I started off with the Kindle. Then I sat on it, broke it, and bought�a Nook. Then I got an iPad to read books on my Kindle, Nook, and Unlimited Kindle Amazon apps. I’ve complained about my library system for years, so last year I purchased a monthly subscription with OysterBooks. I used this to screen books for the library. They went out of business, so I tried�Scribd. Scribd started off strong (they have a nice audio book selection), but they recently changed their pricing plan and it’s a bit confusing. I have unlimited access�to certain books all the time, unlimited access to certain books selected by editors monthly, and access to 3 books per month from the Scribd library. I might understand the new Scribd model if reading e-books didn’t make me so stupid.
Reading e-books doesn’t makes everyone stupid. I know there are people out there who use their e-readers to access�their Nobel laureates collection on-the-go. Somewhere there is a woman, sitting at the doctor’s office, waiting 45 minutes for her quarterly�dental hygiene appointment. “No problem,” she tells the apologetic receptionist as she syncs to the last read page of The Republic. “That’s what Plato is for!”
“No problem,” I would tell the apologetic receptionist as I synced to the last read page of Lover Revealed. “That’s what�ambiguously gay vampires are for!”
I blame�Amazon Kindle Unlimited. You still have to spend money with a Kindle, Nook, or Scribd account, but with Amazon Unlimited, you pay a small fee once a year and in return�have access to hundreds of thousands of free books. Many of those books are good; great, even. Over the last few months I’ve stumbled upon books I was going to buy, or wanted to read, or thought looked interesting. I didn’t read them, of course. Why eat�an orange�when there are donuts?
I’m not a huge fan of donuts, but I’ll have one if I find them in the break room because (1) they go down easy, (2) they’re free, and (3) I�never know when I’ll�eat another. This last justification�amuses me because donuts are at school only on days that end in Y. There is always a donut somewhere on campus. Oranges, funny enough, are hard to find. I know I have a dieter’s mentality when it comes to food. I didn’t know I have one when it comes to books! Like oranges, there are plenty of books I would enjoy more and get more from, but instead I inhale the Book Donut.
I don’t need donuts all the time, whether they’re made of sugar and flour or paper and glue. I also don’t need to be the priest I met at a conference who said I should only read books and watch television shows/movies that�are edifying. “He sounds like a dull, uptight man,” said my parish priest when I told him the story. “I hope I never get stuck in a Diocesan meeting with him.” (I love my�parish priest.)
I need moderation in my life. To that end, I’m considering an e-reading fast where I read only paper books for a time. Like a juice fast, but I’m giving up lousy books on Amazon Unlimited instead of lousy food. Instead, I can read books from�my towering to-read pile. And if this whole experience sounds too much like the musings of a privileged Hispanic woman, I’ll toss in some health reasons just so it’s clear that, yes, these are the musings of a privileged Hispanic woman. Studies link the use of the backlit screens in ipads to depression and suicidality, though�skeptics�abound. I’m not depressed or suicidal, but I do sleep poorly. Access to distracting apps (Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr) are all right there on my iPad homepage. My�traditional Kindle is�okay since it�offers a reading experience similar to a traditional paper book�and doesn’t give me access to social media, but I want to stay�away from Amazon’s e-book section until it no longer calls to me like the donuts in the faculty lounge.
I haven’t officially committed to anything but already I feel anxious, like I’m about to start a diet. I want to pick a start date and then read Amazon Kindle Unlimited around the clock until then. I’m picturing a Rumspringa for Book Nerds. Before I start, I need to work out a few details. For example, I have legitimately good books from publishers and authors to read and review, many of them for the library. Maybe I’ll start my fast after I read them.
I can’t wait to start this diet! On Monday!
rumspringa for book nerds….!!! i love it!! and donuts at school?? ALL. THE. DAYS. such a great piece of writing, jules!! i find myself downloading books b/c i subscribe to modern mrs. darcy’s kindle deals…. but i NEVER read them…!! i still have a hard time sitting still with my ipad and not getting distracted. i’d rather read paper. good luck!
I stopped subscribing to Modern Mrs. Darcy’s deals a long time ago. I was getting into some serious trouble! :)
ha! My kindle feed is pretty full of donuts as well. I only use the kindle though because of the distractions an ipad would present and I don’t link my fire to anything because my kids use it too. I’ve made my peace with the donuts of the kindle though. I don’t have a lifestyle where I can get to the bookstore or library often enough to support my habit and I’m a much happier person when I’m regularly reading. So kindle it is. I now save my book money for the interesting non-fiction books my kids will pick up as I scatter them everywhere (thing explainer, curious maps, greek myths, the human body, and all the calvin and hobbes :)).
I need to move off the iPad and use only my kindle. Maybe, just maybe, I’d actually read some books.
Working in publishing, I have strong feelings about all of this. Good and bad.
I know there are exceptions, but Kindle Unlimited is mostly crappy Amazon self-published books. Most reputable publishers can’t/won’t play that game for a variety of reasons.
I do love my Kindle though, and read about 50/50 print and ebook. I’m off to a slow start this year, but I’ve read about 100 books a year for the last five years.
Are you a NetGalley member? Great way to access free ebooks from a variety of publishers in exchange for an honest review.
I am a NetGalley member! I get some great books there, and rarely read them. Again, because they go onto my iPad and are quickly forgotten. I am a child, apparently.
I know this is enabling, but there is a wonderful app called “Twilight”– it reduces blue light on your screens during evening hours. It’s worth a shot! ( It’s been wonderful for me- as I often have to work late into the night!)
ENABLER! :D
If you have the most recent iOS update, it’s a setting. Go to Settings, Display & Brightness, and turn on Night Shift. I did it for ebook reading too. It does give me a visual cue of “hey see how the screen is different, you’re suppose to be reading not scrolling Facebook”. Sometimes I listen.
I’ve found my nook makes allows me access to read books that I would never, ever, ever put on my shelves or walk around with otherwise. My grandma always had a stack of bodice rippers in a basket by her chair but I like to pretend I’m more erudite than I actually am. So the bodice rippers stay on my kindle and my “smart” books are on my shelves and bedside. And guess which ones I read more?
I was actually just telling another blogger though that reading has become more challenging for me. Oranges (to borrow and mess up your metaphor) have been putting me to sleep while I can stay awake all night for a donut. I used to be able to read quality and love it, but lately it just makes me yawn. It scares me a little – as if I’m going to somehow lose my “reader’s badge” because I’m picking City of Bones instead of Woman in White.
Hahahah!!
“My grandma always had a stack of bodice rippers in a basket by her chair but I like to pretend I�m more erudite than I actually am. So the bodice rippers stay on my kindle and my �smart� books are on my shelves and bedside. And guess which ones I read more?”
LOL, oh dear…
My goal this year is to read 52 books and only read actual paper books. I get a lot of people (strangers really while who make conversations while I’m out trying to read) who ask tons of questions about reading an actual paper book. I find it way less stressful and overwhelming than my kindle/iPad/nook.
I borrow Kindle books from the actual library…free and better quality of literature. The Kindle is a lifesaver for reading in bed, which, as a mom of very young children, is about the only time I get to read. I couldn’t give it up! Right now I am chugging through the Outlander series and those are huge books in their normal form. I’d probably have wrist problems trying to lug them around if I read them that way ;)
I guess I am different too in that at this point in my life if something is poorly written/a donut, I’ll just stop reading it instead of quickly finishing it…no time, again! I must be one of those weird people who don’t like “sugar” in my books.
I also just read Bene Brown’s Daring Greatly in the paper form and loved that because highlighting is so much more satisfying with a paper book! Paper books are so easy to buy used on Amazon…that’s another slippery slope there.
Finally a diet I have a chance of success! Would just reading books from a b&m library be like the paleo diet? A classic book diet like the Whole30?
Can you just unsubscribe from “unlimited”?
Um yes. I just read an 800 page novel of yet another government experiment gone wrong because it was there and I had feverish toddler in my lap… Must make reservations at the library…