6 Inexpensive Resources to Enrich Your Reading Experience

They’re either free or don’t cost more than $5

A few weeks ago, I found myself wasting a lot of time I could have otherwise spent reading. Sometimes I spent the better part of an hour searching for a pencil to mark a quote in a paperback book. Most of the time, I found the pencil nib either broken or blunt with use and had to go looking for a sharpener too. Not only this, but I even wasted time on the daily commute from work where I used to spend an hour scrolling social media. I always forgot to keep a book in my bag or I was reading so many of them at once that I didn’t know which one to carry.

How tragic it is to find that an entire lifetime is wasted in pursuit of distractions while purpose is neglected.

— Sunday Adelaja

I’d had enough of it. One day, I put my foot down and enlisted the reasons I wasn’t making the best of my reading hours. As per my analysis, I just needed a few simple tools to solve most of my problems.

Whether you’re an e-reader, or an audiobook listener, or a paperback fan, some cheap reading investments go a long way in improving your reading experiences. Since I’ve started using reading tools to my aid, I’ve discovered immense joy and benefits in my reading experiences.

• I’m getting 30% more distraction-free reading done
• My reading experiences are more fulfilling and wholesome
• I easily lookup a marked page in any book I’ve read without wasting much time

In this article, I list all the 6 things that have contributed to improving my reading experience. I call them “reading investments”. All of these are either free or cost no more than $5. But if you add them to your reading artillery, they create the value of a lifetime.

1. A Pocket Dictionary

Its been a short while since I got habituated to my e-reader. Before that, paperbacks were a better fit for my easily-distracted mind. However, physical books also meant reaching out to the phone frequently to look up word meanings. Granted you can skip some words sometimes. But most of the time they add context to the text and you need to understand them for impact.

Needless to say, once I reached for my phone, I wasted long hours mindlessly scrolling and checking social media messages.

To prevent myself from reaching for the phone again and again, I got myself a pocket dictionary. Now, if have to look up words, I no longer go on a digital rampage. I simply prop open my dictionary and proceed to the next line. This habit has also helped retain the words I look up. The physical act of tracing the meaning to the last letter ensures that the world lingers in my mind a little longer than quick e-reading lookups do.

Where to get it

I bought the “Oxford English Pocket Dictionary” for $2.66 (200 INR) from Amazon. Another great choice is the Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Dictionary, Newest Edition which also doesn’t cost more than $3 and yet is a handy option to carry around with a physical book. If you’re not a fan of online ordering, you can walk up to your local bookstore and get one.

2. A Mechanical Pencil with an Attached Eraser

The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story. — Ursula K. Le Guin

Reading paperbacks also means interacting with them the way you interact with fellow human beings to mingle better. Often, I come across quotes or entire chapters in a paperback that make me jump out of my skin. I yearn to preserve these words forever. So much so that I note some of them in my journal. In such moments, you neither want to break your continuity nor want to let the quote go unmarked.

Do the best of both worlds with a mechanical pencil. Also known as “click-pencils”, they’re quite handy for marking pages. Unlike the traditional pencils, you neither need a sharpener to keep them working nor do you have to worry about grey, stained fingers. The mechanical pencils work on refilling graphite leads. You can use these leads to refill your pencil if you end up exhausting one. Most of them come with a tiny eraser on the back. If you’re clumsy like me and end up making ugly stray marks on pages, you can instantly turn the pencil around and erase them without excusing yourself to go hunting for an eraser.

Where to get it

The mechanical pencil is perhaps the cheapest investment I made in my life with the best returns.

I got my mechanical pencil for $0.13 from the stationery store round the corner. You too can get it from your local stationery store or you can get it delivered from Amazon.

3. Colorful Page Markers

So you’re a fan of marking frequent quotes in books you read but you don’t want to stain pages? You can use page markers instead. A friend introduced me to page markers a few days ago when I saw one of her books laden with colorful strips sticking out of it from every page. She said this was one of the books where every line was a quote, instead of marking the entire book in pencil, she chose to use page markers instead. Basically, page markers are thin colorful strips with glue on one end and protruding arrow shape on the other.

These colorful marking tools serve two purposes:

• They let you mark your favorite quotes without tarnishing the book page.
• Unlike pencil markings, they stick out, allowing you to instantly open up to a particular page when you come back to the book to look it up.

Since the past few weeks, I’ve dived headlong into paperbacks without an ounce of regret for ruining them with markings thanks to page markers.

Where to get it

I initially got myself a set of page markers in 5 colors, containing 25 strips in each color from Amazon for $2. Now since I find myself using them extensively, I’ve ordered a larger set for $5.

You too can it in a variety of sizes and colors from either your local stationery store or from Amazon.

4. A Reliable Phone Reader

One of the best ways to carry books around is to carry them on your phone. No matter where you are, as long as you’ve downloaded the book on your phone, Thanks to the advancing world of mobile apps, both Android and iOS users now have a variety of mobile reading apps choose from.

The Kindle Mobile App

The Kindle app is the most popular mobile e-reader. As opposed to the popular misconception, you don’t need a physical Kindle to buy and read books in Kindle format from Amazon. A Kindle app on the phone works just as fine. However, Kindle only supports format bought from the Amazon Kindle store.

ReadEra

I come across books in a variety of digital formats the Kindle reader doesn’t support. I’ve grown fond of the ReadEra app for these unsupported formats. It is a multipurpose app that supports all types of digital book formats: .EPUB, .MOBI, and even PDF. You can highlight quotes, track progress, bookmark pages, and chuck the book off your digital shelf once you’ve marked it “Read”. Of course, it comes with its own shortcomings. You won’t be able to look up word meanings at a click like you do in the Kindle app. But you can use your pocket dictionary in this case!

Where to get it

The Kindle Mobile App is available for both Android or IOS. Additionally, for PDF documents you can go for the Adobe Reader for mobile for a rich experience or the lightweight Foxit PDF Reader for mobile.

Android users can download the ReadEra App and enjoy its versatility. For IOS users, the Calibre App is a suitable substitute.

5. Binaural Beats

Tim Denning’s article introduced me to binaural beats a few weeks ago. He had suggested it as an aid for distraction-free writing but I found it equally useful for a distraction-free reading too.

For those unaware, Healthline defines binaural beats as follows.

When you hear two tones, one in each ear, that are slightly different in frequency, your brain processes a beat at the difference of the frequencies. This is called a binaural beat. Binaural beats are considered auditory illusions.

Several pieces of research confirm the power of Binaural Beats to increase focus. As someone who gets distracted easily, I decided to try it for myself. The results were astonishing. Not only did it improve my writing experience but I also found myself reading paperbacks and e-books with a deeper concentration with a binaural beat track playing in the background.

Where to get it

I use YouTube to listen to binaural beats when I’m reading or writing. These hour-long soundtracks keep me in place for a longer time. Spotify too has a collection of binaural beats in its Spotify Playlist to keep you going. A third option would be the website Free Binaural Beats.

No matter which one of these you choose, you can enjoy binaural beats’ hour-long tracks both online or offline. Switch it on in the background in a separate tab and continue working as long as you want to-distraction-free.

6. An Audiobook Subscription

I wasn’t a fan of audiobooks till my two best friends gushed at how they were devouring books by day with their audiobook subscription. I was instantly smitten and I downloaded Amazon’s Audible. Since I am a Prime member, I already had one credit waiting for me in my account to borrow an audiobook to read!

As a part of its Prime membership, Amazon gave me 3 months of Audible subscription followed by a charge of $2.65/ month. As I go on acquiring its taste, I find myself reaching for more audiobooks to fill the unnecessary gaps in reading during hours when I cook or do the dishes or even arrange my desk. I no longer have to call up a distant friend just because my hands aren’t free and I need someone to while away my time with. Audiobooks work just fine in this case.

Where to get it

Two giants ruling the audiobook market as of June 2020 are Audible and Storytel.

Audible

Audible is available globally and works on a credit-based system. Every month, you get one credit to borrow a book of your choice for $2.65. You can download any book from their audiobook library. If you’re unsatisfied with the book or the narration, you can also get your credit back. But beware of abusing this system though. Amazon tends to block your account if you’re caught returning books unnecessarily.

Storytel

Storytel is yet another option if you live in the few countries they offer their subscription currently: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Holland, Russia, Spain, and India. Storytel offers not only audiobooks but unlimited e-books for your mobile phone in their subscription too. In India, you can get a Storytel subscription for $3.98 (299 INR) for a month and stream unlimited audiobooks.

Subscription prices for both these services vary across countries. You can check their availability and choose an appropriate plan in either of these apps to get started.

Closing Notes

Reading does not have to be an expensive affair. However, investing in a few small things can do big wonders to your reading habit and help you read more immersively, without any distractions.

After all, man invented tools to aid efficiency in life. Reading experiences too get better with tools and resources. In the words of Stephen King,

It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t, you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect and get discouraged.

Tools & Resources Mentioned in This Article

• E-readers : Kindle, ReadEra, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit PDF Reader, Calibre
• Dictionaries: Oxford English Pocket Dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Dictionary, Newest Edition
• Audiobooks: Audible and Storytel

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