Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by David
It’s been so long so I last held an actual book. Startup life has treated us well and rewarded us with so much. But it has also made life a bit more chaotic. More often than not I’m reaching for that audio book, that ebook, scrolling through chapters and pages on my phone or ipad.
On my recent vacation to Maui, while standing in line waiting for the urinals I had the sudden urge to venture back to that bookstore I passed not two minutes ago. It was a strange sensation. Probably made stranger by the fact that I haven’t even walked into a bookstore in over a year…
It was early and the store was dimly lit. Nothing spectacular. I browsed through the shelves and found nothing of interest. Disappointed, I grabbed my carry-on and headed for my gate. And like clockwork, I pulled out my phone, launched the kindle app and started reading my new favorite book: 100 Deadly Skills, because you know, who doesn’t need to be prepared to disarm a terrorist and stab him in the eye with a pen?
A few minutes roll by and that sensation was back again. The phone no longer felt right all of a sudden. I desperately wanted to read a book. A real book. The flight back to SFO would be about 5 hours — perfect amount of time to get through half a decent page-turner. I told my wife to sit tight because I’m going back to the bookstore. She rolled her eyes and went back to her movies.
I spent $10 on a book by Vince Flynn called “Consent to Kill”. Yes, I’m apparently obsessed with killing people (just kidding). A modern spy novel with just the right amount of suspense. By that I mean the first chapter didn’t bore me to death. I spent the next few hours flipping through the paperback and smelling the slightly sour and mildewy paper. Perfection.
I guess it’s not really about what I was reading. I simply missed reading an actual book. It’s liberating when you’re not disturbed every 2 sentences by a notification that rolls by. I could focus on imagining myself as Mitch Rapp (the spy) and engrossing myself in the detailed locales portrayed by Flynn. My phone is great for reading the news and going through short chapters of non-fiction but nothing beats a real book when it comes to fiction.
Over the next few days, I kept reaching for that unfinished book. It now sits on my nightstand. A nightstand without a lamp because all I do now is check stuff on my phone and laptop. Shit. Time to go shop for a lamp.