World Book Day + Why I'm Giving Up These……...

OK, so those of you that have been following my blog for some time 

know I am a real book worm. Actually I think I like books more

than people…….well some people at least ;-)

via Modern Mrs Darcy/Pinterest

But here's the problem.

I have more than 70+ BRAND NEW, unread

books that I have bought over the last couple of

years that I have not even cracked open (this is

not including coffee table books and cookery books!)

So what's gone wrong?

Well I blame my Kindle.

Yes you read that right. I am

"uncoupling" from my Kindle (Gwennie Paltrow

would be SO proud of me ;-)

Here's why:

*EBooks are not in your face:

That's right. They don't occupy physical space

calling out to you every time you walk past them

and ignore them. A physical book calls out to

you every time you pass it (or is it just me and should

I see my doctor about this?)

*Physical books are sensory:

Well for me at least. 

Who doesn't love to caress and smell a brand

new book?  How the pages feel. How they turn.

They all affect my reading experience.

*EBooks never stay in my memory

Research has proved that scrolling and swiping

actually dislodges data from our short-term

memory and trust me I don't need more of

this happening.

* E-books= less retention. I know this is

definitely true for me. But again the research

seems to back this up. Comprehension 

assumes you plot the story or argument in your mind. 

The digital format does work against this.

Test it out. See if this is true for you also.

I certainly find my mind wonders much more

when I am reading something in it's digital format.

* E-books feels too much like online reading,

which for me is a form of scanning rather than reading

and "savouring".

* The biggie for me is that there isn't a sense of achievement

when you finish a book. I am not the fastest reader, so when

I finish a physical book there is a real sense of achievement.

When I finish an e-book I don't have that same 

sense of achievement. Seeing a finished physical book 

usually stirs the emotions that came with reading that book 

whether that be the story line or just finishing it. 

I don't get that from an e-book as once

it's finished it just slips down my Kindle library never to be

seen again (unless I consciously go looking for it).

So for me 2016 is about a trial separation from my

Kindle reader and sticking with physical books.

Maybe I will do an update in December to let you

know how well, or not, this went ;-)

Would love to hear your views.