Anyone who’s fond of reading ebooks swears by the power of having a Kindle reader. They love the paperwhite display, the portability and the long battery life the most.
I, too, love ebooks, but I have never owned a Kindle device in my life. Nor do I plan to get one any time soon. Instead, I read books from my phone using the Kindle app.
A lot of Kindle device enthusiasts have told me just much I’ll fall in love with the device if I got one myself. I don’t doubt it. The experience of reading on a Kindle device sounds great – especially for someone like who’s never been particularly into audiobooks and no longer buys physical books.
But the very reason I don’t buy physical books anymore is the same reason I won’t buy a Kindle.
Minimalism. Essentialism. Enough.
These principles have taught me that just because something has great benefits and is loved by others, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily for me.
The features that made others fall in love with the Kindle don’t have much practical appeal to me. With night contrast and eye comfort mode enabled on my phone, I find reading on it a pretty pleasurable experience. I have no desire for a larger screen, because a smaller screen allows me to hold the device up a lot longer. My phone gives me lots of battery power to go through the day and I charge it every night whether I read or not, so that has no impact on me either. And my phone is already distraction-free, so I never worry that my reading will be interrupted by unpleasant notifications.
Additionally, one of the things I love the most about reading on my phone is that I already have it with me everywhere I go. In bed, while I’m having lunch, when I’m waiting in line unexpectedly. I won’t accidentally forget it at home, and I won’t have to lug around another device just to have something to do when I’m bored.
Most importantly, however, is this simple fact: If I already have a device that can do the job, why get another? I’m a strong believer in simplifying your life, minimizing your possessions and making sure that anything you own serves its full purpose in your life.
While a Kindle may do that for some, it just doesn’t do it for me right now.
And who knows, maybe circumstances may change in the future and I’ll realize getting one is immensely useful for me. But until then, I’m happy to live with less.