I tried reading from my PC, my smart phone. I tried the Kindle. I’ve been building software applications for over 20 years, but it took me some time to warm up to e-reading. Last month, after some effort, I finally finished reading an entire book in its digital format! How is it different from reading a traditional, physical book, you ask? I’ve asked that myself, a few times before I ventured. I enquired around with a few readers and most reviews were about being instantly downloadable, light-weight, and portable into multiple devices. Some said it feels almost like paper!

You may call me old school, but back in the day, it was not about the weight; much less about whether one could download it, resize the fonts, or port into another device. When I opened a book, there was a familiar scent of paper that welcomed me. Each book had its own fragrance. The cover page and the other pictures would be etched in memory, as I progressed. Sometimes, I would know the exact page number I loved the most, I would pick it up from the shelf to revisit. I would worry about the plot than configuring, digital bookmarking or resizing it!

How did I warm up to it, then? May be there are some parallels to how I transitioned from stick-shift to automatic, similar to transitioning from film to digital cameras. The advantages of newer tech seemed to outweigh the older ones. The ones who used a camera with a film knew the value of a shot. Thirty six, and no more! There was a certain preparation that went into the process. There was a certain thrill and suspense, in waiting for the film to be developed. You didn’t know if it was a perfect shot or if the heads were cut-off!

So, how did I warm up to digital reading? Well, I haven’t completely warmed up, but I’m starting to see that the advantages outweigh the traditional book-reading that is etched in my memory. I had to let go, and unlearn, what was part of the experience. Its not that bad, especially if I could use it in the waiting area while my son was with the dentist, or if I could use it while we are waiting at the mall for the shoppers to be done with.

It is still not the same as reading the book, I daresay!