When I was a kid, I was obsessed with reading. You know, up until 4am reading under the covers until my eyes hurt. You couldn’t stop me from reading.
But as I got older, something changed.
Maybe the forced reading we had to do at school took the joy out of it. Or maybe girls and a social life started getting in the way. Whatever the reason was, all I know is that reading slowly became something “I used to do” but now never had time for.
Well, not anymore. I’m back to devouring books at an insatiable rate. I’ve cut down on mindless internet time to make more room for meaningful reading time. I’m officially, 100%, head over heels in love with reading again.
And I owe it all to a little thing called the Kindle.
Now how the hell did a frickin e-reader rekindle my love for reading? Good question. Especially since I used to be like a lot of you out there, moaning about how “the feel of paper can never be replaced”.
But the truth is, ever since I got my Kindle a year ago, my reading life has completely changed. And it’s stayed that way. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how the Kindle pulled this off, and here’s what I’ve boiled it down to:
1) Less Wasted Time and More Reading Time
You know all that wasted time you have in a day? Standing in long lines. Waiting for a friend to show up. The breaks in-between your Pomodoro’s.
Now I turn all that wasted time into productive reading time. Since the Kindle is so small and compact, I almost always have it with me for all those wasted moments.
And get this – if I don’t feel like carrying the Kindle around, I still always have my book with me because of the Kindle iPhone app. The bookmark even automatically syncs so I can immediately pick up where I left off. Now I NEVER have an excuse not to be reading.
And thanks to the Kindle, I am now fully enjoying my favorite reading times once again:
Reading while eating. I’m fully convinced that the Kindle was designed for this purpose alone. Once you eat with the Kindle, I guarantee you won’t go back (trying to eat and hold down paperback pages is SUCH a pain in the ass). Because of the Kindle, I’ve reclaimed meal time as reading time and I f*cking love it. No joke, reading while eating is now one of my favorite things to do in the world. Seriously.
Reading in bed. It’s so easy. No more uncomfortable one-hand propping or awkward page turning. Just hold the Kindle with one hand, turn to your side and read. Reading in bed is such a pleasure that now it’s become part of my nightly routine to read a little fiction (non-fiction gets my brain too hyped up) before falling asleep.
So thanks to the Kindle, I’m able to discover more reading time throughout my day. It’s not that i suddenly have more hours in my day, but now I’m turning all that wasted time into reading time.
2) I Always Have the Right Book to Suit My Reading Mood
I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t just read one book at a time (I usually read 1 fiction and 1-2 non-fiction books). My reading mood changes constantly throughout the day, and if I’m just carrying only one paperback with me, there will definitely be times where I’ll say to myself, “Ugh, I don’t feel like reading this right now…what’s happening on Twitter?”
With the Kindle, I can carry as many books as I want in one little device and when I’m not in the mood to read one book, I can instantly read something else, instead of putting the book down and doing something else.
3) There’s No Downtime After Finishing a Book
Before I got my Kindle, finishing a book became the most dangerous time for my reading habit. I could be a reading maniac, tearing through pages day after day, but as soon I finished my book…it all would come to an abrupt end.
Unless I had another book already picked out and in my hand, I’d have to head off to the library again or wait for my Amazon order to ship…and in that time, my newfound reading habit would’ve dwindled away.
Nowadays, there’s absolutely no downtime between books. I always have other books or tons of samples loaded up on my Kindle, ready to go. Samples? Why yes, let me school you on the magic of Kindle book samples.
I never hear people talk about this but it’s one of my absolute favorite Kindle features. So when someone recommends an awesome book to me, instead of adding it to some book list that I’ll never actually go through, I just go to Amazon.com and send a sample straight to my Kindle.
Now when I finish a book, I’ll just go through my list of samples and start reading one that strikes my fancy. The samples are the first few chapters of a book and by the time I get to the end, I know whether or not I want to keep reading. If I want to keep reading, I click a button and BAM, the entire book is bought and downloaded on to my Kindle. And I just continue reading where I left off.
It’s like being at a bookstore and being able to flip through any book you want. Except it’s all on one small electronic device. That you can use anywhere, at anytime. Awesome.
And aside from getting me back into reading, here are…
A Few More Reasons Why I Love My Kindle
The Kindle was built for reading and reading only (f*ck the iPad!) It’s the anti-internet, anti-multitasking, distraction-free device – and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
When I pick up my Kindle, I’m picking it up to have a reading experience. It provides me with the same calm, comforting, feeling that I get from paper books. Reading time is relaxation time. And part of that is because of the E-Ink display.
The E-Ink display is just like reading from paper. Like most of you, I force my poor eyeballs to stare all day into bright LED screens. I’m sick to death of computer screens so thank god for Kindle’s E-Ink display, which reads just like paper. It’s the anti-LED screen and it gives my eyes a much needed, soothing break.
Books, not blogs. Now that reading is back in my life, more and more I’m finding myself replacing aimless, mindless internet time with focused, productive reading time.
The internet is great for a lot of things, but more often then not, we just use it as a fun diversion. If you’re looking to learn more about a specific topic, stop reading blogs and get a book. Books are usually more in-depth, better researched, more cohesively put together, and are often from people who know what they’re talking about – not random bloggers just trying to get more page hits.
But if you’re going to read blogs or long articles online, use Instapaper. With one click of a button, Instapaper will save any article you find online to your Instapaper queue, which you can then send to your Kindle for free. Trust me, it feels so much better to read an article (especially those long New York Times pieces) away from a computer monitor.
Another cool thing about Instapaper is if you run out of things to read, they have a bunch of recommended articles for you to add to your queue (I haven’t checked this out yet cause I still have about 2.7 million book samples to power through).
And not saying I support this, but for those shady types who like to download, there are a good amount of Kindle books out there on sites like BTJunkie. Proceed at your own risk.
The lighted cover is badass. The official Amazon leather cover may be a little pricy, but in my opinion, it’s totally worth it. Not only does it protect the Kindle and make it more comfortable to hold (feels like a paperback in your hands, especially when you fold the cover backwards), but it has a built-in pop-out light that uses the Kindle as a battery source! This has come in handy so many times, from walking home at night in Berlin to reading every night before bed.
If you’re a traveller (or a minimalist), owning a Kindle is a NO BRAINER. Let me break this down for you quickly:
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- Free 3G Internationally. Yes, you read that correct. If you get the Kindle 3G, you have FREE internet around the world. True, the web browser sucks (remember, it’s a reading device) but it still saved my ass in Germany and Colombia when I got lost or needed to check my e-mail.
- Buy books anywhere. This may not seem like that big of a deal until you’re living in a foreign country and realize that buying the book you want in English can be damn near impossible. Ask my friends in Colombia who I had to smuggle in books from the States, it’s no joke. With the free 3G, you can browse the Amazon bookstore and buy a book wherever, whenever you want. Beautiful.
- Having access to all your books, all the time. When you move around or travel a lot like me, it’s amazing being able to access every single book you’ve bought whenever you need it. I hate buying paper books now because it sucks knowing that if i want to flip through it, it’s going to be a million miles away sitting useless on my bookshelf. But hey, at least it looks nice sitting there, right?
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Bottom line is, if you used to love reading but have fallen out of the habit or seem to never have time for it, you should get yourself a Kindle stat! It turned me back into the little kid who couldn’t put a book down to save his life…and I didn’t realize until now how much I missed that.
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In case you’re wondering, while in New York I’ve finished the last Harry Potter (finally) and Jay-Z’s Decoded (so dope…download the sample and check it out now!)
My fiction book for right now is High Fidelity and even though I’m not even a chapter in, I already love it. Nick Hornby is a hilarious writer who also manages to draw me in emotionally. Check out About a Boy if you haven’t already. Haven’t seen the movie and I’m not planning to, but the book is wonderful.
My non-fiction at the moment is Do the Work by Steven Pressfield. I have a paperback copy of his amazing book The War of Art (sitting useless on my bookshelf millions of miles away), and this seems like a more-concise, more-accessible follow-up.
If you’re someone who’s struggling with any sort of creative project, you NEED to read this book. It’s quick, inspirational, and has already helped me get past some roadblocks in my music production. The way he breaks down the creative process and how to get past what’s holding us back is absolute genius. Just get the back and you’ll see what I mean.
