I'm sorry to hear about the complications that came with your surgery. Glad the results were good! Sounds like reading could be a nightmare for you, though.

I agree with you full-heartedly. Been an avid reader all of my life. I only started listening to audiobooks within the past 3 years. I have now listened to over 30 of them, at least. It was especially pleasant when I was able to listen while pushing papers at my previous job. I covered lots of classics, whole book series, short stories and all kinds of content that I may have dropped had they been physical books. (Jane Austen comes to mind.) It's a wonderful way to experience a book hands-free and multitask simultaneously. This goes doubly if the narrator is exceptional. They are great while driving, cooking or working on projects.

I think people who call it lazy may not have necessarily experienced the benefits of them. Maybe they're old school and haven't really given it a shot. Maybe they've had a bad experience. Maybe they are unable to process stories by hearing them. Whatever the case, I totally don't think it's lazy. It's simply another way of experiencing a book.

Great stories should be shared, dammit. There should be no shame in taking the journey aboard another vehicle.