E-Books and Media Consumption

I was asked how I consume as many books as I average.

I started reading e-books as the bulk of my media consumption in 2007.  I was at a job with a lot of random downtime.  My supervisor decided to punish everyone by taking away our books.  We were allowed to watch television still, because she enjoyed watching television, but no reading. Just waiting for things to happen and television.

I don't watch television.  My books were banned. Magazines were okay but magazines don't hold my attention   They are to quickly consumed.  That is when I started reading ebooks.  I had a smartphone at the time. It was not a smart, smart phone but it was smart enough.  I could also read PDF documents through my work e-mail.

I got a few e-books and started to read.  Amazon had just released the first generation Kindle and I wondered if I wanted one.  I was an avid reader but I didn't want to spend several hundred dollars on a device I might not use.

A few months, and several hundred dollars in e-books later, I decided I did get one.  I only went back and forth about it for six months.  Then, my husband got me one as a surprise.  I think he was tired of my almost daily ponderings and musings over it.  That tends to mean I want something and haven't worked up the will to put the money down on it.  Once I had it in my hand my reading addiction became worse then it had ever been.

The Kindle uses e-ink which mimics the look and eyeball feel of paper.  For many who did not want the glare and energy consumption of the LCD screen, the Kindle and all e-ink readers were a godsend.  For the next few years I read on my Kindle when I had a choice and on my phone when I didn't.

What e-books in general did for me was increase the amount of media I could consume.  I've always been a fast reader.  Yet, ebooks allowed me to read while walking easier, read in the car smoother, not lose my place as often, and not turn pages.  You don't realize how much time you spend turning pages until you no longer have to turn pages.  I don't have a problem turning pages but little snatches of time add up over the course of a novel.

Later, once the tablet market began to stabilize I invested in a 10 inch (not apple) tablet.  This turned out to be a perfect PDF reader.  Last year I took the plunge and reduced to a 7 inch tablet.  This is an almost perfect transportable reader.  I'd not sit with it in my pocket but it fits into the front jean pocket for basic to and fro.  I also read on my smartphone still.  (I don't carry a purse).

I don't use them for videos.  I don't really use them for games.  I don't use them for pictures.  I use them for internet surfing and book consumption.  This also increases my energy consumption. There are times that a paper book is awkward.  One of those times is when I'm cooking and I am timing pots and stirring dishes but I have a free hand and spare attention. I fill those things and times with e-books.

Waiting at the doctors office, spare time at a training class, lunch breaks, car trips, plane travel and night time reading is all easier.  E-ink is superior for any lengthy project.  Tablets don't do a bad job but smartphones drain fast under heavy reading usage.  I do understand that some may not do as well with short reading sessions.  I've always been fine with it.  I can put a book down and later I can pick it back up and reengage immediately.

I often hear people say that they will not give up their regular books.  I haven't, completely   Yet, for day to day idle consumption I can not praise e-books and the various e-readers enough.  They improve the media consumption and don't remove from it.

Amazon has recently put out an offer to trade old kindles in for a credit.  I'm tempted because my first gen is sitting on the shelf, unused for the last two years and unneeded.