Can you a 'read' an Audiobook

I had an audiobook of Lord of the Rings narrated by Ian Holm (who would later play Bilbo in the film) that I listened to whenever I was off sick from school. think it was a 13 (or maybe more) tape set. not sure I ever made it past the first few, which I just listened to over and over.

also had a pretty good version of the Hobbit