How Is Digital Changing Our Reading

How Is Digital Changing Our Reading Habits?I have a confession to make. In the past, when my reading was done on paper, I used to be alittle more productive and organized. Some books used to come to me by the post for reviewing.Some would be sent to me by publishers in the pre-print format so I can read them and add apreface or an endorsement and I would buy many others myself.Lying orderly on my desk and bedside table, they were a constant reminder of what I had to do,commandeering all my available time as I read them two to three at a time to the tune of up to tenbooks a month. These days all my reading is digital.I read reams and reams of writing on websites and research papers in PDF. I download books Part 2As You ReadText Bfor my own pleasure and some get sent to me by friends who have managed to uncover acreative commons gem that needs to be read. In terms of word consumption, I probably read twicethe amount I read before and I also do about twice the writing to the tune of some 16,000 words aweek and yet there is a paradox at work here that comes down to the medium.Often books that ought to be read go unread. Papers that ought to be on my radar drop-off as Idownload fresh ones in an ever expanding list. My reading, done across devices and screen sizesnow, is always on as opposed to starts and stops. I have noticed that it is easier than ever to becomedistracted and to go running down rabbit holes where I chase some obscure manuscripts or look foracademic papers to cross-reference with other publications I have read.Just as reading on slabs of marble might have cut down on the amount of reading we’ d do, justas it helped increase our upper body strength, so does reading across digital devices change therhythm of the activity if not its nature.So what is different? The difference in the digital medium is the widespread activity of reading. Part 2As You ReadText BBecause we read text messages, website content, reports, PDF files, e-books, emails andcomments all the time, we forget that reading is also something that has to be willfully carried out,with intent and single-minded concentration.We skim-read, speed-read, cherry-pick headlines and paragraphs, look at comments tosummarize long articles for us and grasp at infographics as lifesavers. The TL;DR culture that risesout of all this activity is actually a knee-jerk reaction to the all-too-real fact that all of us have limitedavailable time to do too much reading.Suddenly, our eyes, darting across the breadth of screens, become the limiting factor chokingthe speed at which information can reach our brains. And this justifies the incredible reaction of the“too long, didn’t read” culture which arises as a defense mechanism.When swimming in words, we are have the near-instant access to knowledge and books andcan download entire libraries at the click of a button. It is inevitable that reading, as an educational orentertainment experience, is going to change. Part 2As You ReadText BTo really read now requires a high degree of discipline and the kind of planning that used to bethe preserve of complex projects.In the absence of physical books to remind us of the need to simply take a break, reach out andread, here’s one way to make the most of the digital access to reading without losing focus, gettingtoo distracted or getting burnt out:a. O nice a week, set aside two hours to read a new e-book or two.b. M ace it a rule that if a book does not grip you by Page 5, you need to stop reading it.Life’s too short to read books that offer little value.c. Hunt out a new free e-book a month.d. T all about the books you read. Others deserve to know of a good one or be warnedabout a bad one.e. M ace reading a social/learning activity. Ask for opinions and discuss ideas and writing Part 2As You ReadText Bstyles on social networks and share the good books you have read.f. Tall to your favorite authors, if you can. Let them know that you enjoyed their books orthat you hated them, provided you are prepared to explain why.g. M ace reading an activity that is willfully integrated in your life, not something you do ifyou happen to have a spare moment.h. M ace notes on your reading. Tablets and e-book readers have now made it possible toread and make notes on the pages. In the past, we were too conscious of the cost or the value ofbooks or the irreversible nature of making notes on the margins to actually do so. This is not the casewith digital.I. R egad reading as an investment.j. T rye and buy at least a book a month. Now, I know the limitations on time, cash andenergy but if the previous nine points mean anything at all it’s that reading is food for the mind. It Part 2As You ReadText Bprovides exercise for the “little grey cells”. It unleashes ideas and provides escapes. Despite somee-books being unrealistically priced by publishers, they still cost less than a few beers and they willdo far more for your mindNewsweek , the weekly news magazine, is now going to be fully dig