It has been a pleasant surprise to find out how much I like my little eReader (Kobo Libra H2O). Sometimes I get the best results by reading a couple screens-worth, and then looking away, and thinking about something else. Then I look down at the bottom of the screen, where it shows that only 5% of the book has been read.
My gawd, why are authors so wordy? Who needs all those words? Why don't they say something meaningful in a few sentences, and then 'shut up.' I still haven't decided whether I will even bother to read books in my 'next life.' (grin)
At such moments, my brain goes back to internet surfing. At least what you read there is shorter! And it seems more alive, somehow?
But is it? Why does the heavy (e-) lumber of a book seem so tedious, so much like dead stuff, but 'breaking news' on the internet seems alive? Most of the stuff on the internet is the same everyday; only the details change, as was true of newspapers and television. The information becomes more and more trivial, odd, or degenerate in order for it to seem fresh.
This addiction to 'news' ties in with animal instincts: new stuff is where threats from predators are revealed, or where new opportunities lie. Or maybe it is just that homo sapiens become bored so easily and have an insatiable need for novelty and entertainment.
But what else can I do at 5 o'clock in the morning or on windy afternoons?
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| from shutterstock. |
At such moments, my brain goes back to internet surfing. At least what you read there is shorter! And it seems more alive, somehow?
But is it? Why does the heavy (e-) lumber of a book seem so tedious, so much like dead stuff, but 'breaking news' on the internet seems alive? Most of the stuff on the internet is the same everyday; only the details change, as was true of newspapers and television. The information becomes more and more trivial, odd, or degenerate in order for it to seem fresh.
This addiction to 'news' ties in with animal instincts: new stuff is where threats from predators are revealed, or where new opportunities lie. Or maybe it is just that homo sapiens become bored so easily and have an insatiable need for novelty and entertainment.
But what else can I do at 5 o'clock in the morning or on windy afternoons?
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