The reason you’re not reading when you listen to a song is because it’s a song, not a book. They are two different forms of art. Whether you consume a novel or book with your eyeballs or your ears, you’re still reading. Do you also think blind people, who can’t visually read, aren’t reading when they listen to audiobooks?

Why wouldn’t you count audiobooks?

Step 1, I would suggest, is not to compare yourself to a Yale professor!

People who don’t work in book marketing are not obliged to categorise books based on marketing terms.

The problem with hoarding text books is the information going out of date. They’re very likely not the best sources to be learning from just a few years after publication, although you’ll get more life out of some than others. As collector’s or historical interest items though, very fun!

Remains of the Day is Ishiguro.

My dude hasn’t heard of literary fiction or all the book prizes that focus specifically on that genre and are among the most prestigious awards around. These are (most of) the future classics, and while possibly not so buzzy on the social internet, are as popular as ever among certain groups of readers.

You have to be such a specific type of reader to achieve this though (prolific and reading almost exclusively new releases). I read over 100 books a year but a ton of that is backlist so I am lucky to have read six or seven titles across all categories.

Agreed. I do think there’s value in the nominations. I love finding books that way, and I love watching YouTubers read all the books in a certain category. But the actual voting/results? Meaningless.

Subvocalisation is probably not the main reason you’re slow. I subvocalise and I read 3-5 books a week. Getting rid of subvocalisation can turn an average or fast reader into a speed reader, but I wouldn’t think it would be the highest value place for a slower reader to focus. Figuring out what slows you down (comprehension, distraction, etc.) other than subvocalisation is where I’d start.