The difference between reading in digital or physically
Structure
- First time reading a book
- Reading the right book is addictive
- My experience reading physical and digital books
- Pros & cons of physical books
- Pros & cons of digital books
- Suggestions
- Tips & tricks for reading
- Closing
Content
Yo, welcome back to a MrafCommand article. In this one I want to talk about books, and also share some of my experiences while reading.
Books are something I always bring up in all kinds of situations — from casual chats to more serious discussions. This one object is, in my opinion, super crucial and almost sacred — the one thing that can “break through” space and time.
How can it break through space and time? Think about this: 10,000 years ago, someone had an idea or a concept, and that idea can be transferred 10,000 years into the future — which is the 21st century — then absorbed, tested, and developed further. How do you transfer it? Through writing. Today it’s even more common through research papers or books.
I wasn’t someone who loved reading from childhood and then kept that hobby going. I started reading after graduating high school. I was studying online, and early on I was introduced by an online instructor to knowledge he got from a book. At the time, I think the book was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. After that I got curious, looked into it more, found out it was sold at Gramedia, and bought it.
Since then I’ve been addicted to other people’s minds — people who put their ideas and concepts into books — especially self-improvement books. From one genre, I moved on to other genres like science, geopolitics, biographies, and eventually books in my own field: computer science. But I’ve also heard of people who tried reading and still didn’t like it. That’s why I think “Reading the Right Book” is important. By “right” I mean a book that truly grabs you — it creates attraction and makes you want to keep reading.
Your first impression of a book often determines whether you’ll dive deeper and start loving reading, or maybe you’ll look for another medium like podcasts, articles, or videos. Personally, I don’t like putting myself in a box by saying I can only learn from books. I’ve tried all kinds of media — articles, videos, and podcasts. Even though I feel my retention is still higher when I read, we shouldn’t limit ourselves.
Eventually, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when we were encouraged to stay at home as much as possible, I decided to read via e-books on my tablet. Here I want to share what’s different between reading e-books and reading physical books. After spending a long time with physical books, here are my conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of physical books vs digital books:
- Struggle. Yes — the struggle. Reading physical books feels more “real” in terms of effort compared to digital books. Of course it does. You have to go to the bookstore, travel there, buy the book (spend money), get home, and you might not even read it right away — and you might not finish it. From here you can see that the struggle is much more real with physical books. With digital books, I just move my thumb, open Goodreads, Amazon Kindle, e-Gramedia, etc. Or if it’s the end of the month, I can just search for a free PDF or free EPUB (lol don’t copy this).
- Aesthetic. This is the thing some people do even when they don’t actually read: making a room look more aesthetic. If you have physical books, they can become room accessories — books on a shelf make the room look more “aesthetic.” Digital books, because they only exist inside a device, obviously can’t become part of the scenery.
- Distraction. This is what happens to me the most. Since I’m not using a dedicated Kindle reader or Kindle tablet, but a general tablet that can install all kinds of apps, I don’t only have a book app — I also have social media and lots of other stuff. For people using a device that’s truly dedicated to reading (like a Kindle), this might not be a problem. But for a general tablet, it is. The plan is to read 1–2 hours, but then you end up scrolling YouTube, opening Discord, opening Twitter. With physical books, if I’m already reading, I’m definitely not holding my phone or tablet — I’m focused on the book. I’ll only grab my phone if there’s a line so good I want to take a photo.
- All-in-one. This is a benefit physical books don’t have. Digital books can be carried anywhere — in the car, at a restaurant, at a friend’s house — whenever you have free time or you’re bored, just take out your tablet and continue reading. This is what I really want, because in the world we live in, time is one of the most essential resources — the most important and fundamental. So using time as well as possible is, in my opinion, the best way to “pay” for that resource. With a tablet, it’s easy to carry and fast — no need to dig through a bookshelf. And on my tablet I can have 10–20 books, so if I run out of reading material while I’m out, I can just open another book. Physical books take up space, and if you finish one, you can’t instantly switch to another.
- Inheritable. Digital books tend to have problems — from corrupted files to suddenly disappearing, like they just don’t exist anymore. Even though physical books can also have issues (termites, water damage, etc.), physical books can be passed down to your kids and grandkids. Wait, can’t digital books be passed down? Technically yes, but for kids born into a world where gadgets are normal and mostly used for entertainment, can we really expect them to read books on a gadget? Maybe it depends on how they’re raised. But I still prefer guiding them toward physical books because, as I said, there are fewer distractions. Use gadgets for entertainment or learning new things — but if you want to read, just read with a physical book. Still, who knows — maybe future technologies will match physical books.
So yeah, those are the advantages and disadvantages of digital books and physical books, in my opinion. Personally, at home I prefer physical books. But during a pandemic like this, we just have to use the resources we have. That’s all for my sharing this time — thank you to everyone who read until the end. If you have recommendations for good, cool books, feel free to comment below, or you can also discuss it with me. So yup — thanks again, and see you in the next articles. Keep reading, keep grinding, and see you at the top!