E-reading: Pros, Cons, And Reading Habit

My reading habit is intertwined with my writing habit. As Stephen King says, ”if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. […] If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” While I also believe books should be balanced by one’s own existence, it is one of the reasons why I want to get back into a serious reading habit. I love writing and I love reading, but I often fail to secure an hour a day to read a book.

I bought a Kindle Paperwhite two years ago for $50 during a Black Friday sale. The only time I’ve ever bought something on Amazon. I’d been looking to replace my Kobo for two years. I do most of my reading from my computer, but I missed the ability to go offline and avoid blue light before going to sleep. A good book on a couch by the fireplace is always more relaxing than a virtual office.

Reading on a laptop is more efficient to take notes or perform cross-researches thanks to the ability to copy/paste what you’re reading in your favorite document editor-I’m not a fan of Kindle’s note-taking system. But distractions are one click away too. I always read more and faster on an e-reader or a physical book because of this, while even increasing my comprehension of the material. As a digital nomad, physical books are a luxury I cannot afford, and the benefits of efficient reading are too good to overlook.  

Back when I was working on Sipreads, my co-maker and I felt ready to summarize two non-fiction books a month each. It was a great way to keep the course. If I want to grow as an individual, not just as a writer or a founder, I need a solid reading habit.

Nowadays, I use my weekly newsletter to stay accountable by listing down all the books I read over the week, but no app can do the reading for me. Even if you read a summary, there is always a detail in the original content that doesn’t add to the comprehension of the book per see, but this small detail can sow unexpected ideas. Reading the full length of a book is serendipity in its purest form. 

On the other hand, summaries allow you to curate a compelling reading list. Reading a bad book teaches you what not to do, but I’d rather spend more time reading books that strongly resonate with me or the problems I’m trying to solve.

Reading book recommendations from my favorite writers is also a great way to filter what’s worth it and what’s not.

Even though I try to keep my reading list as intentional as possible, it’s primordial to remain open to genres and topics I wouldn’t normally read about. I wish I could tell you I keep a list of such books, but I don’t yet. I rely on serendipity yet again.