Paper or Digital? How Do You Read?

The other day I found myself for the first time in a long time separating myself from my laptop and actually curling up with a good book, ProBlogger The Book (thanks for the good read, Darren!).  My wife and I headed to the park on one of the first warm days of Spring and took our lunch and our books with us.  We were looking for that illusive thing we like to call RELAXATION.

Several things had occurred to me.  First, this was the first time in a long time I actually sought out an actual paper and ink book for reading!  What has my life come to?  Is it because I don’t read much?  No.  I read a lot, every day.  The thing is, most of my reading is done on the computer.  I do a lot of research for Bible lessons using resources such as e-Sword and anothe Bible program I found called BPBible Portable.  I also keep up with news mostly online.  I read from my favorite blogs, browse my favorite RSS feeds, read about what my friends and family are up to on Facebook and Twitter and email, and just generally do research and browsing on the computer!  The last time I went to the library I spent most of my time on my laptop!

My wife is a bit different.  She’d much rather find a good book and read through it.  Most of the time she’d rather not even put it down before finishing.  She gave me several reasons why she’d rather read from a book rather than on the computer (I added my own thoughts):

• Reading from the computer screen bothers her eyes
  • This is a common complaint about computers.  I know after a long day of working in front of a screen, when I get home the last thing I want to do is hit another computer!
• Portability – she can carry a book with her anywhere and she doesn’t have to worry about plugging it in
  • Packing up the laptop and its accessories is a hassle.  Finding electricity is a constant concern of mine when hitting the library or local coffee shop!
• In most cases, there are less distractions from the words
  • Here’s one of my weaknesses!  I am very easily distracted and email, twitter, facebook, other blogs, and even my own blog and its stats are constant distractions for me.  Am I ADD?  Sometimes I wonder.
• There aren’t any worries about viruses or bad sites
  • If you know what you are doing, this worry can be set aside, pretty much (read a post I did called Staying Safe In The Wild Wild Web), but I know this worry can be a distraction for some.
• She likes being able to hold and move what she is reading
  • I hear this one a lot.  People seem to enjoy the old fashioned feeling of the paper, the smell of the fresh pages or ink, and the flexibility of being able to hold what they are reading in any manner they deem comfortable.  I can see that.  I don’t really feel the same feelings, in fact I find it intimidating.  Perhaps it brings me back to my school days!  To each their own!

As you can see, my wife and I have some areas that are more oposite than similar.  Perhaps oposites DO attract?  I for one enjoy the conveniences of “e-reading” as I call it.

• Information is easily come by for pretty much any subject you can think of
• With RSS reading, keeping up with daily updates, even of the news, is very easy
• It’s easy to keep up with friends and family (it has been argued that the impersonality of the web can actually hinder relationships rather than build them, but I see it as a way to at least keep in contact whereas otherwise I would not)
• I find that online reading offers many more opportunities to interact with what you have read.

There is a happy medium, I am sure.  I am still looking for it and I’m sure I’m not alone!  Tell me, what is your favorite way of reading?

Related posts:

1. Why I Choose to Read from the King James Bible