How my reading habit changed in the last two years: From Paperbacks to eBooks & Audiobooks and reading 70+ books a year
On New Year’s Eve of 2019, I got a 12-month membership of Audible. I had decided to give myself up to audiobooks after being influenced by my favorite YouTubers then and now (Ali Abdaal, Thomas Frank, Matt D’Avella, etc) along with the conventional reading I did on my Kindle. Little did I know that this would be the best subscription I would pay for the upcoming year.
The Year 2020 was marked with multiple never-ending lockdowns and night curfews and whatnot. This allowed me to do what I love the most — read. I read close to 70 books (71, to be honest) in 2020 followed by 14 in 2021 (the previous year didn’t see as many lockdowns as 2020).
Here is a breakup of all the formats I have read books in since 2012:
This is in huge contrast with the way I used to read before 2020:
To be honest, I got my Kindle in 2015 so much of the reading used to be on paperbacks back then.
When I tell people I read 71 books in a year most of which were audiobooks, I get questions like these:
- Is listening to audiobooks the same as reading a book?
- Now that there is no impending lockdown — how do you read books?
- Why eBooks over Paperbacks?
So here is the answer to all those questions:
- Is listening to audiobooks the same as reading a book? I would say absolutely, YES! Whether you are reading a physical book or listening to its audiobook, essentially you are comprehending the words written by the author. It need not be your own voice at the back of your head but it is being comprehended by you nonetheless. Also, not everyone can be a speed-reader finishing a 500-page book in a day or two but as you listen to an audiobook and understand the story and as the voice of the narrator seeps into your mind, you tend to comprehend faster and so you would be absolutely okay with listening to the following chapter so the book at an increased speed (maybe 1.5x, 2x or if you are too ambitious 2.5x-3x). If speed-reading can be considered reading, then so can listening to audiobooks. I remember the fine month of June 2020 in which I listened to about 20 of the 42 audiobooks I read that year. Audiobooks give you a chance to skip ahead by increasing the speed and then reducing it back to 1.0x for interesting parts.
- Now that there is no impending lockdown — how do you read books? Thanks to 2020, I got introduced to better forms of reading — audiobooks and eBooks. Earlier, I used to have the conundrum of carrying a book on a short trip or not. Now with a Kindle in my bag weighing less than 500g, I get to carry all my favorite books everywhere. And honestly, that is the trick to keep reading. Have your books everywhere: something I picked up from the book “Atomic Habits”. If you want a habit to be hardwired — make sure it is quite visible. When things are more visible in our environment, they are easy to develop habits with/from. Keeping a water bottle on your study desk will incentivize you to drink more — maybe not on Day 1 but surely on Day 4 or 5 at least. So my advice: carry your books everywhere. If not paperbacks, then your Kindle or even ePubs on your phone/tablet. Just make them visible in your environment.
- Why eBooks over Paperbacks? Now that I have made the switch from paper books, it’s been difficult to go back to them. The convenience of eBooks is just too much (much more in detail on this post)
- They are light to carry (as light as your e-reader, smartphone, tablet).
- Can be read anywhere (in rainy or sunny places, dim-lit rooms, etc)
- The dictionary and your highlights & notes are at your fingertips.
I guess if it wasn’t for the lockdowns of 2020, I would have never paid much heed to audiobooks or the convenience of eBooks. I feel there shouldn’t be any friction when it comes to reading and so whatever helps you i.e even if you solely like paperbacks and hardcovers, you totally read that way.
Most importantly, if you are having trouble reading or getting into the habit f reading — start with something you like. If you are into cooking and baking, read recipe books — that might help you discover a Chef whose autobiography you might go for next, if you are into Tech or Sport — read about your favorite tool/game and it might teach you about its origin or founder you might want to read about next. The possibilities are never-ending. But if you still seem to have trouble, let’s connect over Twitter and figure out what your next book could be.
And last but not the least, keep a record of how much you read. Just like I did on GoodReads. GoodReads is like a one-stop platform for meeting your next favorite books and keeping a record of the ones you read — think of it as an Instagram or Snapchat for Book Lovers.
~ Aditya Darekar
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