How Audiobooks Helped Me Become the Reader I Always Wanted to Be

I'm going to admit something that has always felt a little embarrassing to me.

I've always wanted to be a reader.

You know the kind of person I'm talking about. The woman who curls up with a book and a cup of coffee on a quiet Saturday morning. The person who always has a novel in her bag and somehow manages to finish multiple books a month.

I wanted to be that person.

The problem? My life doesn't exactly lend itself to sitting quietly and reading for hours.

Between work, motherhood, dance classes, laundry, making dinner, driving everyone where they need to be, and trying to keep our household functioning, finding uninterrupted time feels almost impossible.

And if I'm being completely honest, there's another hurdle.

Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that reading was unproductive.

I know how ridiculous that sounds. Reading is widely valued for the way it exposes us to new ideas, builds knowledge, and gives us an opportunity to slow down and engage with something beyond our everyday responsibilities.

But when there are dishes in the sink, emails waiting, and a never-ending to-do list running through my head, sitting down with a book often feels like I'm choosing to do one more thing for myself when there are already so many things I should be doing for everyone else.

So I put the book down before I even picked it up.

I told myself I'd read when life slowed down, when the house was clean, when I had more time, or when I finally figured out how to manage everything a little better.

Of course, life doesn't really work that way.

There is always another thing to do. And waiting for the perfect pocket of time meant that reading kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list.

How I Discovered a Different Way to Read

Then I discovered audiobooks through the Libby app.

If you're unfamiliar with Libby, it's an app that allows you to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from participating public libraries using your library card. Availability depends on your library, but it's a wonderful way to explore books without having to purchase every title you want to read.

And honestly? It might be one of my favorite discoveries.

Suddenly, reading didn't require me to find an hour of uninterrupted quiet. I could listen while driving to work. I could listen while folding laundry, doing repetitive household tasks, or making my way through the everyday errands that fill up so much of my time.

I could listen for ten minutes.

I could listen for thirty.

I could listen to a chapter while getting ready in the morning or pick up where I left off during my next commute.

Instead of waiting for free time to magically appear, I could work reading into the life I already had.

And something unexpected happened.

I started finishing books.

Sometimes I'd listen during my commute and realize I'd made more progress in a week than I had in the previous six months. I started looking forward to getting back into a story or hearing what an author had to say next.

Those little pockets of time began to add up.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like a reader.

Not because I'd suddenly become better at managing my time. Not because my responsibilities had disappeared. And certainly not because I'd figured out how to make every part of my life more organized.

I'd simply found a way to make reading fit my actual life.

That small shift has made a bigger difference than I expected.

Do Audiobooks Count as Reading?

This is something I've thought about more than I'd like to admit.

For a long time, I had a very specific picture in my mind of what reading was supposed to look like. It involved a physical book, a comfortable chair, a quiet room, and enough uninterrupted time to really settle in.

Audiobooks didn't quite fit that picture.

Even though I was listening to the same stories and ideas, a little part of me wondered whether it counted in quite the same way.

But why was I so concerned about whether I was doing it the right way?

If my goal was to experience more stories, learn new things, and spend time engaging with ideas that mattered to me, why should the format be the deciding factor?

Listening to an audiobook is a legitimate way to engage with a book. Research on reading and listening suggests that both can support language comprehension and learning, although the experience isn't identical in every situation. Factors such as the complexity of the material, the listener's attention, and the purpose of reading can all make a difference.

An audiobook won't always replace sitting down with a physical book, especially when I need to slow down, reread a passage, or take detailed notes. And listening while distracted isn't the same as giving a book my full attention.

But that doesn't make listening less worthwhile.

Sometimes I want to hold a book in my hands and read a few pages before bed. Other times, I want to listen to an author share an idea while I'm driving to work.

Both can have a place in my life.

I've realized that I don't need to defend the way I read. I just need to find a way to keep reading.

The goal isn't to prove that I'm a reader by following a particular set of rules.

The goal is to make room for the stories, ideas, and experiences that reading brings into my life.

The Book That Made Me Rethink How I Spend My Energy

Recently, I've been listening to The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi, and I can't remember the last time a book made me stop and think this often.

The central idea is simple:

Be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't.

At first, it sounds almost obvious. Of course we should focus our energy on what matters.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how rarely I actually do that.

So many of us are trying to be excellent at everything.

We want the clean house.

The organized schedule.

The homemade meals.

The Pinterest-worthy holidays.

The successful career.

The intentional parenting.

The healthy habits.

The meaningful friendships.

The hobbies.

The volunteer commitments.

And somehow, we're supposed to excel at all of them simultaneously.

We're expected to care deeply, show up consistently, make thoughtful choices, and do it all with a smile. We're supposed to be productive without being exhausted, present without falling behind, and organized without letting anyone see the work it takes to keep everything running.

No wonder we're tired.

The problem isn't that any of these things are inherently bad. A clean house can make us feel better. Cooking for our families can be meaningful. Celebrating holidays and showing up for our communities can bring real joy.

The problem is when we treat every expectation as equally important.

When everything matters, everything becomes urgent. And when everything is urgent, we can spend our days working incredibly hard without feeling like we're making meaningful progress on the things we care about most.

What I appreciate about the Lazy Genius philosophy is that it invites us to make a distinction.

What actually matters to me?

And where am I spending energy simply because I think I'm supposed to?

Those questions can change the way we approach everyday life.

Maybe you're a genius about family dinners but lazy about matching socks.

Maybe you're a genius about showing up for your kids' activities but lazy about elaborate birthday decorations.

Maybe you're a genius about your health but lazy about maintaining a perfectly organized pantry.

Maybe you love hosting people but don't care whether your guest bathroom looks like it belongs in a magazine.

There is no universal list of things that deserve your best effort. What matters to one family may not matter to another, and what matters to you in one season of life may change in the next.

The point isn't to stop caring.

It's to care intentionally.

To recognize that your time, energy, and attention are limited resources—and to stop spending them automatically on every expectation that comes your way.

You Don't Have to Do Everything the Hard Way

As I've listened to this book, I've started noticing how often I work toward expectations I never consciously chose for myself.

Sometimes it's a standard I've absorbed from social media. Sometimes it's something I grew up believing. Sometimes it's simply the way I've always done things, so I've never stopped to consider whether there's another option.

I can spend more time preparing a meal than I actually want to because I feel like a proper dinner should involve more than what I have the energy to make.

I can feel guilty about a messy room even when cleaning it isn't the best use of my limited time that day.

I can turn a simple family activity into a complicated production because I've convinced myself that making something special means making it elaborate.

And I can tell myself I don't have time to read because I haven't figured out how to make reading happen in the way I've always imagined it should.

There's a pattern here.

I'm not necessarily choosing what matters most to me. Sometimes I'm just following the rules I've made up about what a good mother, a productive woman, or a well-rounded person is supposed to do.

The Lazy Genius approach has reminded me that I can question those rules.

I can decide that a simple dinner is enough.

I can let a few household tasks wait.

I can choose a low-effort way to celebrate a holiday if that gives me more time to enjoy it with my family.

And I can listen to a book in the car instead of waiting for the perfect quiet morning that may never come.

None of those choices means I care less.

They mean I'm learning to be more thoughtful about where I put my effort.

That distinction feels important, especially in a season of life when there are so many competing demands on my time.

I don't need to optimize every minute. I don't need to turn every hobby into another goal to achieve. And I don't need to prove that I can do everything the most impressive way possible.

Sometimes the best choice is simply the one that allows me to keep doing the things I love without making my life harder than it needs to be.

How I'm Making More Room for Reading

One of the most encouraging things about discovering audiobooks is that it hasn't required a dramatic change in my schedule.

I haven't suddenly found an extra hour in every day