I'm an author, and I have no problem with my fans reading my works online, and I'd be astonished if any author objected. However, reading from a digital file is different from listening to an audio book. When you listen to an audio book, you are usually looking at a written transcript of the words being spoken by the actor reading the voiceover. This allows you to follow what is happening in the story without having to wait for each word to be said. It also allows you to understand what is being said even if you do not speak English as your first language. When you read a book from a digital file instead, you are simply reading text that has been typed out one word at a time. There is no way to go back and change something if you make a mistake, and there is no voiceover artist to help you understand what is going on in the story. The only person who can hear the words you are reading is you. This makes reading from digital files less efficient than listening to an audio book, but it does allow you to read whatever book you want regardless of where you live in the world. You cannot stream yourself reading a book online either.