I was often fazed by the plethora of books and collections of school materials certain people often had when I was in university. I would visit them in their houses or hostels to find stacks of books and documents related to school and their courses of study. They would be so many at times that it sometimes made me feel like I was the opposite of a student. My space was void of such things and sometimes looked like a studio with my guitar and things of that sort all around.
Many of those kinds of people were doing well academically, and so it felt like they were super hardworking and more invested in their education than I was—because I was different. The catch, however, was that I was doing pretty well for myself as well. The actual difference was that I dreaded clunkiness and focused more on being efficient.
I often seek easier ways to go about my everyday life. Life can be much simpler with the innovations we have in the world today, so why not? E-books were my way of life; they worked just fine for me, and so I stuck with them and had much more space in my environment without having books all around.
I am not that much of a book lover, however. I only read pretty much in school because of the grades. Now that all that is over—or paused for now—I have picked up newer interests. One of those interests is developing myself generally.
Developing myself would be in the sense of being better with my interpersonal relationships, understanding how to align my life and career with my passions and values, and things of that sort. And in one of those times of meditation, I was reminded that books hold information through time—they always have—and chose to read books from then. Clearly, they were going to be mostly self-help books, and I would consider stories much later as they weren't a priority at that time.
Again, e-books can do the trick, but then I realised something about them: they live in a digital world, and the only way to access them is through some digital device. My phone, PC, or whatever isn't the same as a real book. Actual books seem to "give more life" to reading. And, also, it's pretty easy to get distracted by the myriad of things that the gadget can do.
I knew that one way to effectively go about reading books more was to have them physically. "Out of sight, out of mind," as I had learned in Atomic Habits by James Clear, taught me that having a book I really want to read sitting out in the open—on a table or bed—increases the probability of picking it up and actually reading it. And so, guess what?
I started buying "physical" books...
It has been quite a journey so far with reading actual books. I get to sit close to my window, maybe with a cup of coffee (or just water), and just peruse the pages and have their content glide through my mind as I consume them.
Have you ever smelled e-books before? You know how the fresh smell of an e-book can feel, or the vintage aroma of an old book; how soothing they are when one runs their fingers through the pages, or even the sound of the pages as they are flipped. Of course not! Only physical books can actually bear those descriptions. And it is why I'd rather read physical books now instead.
A constraint to actually indulging in the aura of reading physical books, however, is that they are way less accessible when compared to e-books. I would still read e-books, though, especially when I begin furthering my education. I just wouldn't go buy Mechanics of Machines by R.S. Khurmi which probably costs a lot, just to read a couple of pages.
So, dear reader, what I have been trying to say in essence is that I value reading physical books over e-books in defiance of my minimalist approach to living "free," but acknowledge the circumstances in which e-books could be apt. Thank you for reading!
Actual books give more life than e-books. I have been one person who downloads novels on my phone and would read until I came to realize having a physical book actually does a lot of magic than a digital own. But it still doesn´t mean I won´t read e-books, that is, if I cannot afford a physical one, I will go for that option. I love holding a novel and perceiving the scent and smell that comes with it.
Magic, you say, eh? I totally agree!
The fact that one can just look over to the left or right, or wherever, and see a stack of books is a beauty to behold, honestly. Cost and, maybe, minimising weight in travels, are the one of the few things that would make me lean towards e-books now.
That is it. Cost and the weight when moving around are something that could make us settle for e-books.
I popped in again through #dreemport
Thank you, Princess.God bless #dreemport!
I far prefer to read a physical book, especially softcover/paperback. However, I really love reading early science fiction books, and most of the time you can only find them in digital form these days. It's unfortunate, because I'd really love to sit and read a physical copy of a lot of these books, but I'll take what I can get!
Yeah, that's one issue; we don't get to see good fiction book in paperbacks that much. In such cases, one would just stick to e-copies and get on to read, rather than waiting and searching for the paperbacks. "I'll take what I can get," indeed!
I wonder if you are reading any fiction story—e-book, maybe—that you could share with me. I'd like to explore.
Yep, I’m currently reading “The Sleeper Awakes” by H. G. Wells. It was first published in 1910.
That sounds pretty interesting! I'll see if I can find it and read it. Thanks, and Happy Sunday.
With regards to reading, I prefer E-books when it has to do with my course materials, because asides saving cost, it keeps me on the go while surfing through them, helping to understand real quick. However, when it has to do with selfhelp books, motivational books, I prefer reading the hard copy, because like you said, it gives more life and helps not to easily get distracted.
Thank you for sharing.
I think, generally, e-books are most apt for school students. There are always many books to read at a time, so the idea of taking the paperbacks or hardcovers is just not applicable most times. Just imagine you, a nursing students, e-books are just much convenient. For self-help books, it's nothing like having physical copies, actually. You can just get immersed by it all; having it in hand.
I am very glad to see you around, Nohbong. We'll see you around more, that's for sure.
Thank you, Milly!
And, also, let us remind you about The 9ja Show in three hours.
Aye! Thanks.
Pretty same I only read e-books when it's school related but I prefer paperbacks more.
Yeah, man. That's the same with me. Thanks.
I would always choose paper backs over e-books, for me, it makes me feel the vibes of reading and I get to assimilate what am studying fast. You cracked me up when you spoke about the smell of physical books, well, let me not lie, I love that smell but not the ones that rats peed on though🤣🤣
#dreemerforlife #dreemport
But why do you have rats peeing around your books?? You must not read those books and those rodents are now comfortable there.😂 Oh, well. I do hope that doesn't happen for real.
LoL .. you are funny.. they don't really pee on my books anymore, it was long ago😂😂
I need to read both e-books and physical books. But I feel hard copy can give me the best feeling and it gives me a different kind of vibes but at the same time, I can't ignore the importance of e-books because it allow me to read a book anywhere.
Unfortunately, I am unable to see pictures and your shared video because of some kind of error.
The fact that I can carry e-books around give it that edge over paperbacks. The circumstances would determine which to stick with anyway.
I wonder why you could see the photos and videos. I had some troubles uploading them, though, so maybe that's why. How are things with you anyway?
Everything is going very well but facing a busy time and trying to save some time more to be more active in the hive platform.
What about you?