I read more books on my phone than ever before in 2024 — here’s why

There’s one thing concerning the finish of the 12 months that all the time places me in a retrospective temper. One factor I have been contemplating is how I used know-how over the past 12 months — and that is assist me realized one thing about the best way I learn books today.

For years I averted Kindles and e-readers generally, primarily out of the desire for paper books. It was additionally, if I am trustworthy, all the way down to coping with plenty of these gadgets once I labored within the second-hand electronics enterprise. Nevertheless, that every one modified in 2024 as I discovered myself studying much more books on my cellphone.

It is fairly a drastic change, at the very least comparatively, however the query is why it occurred and what led me to make such liberal use of the Kindle app on my cellphone.

What stopped me from studying as a lot as I did

I was a prolific reader and all the time had a e-book in my fingers once I was a baby. This was partially as a result of, having grown up in London, I needed to take the practice forwards and backwards quite a bit. Nevertheless, as I obtained older, I discovered that I dropped the behavior and skim quite a bit lower than I used to. This was partially all the way down to having jobs that had me counting on a automotive greater than a practice, so I did not have fairly as a lot time. Nevertheless, that modified within the final 12 months and I have been taking the practice much more.

Rush hour trains really feel much more cramped than once I was a baby. Should you’ve by no means been to London, the Underground in rush hour would make a sardine tin really feel roomy. As such, I by no means actually take a e-book with me once I journey — it is simply not sensible on a crowded practice.

Apart from, I are typically struck by the temper to learn a e-book at random instances, which suggests carrying a e-book with my in every single place simply in case. This is not even a problem that the best Kindles might remedy both; as a substitute of a e-book, I would just be toting round a devoted e-reader, which is simply as burdensome.

Just lately, I began to get extra into Warhammer, and with that got here a want to learn a few of the Black Library books. Discovering bodily copies of these books might be an costly proposition, however digital variations are less expensive and asier to trace down. All of them can be found from Kindle, actually.

That is why I made a decision to obtain the Kindle app onto my iPhone 15 Pro Max to see the way it labored and if it might remedy my points. I additionally tried the app on a Galaxy Z Fold 5, however actually found that opening and closing the foldable phone on the practice introduced up the identical cramped-for-space points I might have with a bodily e-book. So Kindle on an iPhone it was.

The very first thing to notice is that the Kindle app is fairly nice and straightforward to make use of. I’ve discovered all the long run copies of the Horus Heresy can be found for a reasonably good value, and once I lastly get by means of them, there’s Kindle Limitless to strive, too.

As a result of I all the time have my cellphone on me, I can begin studying each time the temper takes me — and with out having to hold round any further books or gadgets. I merely pull my cellphone out of my pocket and begin from the final web page I left off on. As an fascinating facet impact, this has additionally reduce down on the time I spend randomly scrolling on websites like X and Instagram.

My cellphone is compact — properly, as compact as a tool with a 6.7-inch show might be — and I can maintain it in a single hand. As such, utilizing the Kindle app on the sardine can that’s rush hour in London couldn’t be simpler.

The Kindle app’s controls assist with this, too. All I must do is faucet the facet of the display with my thumb to show the web page. Consequently, I can maintain on to a bar on the practice with one hand, maintain my cellphone with the opposite and thumb by means of the Kindle app with no subject.

What the 12 months forward would possibly carry

Expertise is continually altering, and cellphone makers are all the time on the lookout for new methods to innovate. New gadgets are coming in 2025 which have the potential to vary what we use these gadgets for. Think about one thing just like the rumored iPhone 17 Air, a thinner model of Apple’s cellphone that figures to make it a lot simpler to do issues on the aim — like, say, studying a e-book.

As such, I am curious, what alternative ways have you ever used gadgets within the final 12 months? Did you instantly discover that you just choose utilizing the a lot less connected feature phones? Perhaps you lastly determined that one app was sufficient to get you to use a mobile controller. And what modifications to present gadgets would possibly trigger you to rethink what you utilize your cell gear for?

Extra from Tom’s Information