Have you ever tried to read a PDF version of a book on your phone or laptop and ended up doing everything except reading? Well, me too. Not once or twice, but so many times that I have lost count. Whenever people talk about how hard or challenging it is to read the soft edition of books, I always agree with them.
To be sincere, reading on your phone sometimes feels like a battle, one you are not sure of winning.
When I discovered free PDFs, they felt like a timeless gift. I was so happy to know that I could find my favorite books online with just one download. That week alone, I downloaded ten books, arranged them nicely in a folder, and promised myself to read a book every week.
Fast forward to today, some of those books are still there. Just chilling, untouched, and judging me each time I scroll past them.
Reading a book on your device should be easy, right? I mean, all you have to do is open the file, sit, and enjoy. But no. The first problem? DISTRACTIONS
The moment I open a book to read on my phone, notifications start popping in from all angles. Whatsapp, Facebook, and twitter. All of them want my attention, and the worst part is that I always fall for it. Let me just reply to the one message I tell myself, from replying to just one message to watching someone's story on Facebook, laughing at random memes, neck deep in content clearly unrelated to what I was doing.
And if by some miracle I manage to ignore the notifications, my screen light is another problem. It is either too bright, burning my eyes, or too dim, making me squint like someone searching for keys in the dark.
No matter how I try to adjust it to find the perfect balance or even switch to eye care mode, it is not like the warm comfort of a real book in your hands. The screen light just reminds you that you are holding a gadget, not a story.
We haven't even talked about the tapping problem.
Try to scroll gently through a chapter and mistakenly tap the wrong part of the screen. The book jumps to the beginning or skips a whole chunk, leaving you scrolling up and down trying to find where you stopped. That small mistake can ruin the whole vibe. A minute ago, you were enjoying the story, and now you are annoyed, distracted, and tired.
The worst of it all is the sudden urge to sleep. I don't know if anyone can relate to it. I can be fully awake, with energy on a 100% level and excited to read, but the moment I open that PDF file, my eyes start to close. I yawn, change position, blink 30 times in a minute, and eventually sleep off. My phone is still in my hand, the book is open, and the story is stuck in the prologue.
But these days? Books are becoming ridiculously expensive. More expensive than food sometimes. Walk into a bookstore, pick a book you like, and see that it is worth more than a carton of noodles. And because you so badly want to read it, you can't afford it, you return to the rejected stone.... PDFs because they are free or cheaper.
So yeah, I'm learning to adapt, putting my phone in "DND" and staying away from apps that distract me helps. Currently, I am reading To All the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han and, surprisingly, I'm flowing with Maybe it's because the main character, Lara Jean, reminds me of myself. She's shy, emotional, and always daydreaming. Her letters, high school drama, and crushes all felt real. Sometimes I even forget that I'm reading on a phone.
I can't wait to write a full review once I'm done.
