From Physical Books to Kindle: Why I Finally Go For e-Books

As someone who loves physical books – the papers, the smell, the feel – I’m finally doing e-books the proper way. I just got myself a Kindle Paperwhite! After months of dwelling on it, finally.

Background Story

I consider myself an avid reader, perhaps not in the strictest sense but I’ve always loved reading. I grew up living through many worlds and adventures through books. During university years, I kinda lost the interest in reading for fun because at that point in time, reading more than what the syllabus required me to do was quite a hassle. Then when I jumped into the career world, I found my way back to reading for leisure.

All these years, old-fashioned print books are my way to read. I never considered another way until… I got into this whole no-buy year. Among many things, I made a rule earlier in 2020 that I would not buy any more books. Reason? I’m a book hoarder. I buy books with the intention of reading them until they stack up on my shelves waiting to be read. So I told myself – that’s it, no more new books this year.

However if you’re a reader, you would understand that sometimes certain books or specific topics pique your interest that you just need to read them right away. So my problem making books as a no-no was – I couldn’t read those specific books because I couldn’t buy them.

So I got into e-books. #UnethicalAlert oh the world wide web is an amazing thing. Do you know that there are many free e-books available to you out there? A quick Google search would bring you to the books’ PDF copy. Not all are available but there are tons of them. #UnethicalLifeHack

And that’s what I did. I downloaded and read them through my laptop or smartphone. The results? Eye strain and my eyes power shot up. So I stopped. And my obsession with getting a proper e-books reader started.

Reasons I got a Kindle

I’ve been dwelling on this idea for half a year now. And finally on 11.11, I took the bullet and bought myself a Kindle – Kindle Paperwhite!

[Read more: Kindle Paperwhite in Malaysia: Unboxing, Review, Tips, and Tricks]

Disclaimer: If you know about my no-buy journey – oh well, I tweaked the rules a bit. I considered the purchase of this Kindle as a book purchase (I can buy books!) instead of a gadget purchase. Teehee. Rules bent are not rules broken

Here are my reasons for getting a Kindle:

1. To save money in the long run

As much I love paperback books and won’t mind spending money to get books that I want to read, let’s face the bitter truth – pyshical books are expensive!

I’m so much mindful of my spending these days and I realised how much I’ve been spending on books. Don’t take me the wrong way though – First, I believe money spent on books is money well spent because you’re investing in yourself. Second, there are many ways to get books cheaper these days. But still, books can be expensive.

This year alone, I spent RM826 on books. Mind you that I only started buying books again in June. So RM826 actually accounts for less than half a year books spending. And mind you too that I rarely bought books at their full prices. I usually waited for sale. Still, RM826!

So with the intention to save money in the long run, I paid a large sum (for me) upfront. I bought my Kindle Paperwhite for RM558.99 (including casing and shipping, minus discount voucher).

2. To solve my storage/shelving issue

My bookshelf is now at its full capacity. I’ve actually been stacking books at every corner I can, on top of the shelf, bedside table, and bed frame.

And so I’ve been told that I can solve this problem because I can store about 6000 books in my 8GB Kindle! Six thousand!

3. To bring books everywhere

I usually bring a book everywhere I go. However I have two issues with this – first, a physical book can be thick and heavy; second, I don’t want people to judge me based on the book that I read. Okay to be fair, the second issue is superficial, lol sorry I can’t help it. But my book selection can be quite controversial (not Fifty Shades of Grey kind of controversial okay) (but if it is, why not lol), so I became very picky of the book that I bring out with me. Not heavy and not controversial.

With a Kindle on the other hand, I can bring book everywhere! Correction: I can bring books everywhere. Have you seen the size of a Kindle by the way?

I’m surprised the first time I held it, just slightly wider than my smartphone and very light. Also, no one gonna judge me, it would just look like I’m scrolling a mini tablet #goalsachieved.

4. To read in the dark

When you’re on your bed and you can’t sleep, what do you usually do? Grab your phone and scroll through social media right? That’s what I do too. So this is my attempt to change this bad habit. By digitizing my books.

Another reason is I realised that the lighting condition can be friction between me and my reading habit. I love reading leisurely while laying down on my bed but I don’t prefer the ceiling lamp, it’s so bright and it disturbs my relaxing mode. Using the bedside lamp doesn’t work for me too because growing up, my mom always scolded me for reading with only the bedside lamp, “it’s not good for your eyes”, so that rule is ingrained in me to this day.

With Kindle Paperwhite, I don’t have to be bothered by that. It has a built-in backlight that allows you to read in the dark. Instead of shining into your eyes as phones and tablets screens do, it shines evenly onto the page. It also uses this e-ink display technology that closely mimics the appearance of ink on printed papers and studies show that it reduces eye strain problem.

For now, I can vouch that the screen really looks like printed paper and I can read in the dark – but on the eye strain part, I’ll have to come back later with a proper review.

Bonus reasons

I only figured these reasons after exploring my Kindle. So these are reasons for you to consider if you’re thinking of getting one.

5. The battery life is great

The standard battery life for a Kindle Paperwhite is roughly 28 hours. If you read for one hour a day, it can last weeks, almost a month.

As at the time of writing, I’ve only been reading through my Kindle for few hours, perhaps for 5 hours in total, and I believe the battery life is as promised because the battery hasn’t even dropped 10%. Now compare that with a smartphone…

But don’t compare the battery life with physical books because… physical books are just full of life. #yourcuetolaugh

6. It has built-in dictionary

There are countless times where I have to pause reading, take my phone, and Google certain words. Now I don’t have to do that! I just clicked on the word and the built-in dictionary automatically gives the meaning.

Thank you technology.

7. I can highlight and make notes and save them

I’m a highlighter reader. I highlight books here and there. And I make notes at the back of my paper books. Now I can do the same for e-books too! Even impressive because it saves my highlights and notes in a file that I can go and search through anytime.

Oh thank you again technology.

Conclusion

I think I made the right decision to finally buy a Kindle for e-books. I can see myself bringing this everywhere and hopefully I will read more because this would trick my millennial brain into thinking I’m on my phone so it’s fine and normal.

Anyway, this personally would never replace buying, having, and reading physical books. E-books can never replace the old-fashioned traditional books, but like everything else in life, they can co-exist. This Kindle will be just another way of reading for me. I will continue buying and reading physical books *my bank account coughing* especially for books on heavy topics or textbooks.

So let’s continue figuringgitout through reading! #MalaysiaMembaca