I bought my first Kindle back in 2008 and have been reading electronic books pretty consistently since then. I do love the experience of reading on paper, but have found plenty of upside for electronic books.
Most importantly of course:
- Electronic books take up a lot less physical space on your shelf than paper books do.
- You are able to discover new books, purchase them instantly and download them to your device within seconds.
We have gotten pretty used to this by now, so it can be easy to ignore just how astonishingly cool this is.
After that first-generation one, I tried more Kindle devices over the years. There was a large one; at some point we got a Kids-version for our daughter, and of course I used Kindle apps on the Mac Book Pro.
Obviously, it was always more about the book than the device and frankly the Kindles were less powerful and seemed less interesting than iPad or iPhone, so after a few years, those became my readers of choice. I usually have my phone close-by and using Kindle on the phone means having access to good reading readily available, basically all the time.
Something changed last year. As we were getting ready to do a little bit of traveling during the summer of 2023, I decided to purchase a current-generation Kindle and bring it with on our trip.
Having already been convinced of the benefits of electronic books, there were a couple of extra advantages I saw for this now:
- A modern Kindle device lasts much longer on a single battery charge than a modern smart phone. This seemed important for traveling, but it is actually generally very nice. Having to charge a device every day or so, should be a rare exception.
- Those of us with weakening eye sight appreciate being able to easily increase the font size of their reading material. You can do that on the Kindle app on the phone, too. However, the electronic ink display of a Kindle is better yet on the eye, than the typical glare of a smart phone.
It turned out to be even better than anticipated.
Once I stopped reading Kindle books on my phone, I noticed something important: I was spending quite a bit less time on my phone. At first glance, this is obvious, since I was no longer spending that reading time with my phone. It is actually more than that though. I have been using my phone significantly less in general since then.
Your phone provides access to lots of distractions. If you are reading a book on your phone, you are just an idle tap away from checking your email, browsing social media, catching up on the news, and so forth. It is too easy to find diversion, before you are reading, after you are done or perhaps (numerous times?) during it. If you are reading on the phone you are more likely to fragment your experience.
By moving the activity of reading a book away from the phone, you introduce friction between that and getting to those other things. That makes a difference.
Perhaps I should have anticipated this, but the pleasant surprise here has been a reduction in distractions and consequently a more focused reading experience.
Where I used to appreciate the flexibility (after all, carrying a phone in my pocket means easy access to electronic books along with everything else it offers), I have come to understand the value in choosing a solution that offers less of that.
I can appreciate the irony of a situation.