Why Reading Sucks

I am a big fan of textual information over plain video. But the current reading experience is sub-optimal. Why?

Because reading text on a LCD is not fun. You can’t easily read on your bed, couch, outside in the park, etc. It is possible to use a laptop but laptops are still too heavy compared to a paperback book. There is also the issue that people don’t like reading novel length material on the computer. I think we can safely agree that reading novel length information on the computer currently sucks.

This is why many of us still buy books. But reading dead-tree books also sucks, just in a different way. Many times I end up having a love hate relationship with dead-tree books because while reading is good, searching is terrible. Many times I want to search for specific information in a dead-tree book and it’s virtually impossible to find because I don’t remember where it is or I might not even remember what book the information is in. Thus the advantage of digital information in search capabilities.

So the best reading experience available right now is to buy a copy of the dead-tree book and a digital copy thus you have the search capabilities of a digital book and the superior reading experience of a dead-tree book.