Data Visualisation Series: Audible
Audible has been my go-to for squeezing more books into my life, whether I’m commuting, cleaning, or just taking a walk. But as much as I love the listening experience, I’ve always been curious about the story behind the numbers. How much time am I really spending with audiobooks? Which genres and authors do I gravitate toward? And how do these choices reflect my own preferences and habits?
To dig deeper, I built a dashboard in Tableau Public that combines my Audible activity from 2023 and 2024 with ratings from my Goodreads account. This integration gave me a more complete view of my audiobook journey, tracking not just the quantity of books and listening hours but also how much I enjoyed each title.
The dashboard covers 47 books by 38 authors, totalling over 519 hours of listening. It highlights my top-rated listens, the nationality and gender of the authors, the number of books I explored in each genre, and how my ratings align with the broader trends.
Why Bring in Goodreads Ratings?
Merging my Goodreads ratings into this dashboard added another layer of depth to the analysis. It’s one thing to see how many hours I’ve spent listening or which authors I’ve favoured—but layering in ratings allowed me to ask a different kind of question: Was the time I spent worth it?
For example, while my bar charts reveal that I listened to a lot of fiction, incorporating ratings helped me pinpoint which genres consistently delivered the most enjoyment. It turns out that while fiction remains my go-to, the highest-rated titles on my list were often biographies and non-fiction—a surprise given how often I lean toward escapism in my audiobook choices.
Uncovering Trends with Bar Charts
Bar charts proved invaluable for surfacing patterns in my listening habits. Here are a few key takeaways:
Author Diversity: The nationality breakdown revealed a clear trend: I heavily favour authors from the US and UK. While this isn’t surprising, the visual makes it clear that I could diversify my audiobook library by seeking out authors from underrepresented regions.
Gender Breakdown: I’ve consistently favoured female authors across both years, which aligns with my Goodreads favourites. However, seeing this data made me think about exploring new perspectives—particularly by branching into genres I haven’t explored deeply.
Quantity vs. Quality: By combining my ratings with the number of books completed, I could identify trends over time. In 2024, I completed 7 more books than in 2023, even though my total listening hours stayed the same. This shift suggests that I’ve either chosen shorter books or become more efficient with my listening habits—an improvement that’s reflected in the quality of my picks.
Contextualizing My Progress
October 2024 stood out as my peak month for audiobook consumption, a trend clearly visible in the monthly breakdown bar chart. By cross-referencing this with my Goodreads ratings, I realized this was also when I discovered some of my highest-rated listens of the year. It’s a great reminder that the right book at the right time can make a big impact on motivation and consistency.
The Value of Combining Data Sources
Adding Goodreads ratings to my Audible dashboard transformed this project from simple tracking into a richer data storytelling exercise. It’s not just about hours and titles anymore—it’s about understanding which books resonate with me, which genres spark the most interest, and where there’s room to grow.
For example, while I’ve always felt like my audiobook habits are predictable, this deeper analysis showed me how my preferences have shifted subtly over time. I’ve started to branch into non-fiction and shorter titles, and I’ve identified areas where I can focus on improving diversity—both in terms of author background and genre selection.
Looking Ahead
This project has reinforced something I’ve learned from past dashboards: The power of data visualisation lies in its ability to turn raw numbers into actionable insights. By merging Audible data with Goodreads ratings, I created a dashboard that’s not just informative but also reflective of my personal audiobook journey.
In the future, I’d love to build on this analysis by comparing my ratings to broader Goodreads trends or even tracking how my preferences evolve across different formats (audiobooks vs. physical books). There’s always more to uncover, and I’m excited to see where this data exploration takes me next.
If you’re an audiobook fan, I’d recommend exploring your own data—it’s a great way to reflect on your habits, uncover trends, and set new goals for your reading life.
