My Hunger For Knowledge Knows Some Bounds

Every time I try to read on a Kindle, Kobo, or eReader device, and I always end up going back to physical books.

Specificity is key here, as it is much more than, "I tried to use a Kindle and went back to books." I have purchased four different eReading devices in the last three years alone, and I have switched back and forth between eReading and physical books five times in the last month alone. This is something I'm constantly flip-flopping on, which is as crazy as it actually sounds.

Keep in mind that I read a ridiculous amount, approximately 100 to 150 books a year. So moving between Kindle and paperback, Kobo and library book, and so on happens frequently because what I read changes a couple of times a week at least. Yet I cannot make up my mind on which device (or lack thereof) to use because I cannot find myself comfortable using an eReader in the long term, no matter how much I want to. (And I really want to.)

I recently read Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre, which is a massive, heavy book and not something I'd like to carry around in my bag for both its weight and the fact that being seen reading it is itself ridiculous. So I read it on a Kindle, and because of a formatting issue in the ebook, I switched to a Kobo. Then, because of the large blocks of text throughout, I simply got fed up with the formatting on the Kobo — namely because of the screen-door effect you get with a color eReader. Thus, I switched to the physical book, being the cliche that I did not want to outwardly portray to other subway riders.

This constant flip-flopping between digital and physical books is many things: a luxury, a privilege, indicative of potential mental illness, and a ridiculously goofy problem to have. I recognize all of these things, and my wife finds it amusing at best. It is also not indicative of other decisions I make in other aspects of my life, other than which software I use for reading the news and perhaps a couple other constant software changes. (Perhaps all of my idiosyncratic flip-flopping behavior is centered around software, which is something I should work out in therapy.)

I'm currently reading Taking Manhattan in the form of a library book. My goal is to get to the end the physical copy of the book, cover to cover, before ever lifting or picking up an e-reading device. It's a lofty goal, and I'm well aware that this is both "weird" and a nothing problem. I suppose now you're privy to one of my weirdest dilemmas, and hopefully the most taxing decision I have to make all year in my personal life.

One thing I would never do is read books on a phone. That's straight-up asking for trouble, and another variable I don't want to add to the mix.

What I'm Listening To

I recently sent this text to a friend:

I think Mac DeMarco is the closest thing to Lou Reed today. And that’s in an alternate universe where Lou Reed stood still and stayed in a lane that worked best for him.

I don't think I can count myself to be a major fan of any particular modern artist or band. I define "major" in the sense of "I will jump on the next flight to see them live" (something I once would do for SAULT, but not anymore) or postpone a surgery to catch their only local show (something I did in 2013 for My Bloody Valentine).

I am not a passionate fan or even that much of a fan of Mac DeMarco, but I do appreciate much of the work he's done and the lane he's stayed in for over a decade. I do find much of his fanbase to be repulsive. That said, his latest record, Guitar, is a solid 31 minutes of easy listening, to use such a term in the kindest way possible. I played it while walking around on the Upper West Side recently and, thanks to the somewhat twinkly nature of the record, it made things just a little brighter.

This is the first of these that I'm scheduling ahead of time, and yet another post I wrote mostly using Whisper transcription. As I told someone recently, I aim to get a few of these out a week, and cross-post them on scottfromny.com/blog.

Thanks for reading, and please do share with friends that might be interested — whoever those people may be.

-Scott