Can listening to an audiobook be as immersive as reading a book?

I read Murakami’s Killing Commendatore lately and recommended it to my partner. They announced they’re picking it as their next audiobook to which I reacted surprisingly negatively. I couldn’t figure why it felt disrespectful and put time into thinking about it.

I’ve came to the conclusion I could never experience audiobooks in a way I do physical books (probably e-books as well). To me, a major part of the experience is sitting down with a book reading line by line at a pace that feels comfortable. Sometimes I read paragraphs again. To me, even though I’m a slow reader, it’s pretty much like meditation: sitting down, relaxing, being in the moment. Additionally, I love how books feel.

I feel like audiobooks are often consumed less consciously. My partner listens to audiobooks while cleaning, commuting or to get sleep. I get that it’s nice to listen to something when doing manual labour like vacuuming the floor but something feels a bit off to me. I don’t really get why one would listen to an audiobook to get sleep. Wouldn’t a shorter narrative, like a podcast, be better? I feel like, per my experience, that audiobooks are consumed on the side. Kind of like the background music of books. Does this make any sense?

I don’t want my partner to listen the book I recommend; I want them to read it properly. Could I demand that? Would it be justified? What do you think? I’d love to hear from both sides to broaden my perspective which I know to be quite narrow in this matter.

by Wise_Fix_5502