I Tried to Read a Physical Book … And Failed
I’ve been an avid reader for decades and have a deeply instilled love of physical books. But for at least the last twenty years I’ve read my books digitally, using various types of ereaders.
I owned the first generation Kindle device (the one with the hardware buttons and keyboard) and before that I was reading ebooks on a Palm Pilot.
These days I read ebooks and listen to audiobooks on an iPad Mini, with the Kindle app, Apple Books app, and the Libby app for borrowed library ebooks.
But every so often I get nostalgic about physical books. I love the feel, the smell, the varied typography, the physical presence and heft of a real book.
So, passing by my local library the other day I popped in and checked out a couple of science fiction/fantasy novels — Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie, and The Nothing Within, by Andy Giesler. I looked forward to reading them in the evening while sitting in our loveseat recliner. The intent was there, but the follow-through failed.
Cue relaxing music. I picked up one of the books and realized it was too dark in the room to see the page clearly. I tapped my table lamp to its brightest level, which worked, but destroyed the room’s ambiance. The print was a bit small for my aging eyes and as I read with my reading glasses on, I could feel eye strain and I couldn’t select a larger font.
Worse, I needed two hands to hold it.
The reason that’s a problem is because as my wife and I sit in our loveseat recliner we like to hold hands while we each read or watch videos on our matching iPad Minis.
Hmmmm. This was awkward. Our patterns were being disrupted and, despite the nostalgia, I was not enjoying reading this way.
The next day I returned the physical books to the library, and using my Libby app, put holds on the ebook versions of both books.
That night things were back to normal, lights down low and iPad Mini in one hand and my wife’s hand in the other.
Sigh. As Thomas Wolfe wrote, “You can’t go home again.” Once you adapt to ebooks, there’s no going back. You simply find them a more practical and convenient form of reading. Still, I do miss the smell of a physical book.
