Books on Your Shelf or Books on Your Kindle?
It’s a multi-sensory experience or the lack of it.
What’s the inherent difference between the following activities?
Online shopping vs In-store shopping
Fast food vs Fine dining
Ordering in vs Cooking a meal
It’s the Experience.
One is convenient, the other is fulfilling.
Though many factors determine which experience we choose if at all we have a choice.
Isn’t it similar when it comes to reading a book online vs a physical book?
I love paper books. But don’t buy them as often.
When buying a new book, I get tugged in two directions.
To get a break from the blue light I am tempted for the paper book, but with the habit of online reading, It takes me forever to finish the book and I regret not getting the online version.
Seeing many people with impressive and huge libraries during zoom calls, makes me want to ask- How do you manage reading all those books in print?
Is it merely a habit that we need to build? The more we practice, the better we get at it.
Or Is it about balancing between what works and what’s better? Like most things.
I prefer to even journal online than in a diary, even though I love the feeling of writing with pen and my thoughts flow better on paper, it ends up being counter-productive.
Whereas our note app is accessible at our fingertips and we can go through our notes/journal anytime, anywhere.
3 Drawbacks of Online Reading
Posture: Tilting our head and neck downward while sitting and focusing on a small screen is not a good posture. It takes a toll on our body and stiffens our muscles. Our book should be placed at eye level and the best position to read a book is sitting on a chair, with our back upright.
Sensory Experience: We miss out on the unique experience of cherishing the book cover, the design and colours, and the smell and sound of paper.
This multi-sensory experience is good for concentration and retaining information. Reading with all our senses helps create better memories, making the experience rewarding.
Note Taking: Writing notes on paper margins helps in better absorbing what we read. This is something I miss the most in online reading. The Interaction and engagement with the content, It should be a two-way conversation.
Making notes in a physical book is much easier, whereas opening new panels to make notes on online books can be distracting.
3 Benefits of Online Reading
Instant access: The easy access to ebooks is addicting. Being accessible on our handheld devices helps us finish the book faster.
Tools: A quick search feature, instant highlighting and saving, and a built-in dictionary make the reading experience less time-consuming.
Environment friendly: No physical space required. Ebooks are much cheaper compared to paper versions. They are environment friendly and convenient to take along anywhere.
Finding Balance
While reading ebooks, I still long to go to a book store. I feel like a kid in the candy store, with the colorful book covers, books in different shapes and sizes, holding a book and flipping through pages.
There are some genres that only physical books can justify such as nature, photography, and cookbooks.
I feel much more calm and happy while reading an actual book.
As much as it’s about personal preferences, exploring different options can be rewarding.
If pressed for time, I would read it online.
If on a tropical vacation or snuggled in bed on a cold rainy day, nothing can replace the feeling of holding an actual book and being lost in it.
Aiming for a balance between productivity and sensory experience should be a sweet spot.
If you are someone who mostly reads physical books, it is admirable and praiseworthy.
In the end, our learning styles can be different and what works is better than making excuses and not doing the work at all. Having access to books is paramount to ‘How’ we access them.