Gautam's Gyan

Paper or plastic ?

There is something comfortable about a stack of books by your bedside table. You can, at a glance, see the size of each book and read the titles from a distance. An ebook reader doesn't provide the same satisfaction. I am using the Kindle Fire to read ebooks exclusively for the past two months. In the same period I have read about 4-5 paper books. The experience has been quite revealing.

As you are probably aware, I am an early adopter gadget freak. I like to automate my life with technology as much as possible. Often requiring a major shift in my thinking and daily habits. But after using an ebook reader for a couple of months, this is one area where I am still in favor of the old technology.

Paper books add a irreplaceable tactile experience while reading. Reading on an ebook reader (and I have tried this on my iPad as well) is quite distracting and uncomfortable. I have conditioned my body in handling a paper book and I feel it's simply too hard to change that habit. This maybe a hasty conclusion and I think I should probably keep reading on my Kindle for a year or so and then review.

But first impressions, as everyone knows, are lasting impressions.

Since I got the Kindle Fire in Oct 2011, I downloaded over 30 books on it. Some were free on Amazon and some borrowed from my local library. Amazon also allows Prime users to borrow a new book for a month on a physical Kindle. Quite conveniently and without expending any money, I have a good set of books to read for the next few months. I was quite happy.

But I soon discovered something strange. The immediate availability of so many books on the same device is very distracting. I am flipping through ebooks, not able to focus on one book for long. As soon as I get bored in a passage in one ebook, I found myself flipping to another ebook. Just like browsing on the web. Clicking from one hyperlink to another. In and out.

This is unlikely to happen with paper books since you usually carry only one book with you at a time. When you curl up to read in bed or at your local coffee shop, you usually just have the one paper book with you. When a passage gets boring, you take a break, stretch your legs, have a cup of coffee and plough back into the book. There is no other book enticing you to open it and get distracted.

I admit this is an unusual take on the whole paper vs ebook discussion. Most discussions are about the lack of an ability to gauge pages, feel the paper, backlighting, smell of the paper book, double spread pages etc. But this multi-ebook distraction syndrome is what happens with me. I don't know if other readers are going through the same experience. Please comment below. I would really like to know your take on it.

I plan to stick it out though, with my Kindle Fire. The deal it offers (12 new books to borrow from Amazon a year and thousands from my local library ) is simply too good to pass up.

These are crazy times for readers and writers. Exciting, but crazy.