The Lost Joy of Reading Physical Books
I like to read, but make no mistake: I don’t read for myself. I don’t read to gain knowledge about various subjects or to merely entertain myself. No, no. I read so that other people see me reading. “Look at that guy,” they say. “Must be a Reader.” So allow me to wax poetic about the joy of reading physical books as opposed to these newfangled e-readers that have become all the rage. With advanced apologies to the Amazon overlords who would love nothing more for me to hawk Kindle products via their incredibly unprofitable affiliate program. Which I still hawked anyway. CLICK THE LINKS WILL YOU!?
Reduce screen time with a good ole hard copy
I stare at screens all day every day, so physical books are a way for me to literally unplug. It’s one of the few forms of indoor entertainment that doesn’t include the temptation for distraction at a single click. When I read at home, I do my best to distance myself from my mobile device, and every other device, and read my physical book on the other side of the room. If I’m really feeling frisky, I’ll read in one room and keep my phone in another room altogether. I’ve never felt so alive. My phone is never too far away, but even that small distance apart is liberating.
Save the eyes by reading physical books
I know, Kindle. The “glare free display reads like real paper,” or so you say. But I go ahead and remove all doubt by simply reading real paper. Which, I must say, reads a lot like real paper. I’ve recently taken to wearing blue light glasses when my eyes start feeling strained (an Amazon product I will happily shill) after a long day of screen staring. Either the glasses work, or they make for an excellent placebo. In any case, the last thing I want to do is continue to strain my eyes further with unnecessary digitalization. Books were doing perfectly fine without your help, Technology.
Emotional attachment to each book
One of the reasons I enjoy the physical copy is that it provides me with an emotional connection to each individual book. Which is exactly the kind of thing a real Reader would say. Having a physical copy of the book, which I then log on Goodreads like the Reader that I am, helps me put a time and place to each book. The covers themselves evoke images not just of the words inside, but also of my world outside at the time I read each particular tome. It’s super corny, but for me it enhances the reading experience.
I am far from a prolific reader. I end up reading about 15-20 books a year, always just shy of a two books per month goal. Nothing like setting a low bar and ducking under it anyway. As such, it isn’t difficult for me to recall the circumstances in which I read each of those books throughout the course of the year.
Books as a conversation piece
Physical books encourage discussion about said book, and there’s no greater high for a Reader than when someone asks about the book he or she is reading. You get to show off your reading knowledge in explaining the book on that glorious occasion, which is really what it’s all about here, folks. I see someone with a Kindle and I just see another person staring at another screen among several screen options.
I also happen to think a well-stocked bookshelf (surely you can Amazon yourself a bookshelf without my linking to one) is one of the most important pieces of furniture in a living space. You can tell a lot about a person by what’s on their bookshelf. In some cases, you’ll learn more than you ever wanted to know.
What am I reading now?
I must admit, my reading is off to a slow start to 2021, but for the Impersonal Finances fanatics out there, I always keep the book that I’m currently reading pinned off to the side of the blog. I’m slowly working through Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which is an indictment on my reading pace, not on the book itself. If you’re interested in the five best non-fiction books I read last year, you can check them out here. For the personal finance nerds, here’s the same post as it pertains specifically to the top five personal finance books I read. Which reminds me, I better stop staring at this screen and start reading some real paper if I want to write a similar post at the end of this calendar year.
Hi IF
Enjoyed that post a lot. Reading physical books is fantastic and cannot or should not be replaced. Kindle, audio books etc. is all good and well, but reading physical books is just another thing, it’s great to take time, contemplate, meditate and enjoy a great piece to read.
Cheers
Nothing beats it! It is too easy for me to get distracted if I have any sort of electronic device nearby. A good book is one of the few non-screen forms of entertainment I have left!
There’s a reason I became a librarian – I needed to figure out how to organize my own collection!
I agree completely, though. Books lose something in the translation to digital. The information may all still be there, but the soul is missing – or at least slightly frayed.
I find that I treat ebooks as less worthy of my entire attention. I’m a very fast reader at any measure, but I never skim paper books. Ebooks, though, I have to work to not skim. And it’s so much easier to just set the device down, or skip over to a different screen, when a stray thought crosses my mind. I’m very, very rarely distractible when I’m reading a physical book.
One of the most difficult parts of the shutdowns in 2020 was losing my ability to dive deeply into fiction. Usually, I open the pages of a new novel (fantasy or science fiction by preference) and am immediately immersed in the world of that story. But in 2020, I found my mind wandering, pulled out of my usual full sensory engagement by worries, anger, and sorrow. On a positive note, I got plenty of nonfiction reading done!
All that said, I do still own a tablet for ereading. Given how fast I read, there’s no way I can pack enough physical books to last for a week of vacation, and still travel carry-on only!
I would agree with you on the shutdowns in 2020–what should have been an optimal time for getting lost in a book… somehow wasn’t. Information overload outside of the pages of the book, I suppose. I think “soul” is the appropriate word for physical copies of books. All of the information, as you said, remains in digital form. But it loses something you can’t really put your finger on.
I knew a librarian would have my back!
I love reading. I do a lot of reading on my phone – so I find myself sometimes doing mindless scrolling on the phone which annoys me. Fully agree that a physical book is the way to go. No more phone distraction =)
I read a ton of online articles/blog posts (more screen time!), so there’s certainly a fair share of reading being done on computers, phones, tablets, etc. Which makes those physical books and that time away from the devices that much more valuable.
Note to self: If we ever meet in person, the first question I will ask you, even before the standard greeting, will be “What are you reading right now?”
Haha, I really appreciated you using the most innocent picture ever of a little girl peacefully reading while the tone of your post completely rips on a big corporation like Amazon. It’s the little details like that, that have me completely hooked.
“Prolific reader” is completely relative. In my mind, 15-20 books is a lot. I think you deserve a lot more credit.
Haha and I will jump at the chance to tell you! Don’t mind me, just a BIG READER here. I will humbly accept your credit for my reading proficiency, or lack thereof depending on who you compare me to!
I mostly agree with the benefits to physical books that you’ve detailed. I especially like having physical copies of favorite books, so I can leaf through them whenever I like, and annotate as well. However, I have to admit that probably 80% of my reading is digital these days. Why? My job and my kids make my reading schedule erratic. Most of my reading is at night, often while coaxing my son off to sleep. It’s much easier to read on my phone/tablet in these situations. I think post-FI, when I have more free time during the day, I will return to mostly physical. For now, this’ll have to do. Thanks for the fun post.
No shame in that at all–and having kids is a game changer in terms of prioritizing the most efficient methods over the most enjoyable. I will say, as much as I am inclined to rag on the Kindle backlight, it is a pain to need to seek the nearest reading lamp past a certain time of night.
I don’t know why but reading a physical book is so much less strain on the eyes and that’s one of the biggest reasons why I LOVE reading physical print. When I used to work in the office, I used to print a lot of things that I would like to review just so it doesn’t mess up my eyes that much.
I don’t have that privilege anymore.
I’m with you there. I think the eyes are trained to look for different things on print vs. on a screen, or we’re used to skimming articles online so it’s easier to miss errors. But you’re right, for whatever reason I don’t find myself squinting at the pages of a physical book like I might with a screen.
I’m ashamed to say that I’m doing all of my reading these days on either Audible or Kindle (ah, Amazon). I completely agree with everything you said though. I still prefer paper. I like folding down pages and being able to thumb through in a way that just doesn’t work as well electronically. My only justifications are (1) impatience – I usually finish reading a book and want to start something else immediately rather than waiting a day or two for a book to arrive and (2) space – I just don’t have the space to store all the books I read. Excuses, I know. Does it count that I at least still use hard-copy cookbooks? I will never convert from those.
Nothing to be ashamed about–you’re still reading! I haven’t really gotten into the audible books craze, though I did read something that said it’s essentially exercising all the same muscles as regular old reading. That surprised me.
And cookbooks count! I am not a huge cook but when I do get in the kitchen I find the recipes online, so we’re opposite in our physical reading preferences!
As an admitted and committed bibliophile, I couldn’t agree more here. There’s nothing like reading a real printed book! One of the greatest joys in life.
That said, since moving to rural Neverwhere from So. Cal., I’m in a comparative library desert here, so with the 267 books I’ve read since 1/1/20, only about 30 have been print and all are re-reads from my personal collection. So ebooks on Libby have been my savior. But they will never, ever beat the real-deal!
When you read as much as you do, there’s no way they’ll all be in paper form! I am in awe of your prolific pace–something to aspire to!
I much prefer the paper versions of books. I have purchased a few eBooks in situations where there is no paper copy available, or there was an incredible bargain. But I do not own any form of e-reader.
Paper books don’t need to be charged. You can write in them, or mark spots with bookmarks or sticky-notes. You can lend them and borrow them. Some people in my neighbourhood have mini-libraries perched on a post in their front yard.
You can read a book on a beach or in a bathtub, without fear of an accident wrecking your expensive electronic device. When you wander away from your lounge chair (on vacation), your paper book is not likely to get stolen.
You can borrow books from your local library. Yes, there are ways to borrow electronic books from libraries, but you need the right kind of e-reader.
I will say that electronic versions of books do have two advantages. First, anyone can publish an e-book. Budding authors can create content without having the support of a publisher. Second, if you are a traveler or a minimalist, you can store thousands of books in your e-reader.
But there is no joy in opening an e-book. There is joy in the sound and smell of opening a brand new paper book and riffling the pages.
I am currently reading “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life”. But I have renewed it too many times and must return it to the library today. I’ll take it out again and finish it later. It is a monstrous book, but an interesting read. I’m pretty sure I saw it on your blog page earlier this year.
More excellent points all the way around. E-books do have some advantages, no doubt, but there’s nothing like that real thing.
I did recently read The Snowball, which was pretty fascinating. I would say it went on about 100 pages too long at the end, but very interesting to learn more about Buffett’s life.