Let’s Get Digital, Digital…
I just started reading God-Shaped Hole by Tiffanie DeBartolo. My sister fired it across the ocean to me for Christmas, and so far, it’s pretty good. It’s a paperback. That’s right, it’s a physical book, with a front cover AND a back cover, and pages that you turn. It’s the real deal and it feels good in the hands.
Over the past few years, I’ve been reading more and more books digitally. It started in 2010, I believe, when my wife surprised me with a Kindle. Wow, I loved that thing! Now I have the Kindle app on my iPad, and iPod, so I’m never anywhere without something to read.
My appetite is smaller than some, but bigger than others. I usually read two or three books each month. I am guessing that in 2012, probably 90% of those books were read on one of my gadgets.
That statistic, by the way, is loosely based on 3-4 seconds of intensely critical thought on my part. Don’t worry…I’m a weather forecaster. Throwing random percentages at people is part of my job. You could call it verbal sleight of hand.
Back to the books…I’m a digital dude now. But, oh, the pleasure, when I get my hands on a real book! Now and then it happens…and it’s cool.
Except, there are some sticking points to physical books, as you probably have discovered during your own reading…
1) Holding my finger down on a word in a paperback doesn’t bring up a definition of the word.
2) Just like #1, except you can’t highlight or type a quick note to yourself.
3) A paperback doesn’t remember what page you were on if you close it. This one is a heartbreaker.
4) Physical books don’t have email capability or an alarm.
Life is tough, right? First-world problems, I tell ya.
But, I think I have a solution. Are you out there, Jeff Bezos, buddy? Maybe you could make a Kindle that lives in the shell of an actual book. When you flip it open you have digital innards, but on the outside, some covers, and pages, and all that old school stuff. Then you could keep the feel of a hardcopy book with the benefits of digits.
When you incorporate this idea, Jeff, and the money starts pouring in, feel free to send me my share.
Until then, I’ll be reading 90% of my books digitally…maybe 91%.
Cheers!
