Is listening to audio books or podcasts a more efficient way of reading?

For a new subject, I prefer audio books/video tutorial that give you quick way of learning but book  reading is required if you need deep dive.

I think listening to audiobooks and podcasts can be efficient, but I don't think it replaces reading a book as far as retaining the information or knowledge you are trying to gain. Sometimes if the audiobook or podcast has a voice tone that will put someone to sleep, the podcast or audiobook becomes only "noise" at that point and has no real value. 

If a person is always on the road and/or doesn't have time to actually sit down and read articles or books, then audiobooks and podcasts are a great way of utilizing the time they are spending driving to their job or cooking for themselves/their families. It's important to note that the audiobooks and podcasts need to be selecteed wisely; if the narrator has a monotone voice then the listener will likely drift off or fall asleep and not focus on the content of the audio. However, it's always recommended to actually read material if the circumstances allow it since many people retain information better when they've read it themselves.

Hello Abeer, 

I think listening to audiobooks and podcasts can be efficient, but I don't think it replaces reading a book as far as retaining the information or knowledge you are trying to gain. Sometimes if the audiobook or podcast has a voice tone that will put someone to sleep, the podcast or audiobook becomes only "noise" at that point and has no real value. I think for someone with limited time to read and retain information, an audiobook or podcast can be a good way of gaining information or knowledge as a supplement to a book or written article. By reading written material instead of just listening, the brain creates a much better mental picture of the information being gathered from actually reading written materials, and the information and knowledge is retained much better. 

It really depends on the learning styles of individuals.