We are having an interesting conversation inside our reading club about physical books vs kindle vs kindle app on iPad.
Here is my lived experience.
I love physical books especially hardcover ones. I have an established library at home. It is my happy place. The quality of paper, size of the book, haptic feel, color and typesetting is unmatchable. Books like slideology, principles, breaking the grid etc is a treat as a physical book. During my time in Singapore, I spent countless hours in Kinokuniya and spent a lot of 💵 as well🫣
In 2008 I got my first kindle. It was promising. My first book was Glimmer and I struggled to complete it in Kindle. With a physical book it was a breeze.
I loved kindle because I could carry it in MRT. I can read 10 difffent things in one train ride. When kindle could receive PDF from an email, that is when it changed my life. I could read all my research papers on a kindle in one go. I could highlight like a physical book. I can book mark it. I can add some notes. I can refer to a dictionary when I didn’t know the word. I could use different colors for different type of notes. It was slowly growing on me.
In 2015 I upgraded to kindle backlit and that changed my life forever. I could read in the dark. Light was not a necessity to read books anymore. Given an Indian family taking books to bathrooms is a no-no but kindle saved me. With so many apps and notifications in the phone and iPad, I still preferred my kindle that had zero distractions. I could focus on reading. I even carried it to coffee pods. I read a page or two whenever someone was delayed or the time was trapped in a queue or waits.
The best part is after reading the book, I can just read all my notes and highlights with one search.
When Presbyopia hit me, I could still use the kindle with a bigger font size. I can adjust the appearance to compact or large. Word wise helped me with synonyms on the go. It even kept a score of my reading speed. With so much goodness, slowly I started using less of my physical books and more of my kindle. It took me a decade to get used to it. Even today when I see a good typeset book, I go for a physical copy. Kindle doesn’t replace the goodness of a physical book but it gives you a lot of convenience around reading habit.
Sometimes I refer the kindle app in my phone or iPad but it is only a reference. It is not a norm. The blue light is so strong that I can’t read on iPad too long. The e-ink is magical in that sense.
This is my journey of managing physical books and e-books together. I am not replacing them. I am just spoilt for choices.
What is your take on kindle vs physical books?
