Silver Linings: For the love of reading, and my Kindle

As a child, reading was one of my favorite pass-times. I bonded with one of my best friends as we discovered we both liked the same author. During the summer holidays, I could easily sit in the garden all day long,reading a book.

And then I went to university, and something I called “letter-fatigue” struck me. After finishing reading in a course book, my eyes were tired of seeing letters and I couldn’t bring myself back to reading. I’d only read during a week in summer, and that’d be all for a year.

I gradually started to pick up the pace again during my time at Georgia Tech, and afterwards, as I was flying back and forth between Europe and the US more frequently. I started to trade in the in-flight movies for books. I discovered some contemporary satire that I deeply enjoyed. I started to track my reading in Goodreads, and browsing for suggestions.

And then, about 4 months ago, I got my Kindle. At first, I was planning to only use the device during trips abroad in airports and during flights. I’d still carry paper books for the part of the flight during which electronic devices can’t be used.

However, I started reading tons on my Kindle: fiction, papers, my own writing as a second screen now that I am only using my laptop, e-books and more. My Kindle is hands-down one of the best purchases I’ve made in a long time. Not just for my personal enjoyment, but I comes in useful for my research too.

I love books. I love the smell of books, having paper in my hand – and I was terribly skeptical of using an e-reader. My fear and scepsis turned out to prove me wrong.

For us researchers, reading is almost as important as writing – and you can’t have one without the other. I’ve stated it before: reading sparks creativity. Or as my favorite tweet of a few weeks ago mentioned:

@evalantsoght @NSRiazat @lifehackorg @writtenbykrissy The best way to become a better writer is to become a better reader.
— U.S. Dhuga (@USDhuga) August 8, 2013

 One of the best features of a dedicated e-reader as a Kindle, is that it basically is just meant for reading. Unlike a tablet pc where you might want to hop from app to app, the Kindle keeps your attention to your reading. Some critics might fear that we’d hop from book to book and lose the ability to get lost in a fantasy world while reading, but my experience is that I get as much engrossed in a paper book as in a digital book – the story is what matters.

Also, since the Kindle is small, it fits my smallest purse, and I’ve been dragging it along to many different locations. You can spot me in waiting in line, engrossed in the Kindle.

The color of the screen doesn’t seem to tire my eyes, I enjoy the option of highlighting text as I read and I appreciate the fact that I can increase the font – I am by far a very happy Kindle user.

Do you enjoy reading? Do you use an e-reader? And do you also use the e-reader for your research?