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Getting actual E ink display led to me reading more, since it’s comfortable to hold compared to an actual book but easier on the eyes than a smartphone.
I feel dumb saying that books aren’t ergonomic… But they aren’t! I hate holding them open so much. This should be a minor complaint, but it’s a huge benefit of ereaders to me.
people act as if books are the be-all end-all of information, but like… they’re just the best people managed with resources and technology of the time! If you asked an ancient scholar if they prefer a book, or a tablet with MANY books in it, gee i sure do wonder which one they’d choose…
Audiobooks are the solution, not perfect but better than nothing. I “read” my books while cooking, while cleaning, in the bus, while walking around, in the car and at the fitness club.
No hate for audio books, but I think it’s not comparable to reading. They are fundamentally different ways to get things in your brain, and they are handled differently. It’s a different thing. Granted, if you want to experience a narrative or story, fine. But it’s not reading. If you want to read, you look at words on a page. If you want to listen to an audio book, you do not want to read.
That is why I wrote “it is not perfect”. I agree that reading is different. Not really for the reason you mentioned though. For me it is mostly, that reading is relaxing for me, audiobooks aren’t. But one takes what one can get. Maybe when the children are bigger I start reading again.
Different strokes for different folks. You do what you gotta do to enjoy life, and if you want to read or listen to audiobooks, I wish you all the best! My particular neuosis centers around definitions, and it’s insane, and I know it is. For me, the whole “I want to read more so I listen to audiobooks” statement just hits me like “I want to eat bacon so I eat lettuce”. Sure, they’re both crunchy, but it’s like… A totally different thing. If you want something crunchy (a metaphor for a good story or something), then say that, then the format doesn’t matter! This is a strange hangup to have haha I’m going to bed.
People really over exaggerate the importance of reading because they’re repeating memes from back when reading was the only way of getting information. All the people like Voltaire with cool quotes about books would be saying cool things about movies and documentaries if they lived now.
If you’re in a phase of your life where reading appeals to you then do it, if you’re not then don’t beat yourself up about it there’s endless great ways of getting a far richer version of whatever you were looking for - want to get lost in a world of imagination? Good video games are just as good as good books. Want to learn about new perspectives and distant lands? Why not deep dive into some tiktok rabbit holes - real people without that filter of having to be the sort of person to write and get their work published, anywhere in the world you can see every day dramas, struggles, successes, and stories.
I know people will be angry I said it but yes tiktok can be just like a good book when you explore it with an open mind, video games can be wonderfully compelling and really open up your imagination. Personally I wish I had time and the interests to do more of both, I’m still not halfway through bg3 and I brought it on release and haven’t played anything else. I have listened to a few books in that time (mostly from librivox, great free audiobooks with so many classics and wonderful Victorian oddities) but that’s not because I’m better or smarter than people who are drawn to other things but because it’s a form of entrainment which works well for me.
So yeah if you want to read more then maybe get an audio book like the woodlanders by Thomas Hardy from librivox, put it on your headphones and go for a nice walk then when you’re getting into the story you’ll be drawn to keep listening while you do chores like cleaning, and if you’re like me you’ll find chores to do just to keep in the story.
A great thing about Victorian literature is you can listen to the rompiest penny dreadful like the mysteries of London (available on librivox) and it’s got the entrainment of being trash but also it’s a historical document so you’re learning history from primary sources at the same time.
But if you want to learn instead about Tumblr’s sold to one direction trope in a half hour video essay on YouTube then I genuinely think that’s an equally valid use of your time (actually surprisingly interesting too, I think it was a strange aeons video)
While generally agreeing with you, I would just say that it’s a very unjust and biased point of view to say that other media are richer than books.
They’re just different media and forms of art. For example, while videos show you things with much more detail and games make you immerse in a constructed world, books give you more freedom to your imagination, which is an entirety different experience.
I wouldn’t say that any of these experiences are better than the other, but just different, and different people will enjoy them differently.
Yes you’re right, I really meant rich in other ways.
And yeah I don’t think any are intrinsically better than the other, as the addage goes the best direction to head depends on where you start and where you’re going. What might be best for me could be worst for someone else, that’s one of the real next beauties and complexities of life.
I’ve listened to a LOT of books this year just while commuting or doing chores. Thanks Libby!
I see someone down voted you for some reason. In case it’s because of the misconception that audiobooks aren’t as good as reading, several years back there was some research which showed that as far as the brain is concerned, there’s essentially no difference.
“Looking at the brain scans and data analysis, the researchers saw that the stories stimulated the same cognitive and emotional areas, regardless of their medium. It’s adding to our understanding of how our brains give semantic meaning to the squiggly letters and bursts of sound that make up our communication.”
https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/audiobooks-or-reading-to-our-brains-it-doesnt-matter
It’s just the same attitude as people who claim it’s not really reading if you’re using an eReader. Some people get weirdly elitist about books and reading
if the words of all the memes i read were added, it would amount to few books worth
I’ve read novels worth of Wikipedia.
I read this. I should be good for another year or so.
