How access to eBooks has changed the way we read
I hadn’t read my first novel until I was 18. I was never an avid reader as a kid. But reading did empower me from within. There is nothing better to split your mind wide open than a good book. But I did find making a conscious decision to switch to buying books on the iPad so relieving. Here’s why:
Minimalistic living
I believe in Minimalism. (Please don’t ask if I practice it). There’s a documentary on Netflix about two blokes who travel with just a suitcase around the world. It really is liberating, to be free to move without baggage - the physical one at least.
I recently moved houses and having a library of books packed in cardboard boxes seems okay. But how many would you carry? Added to the truckload of stuff you carry along with you — the receipts, bills, old magazines which you’d never reread again, the clothes you’d never seen until you packed your stuff to move, the pots and pans. The list is endless.
Imagine carrying a whole library on the Cloud/ Kindle/ Audible/ Apple Books. So much done, in so little space.
There’s a lot more to choose from
As far as I know, if you’re someone looking for a book in particular, there are less chances you’d find what you’re looking for in a bookstore. eBooks are just aplenty. There’s a pdf of everything out there. But I do have to agree that a few stores in the UK, like Waterstones have an amazing collection at every outlet.
Circa 2023, we multi-task now more than ever. It is one of the unhealthiest habits for the mind since it gives quick dopamine hits but lacks sustainability and focus. We try to meditate and focus on one task at hand, but the world has changed so much that you need to multitask to appear sane. One among the crowd. Scrolling through while waiting for the lift, while walking, while eating and ofcourse. You know.
But in a way, you cannot go wrong when you’re doing the same with books. I used to think reading one book at a time was the best idea. As I grew older, I started reading multiple books at once and kept switching — which is important in not getting stuck with a bad book.
This is something I’ve felt when I’ve bought a book for my 5 hour train journey. I start reading and I already feel it isn’t taking me somewhere. Added to the guilt of having paid for it, turning each page for it to end at some point and half way you realise — it’s not for you.
The digital version is so much more accomodative. I have around 10 titles I am interested in. I know that I’d like atleast 5 of them and get hooked onto one. There’s so much freedom of choice. And of course, you don’t get this pang in your heart when you see that book lying near the table. You just delete it!
It is way more easier to know the meaning of Hiraeth
Ah come on. If you’ve read the article this far, you would’ve Googled it. It means ‘a longing for a home that doesn’t exist anymore’. I’ve read this somewhere and I remember looking it up. The meaning stuck on so much that I never forgot the word — apparently Welsh. The word has a deep profound sadness doesn’t it. If you think of it, almost every human in this world has once had a home which isn’t a part of them anymore, except in memory. There might be similarities, but never the same home ever again.
There was a time when we used to have a dictionary in every home. “Learning a new word everyday” business with the kids. Or to look up some word that you came across on a newspaper. We had to keep opening that fat book and search for the alphabetical order and you come across all other new weirder words. Hiraeth was just an example off the top of my head. Schadenfraude, endarterectomy, prosopagnosia. Go on.
Now you just need to select the word, long press or right click to use ‘Look up so-and-so’ and it gives you images with explanations — again so much done, in so little space.
Review of literature
Greek philosophers, poets and scholars of the Golden Age and the achievers until now — Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, always review what they read. There is no way anyone can remember facts with just one read unless gifted with eidetic memory. If you’re not Robert Langdon in Dan Brown’s Universe, you might want to reread a few books just for the sheer pleasure of rekindling your neurons and invoking plasticity. It’s when your brain creates stronger connections within itself, with the ones you keep using. Sapiens is one book I wouldn’t mind reading again and again and again.
You become a more organised person. You know where your thoughts are if you are constantly analysing them from a reader’s mind. And once you practice reviewing stuff you read, you will be sharp and dangerous.
But remember, always, if you feel like buying an actual book, go for it.
Nothing beats the smell of paper in a book you’ve just bought at the store. The turning of the pages. The moment you realise you’re gonna be hooked to this one. The travel. The intimacy between you and the book. It is human to enjoy this simple pleasure of life. Go for it. Never restrict yourself in seeking ordinary happiness from the tiniest of things. Try to donate the books you’ve read to a library. Or your local book club.
Whatever you do, if you read, don’t stop. If you haven’t in a long time, read now. If you’ve never read in your life, you’ve started by now.
