Read ON

Over the years, the smartphone has become part and parcel of us to the extent that everyone who uses it, uses it for almost all aspects of life. This includes reading, many people now only use their phones or other gadgets to prepare for exam including tow write down notes.

Before getting into the university, I only read hard copy books. That was all I knew existed.
But upon entering higher institution, using a smartphone and a laptop gradually made me to shift away from my hardcopy books.

The last time I read a physical book was actually this morning. Although for the past few months, I have only read books with either my phone or laptop.

My busy schedule these days is such that the little time I have with my phone cannot be used to read as I am already worn out and just need entertainment or refreshment not serious business like reading.
But I still need to read, therefore I decided that to achieve this, I would have to go back to reading physical books.

The book I wanted to read was on obstetrics and gynecology but unfortunately, I didn't even have the physical copy but because of my plan and honest assessment of my situation, I decided to go borrow the book.

So I went to the hospital library last week and borrowed it, so the past week has actually seen me reading some hard copy. It has been fun, easy and straightforward. Also it has come with minimal distractions as I don't see pop ups dragging my attention away.

Although this phase will soon pass because I was allowed to take the book for only a week. Perhaps I would go and reborrow it few days after I return it.

Before now, I enjoyed reading with phone and laptop, especially laptop because it offered me much flexibility, ease of locating pages and even the possibility of having all my book son me without carrying a heavy load.

I could just type in a word and locate a topic I am searching for unlike the hard cover where I would need to go through the table of contents or the index, even then, I often still do not locate the desired page.

One thing I miss about reading is reading novels. It's been over 3 years since I last read a novel. Before then, I would read voluminous novels within days and even go over it again. It was just like second nature. It's not just a lack of interest but also a lack of time as my schedule has become too busy for me to squeeze in all my desires.

I promised myself to resume from where I stopped but I am yet to do that. Hopefully soon, I will pick up a hardcopy novel and devour it to my satisfaction.

It would probably be one of Chimamanda's works or Mario Puzo's. These are writers that keep me glued from page 1 to the last, including Chinua Achebe.