For me personally, when I’m listening to an audiobook, I treat it like a podcast. I listen while I do the dishes, while sorting the laundry, while doing anything but sitting and taking in the story.
Immersion reading sort of takes away that option. I have to pause, I have to take it in, and within just 10 minutes, I’m in a different world entirely to the one around me.
Audible recently launched the option to read and listen in their app due to popular demand. In an announcement on their website, Audible say: “Research shows that combining [reading and listening] can improve focus and comprehension, and Audible’s own data backs this up.
“Customers who currently listen while reading along are among Audible’s most engaged users, consuming nearly twice as much content per month as audiobook-only customers. In a recent U.S. survey of people who read and listen together, more than nine in ten agreed that reading while listening improves cognitive retention and comprehension.
They added that these benefits make the feature especially valuable for language learners, students, and anyone who simply wants to consume more books.
Brb, looking into learning a new language with immersive reading.