Why I like paper books It's no secret that I, like many others, have been on a kick to reduce screen time lately. I don't discriminate about the nature of the screen, either. Computer, tablet, phone, eReader, TV - these are all devices that I'm looking to spend less time with. Tablet is the easiest - years back, I decided I didn't really want one, and gave mine away to someone who actually needed it. No tablet, no problem. TV is also not a problem. I watch very little TV (here I am counting streaming services as well), and very few movies. It's just not particularly a medium I'm very interested in, and consequently it gets reduced to a tool to help me get through boring treadmill walks in the winter. The eReader is an interesting one, because I used to have a Kindle, and I liked it quite a bit. What changed? During the pandemic years, I got quite bought in to the idea of the benefits of re-connecting with physical media. As it applies to music will be the subject of another post, but this is when the idea of reading physical (paper) books re-entered my awareness as a thing that might be worth doing. The problem with physical things is that they take up space and tend to accumulate. I initially solved this by buying books locally, and then giving them away when I was finished with them. Now I just use the library: less expensive, fewer steps involved, and having a return date motivates me to keep reading when I otherwise might start to slack off! I discovered that I really like reading outside (weather permitting, of course). It turns out that this is a lot more comfortable when reading paper compared to reading a screen. Similarly, I get good results from reading before bed (both a nice quiet time to focus, and it helps me sleep), and using any kind of screen in the hours before sleeping is something I am specifically trying to avoid. So, there definitely are some motivations and benefits towards going paper. The costs? Maybe I don't get quite instant access to something I'm interested in reading, but I'm not even sure that's a downside at this point. My reading interests are many and varied, and I have a healthy queue of books waiting to be put on reserve at the library. I've probably mentioned this before, but I am extremely fortunate in that my local library is a ten minute walk from my house, so picking up my holds is only a short ambulation away. A little extra physical activity outside is a nice side benefit. Anyway, with this system, I'm accomplishing a number of my goals: I am reading more, I am buying less, there are fewer physical things cluttering up my home, and I am reducing my screen time. The downside, such as it is, is basically negligible. This is the kind of easy and seemingly obvious win that I need to find more of in my life. ~nullish Reply to this post via email --- email blog index website