It's Not Your Father's Book-Reading Anymore
Related source » Amazon Kindle e-book downloads surpass paperback books in USBy now most of us have heard about the e-book, "a text and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices". Many of us have heard of Amazon's Kindle device for reading and storing e-books. And some have even researched the advantages and disadvantages of e-books as compared with traditional hard-copy printed books. My purpose, however, is to describe what I consider to be the most revolutionary aspect of this new way of reading books.
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“Amazon has claimed that it has sold more e-books for its Kindle device in the United States as compared to paperback books in the last three months of 2010.”
— 2011-01-29 (sify.com)
I currently own a second-generation Kindle (illustrated above), having received it as a gift from my wife who, in the process, inherited my first-generation Kindle. It has enabled me to reinvent myself as a reader of books.
I have been reading books my whole life (practically), first as a student, then as a professional researcher, and finally as a retiree. I never mastered "speed reading", let alone relatively fast reading, primarily because my temperament is such that I don't want to miss anything in the process. Such attention to detail was instilled in me by my long-time emphasis on educational and professional reading habits, until I entered the more relaxed state-of-mind in retirement.
I have developed a parallel-processing mode of reading books via my Kindle. Since this very compact electronic device can store literally thousands of digital volumes, it now serves as my very portable personal library. Moreover, my complete e-book library is virtually unlimited because the Kindle comes with unlimited backup storage of all my e-books purchased from Amazon along with free Wi-Fi downloading as required.
By "parallel-processing mode" I mean reading multiple books at any given time-interval (on the order of ten books, though that number would probably vary according to individual taste). I have chosen to collate my books into several categories (e.g., physics, history, evolution, economics, fiction, references, etc.) and typically, I cycle through several categories daily, reading my current choices of e-books in those categories. What a blast!
This approach has eliminated those not infrequent patches of time when my reading used to stall because, for whatever reason (when I read books in series-mode), I got bored with a book. I have also abandoned the self-imposed obligation to finish every book I start. That guilt-trip was probably a consequence of my parents' repeated admonitions to clean my plate because of all those "starving children in China", many of whom are probably now struggling with American-style obesity.
The future of reading is now.
Post 1,554 Parallel-Processing Reading — of eBooks
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