I’m no literary Luddite (反对新技术的人). I bought an iPad with my first paycheck from my first full-time job after graduating from college. But after two years of reading occasionally on the device, I gave it away to my brother. It just wasn’t the right reading experience for me.
Technology lovers choose e-readers over books because e-readers are more convenient. They’re right. It is objectively easier to carry a 7oz (盎司) tablet with thousands and thousands of books at your fingertips than it is to carry five books in your bag, which is exactly what I did on vacation.
But I don’t read for convenience. I read to learn more about the world and myself. I have made friends by seeing a book cover in a cafe and noticing that it was the same title that I was reading. I can trace my life by the books that have been my companions. When I open an old book and come across my previously scribbled notes — shaky ones when I’ve been reading on the subway, covered in sand if I read it at the beach, next to a train ticket if I was traveling — I am able to add an extra level of personal depth and experience to the story I am about to reread. It’s just not enough to simply consuming the story, which is what e-readers are great for.
When I read paper books, I hold onto them for long periods of time. I just purchased a new bookshelf specially for my “to be read” pile. Once in a while, I go through the process of deciding which books to donate, but usually the idea of parting with a book feels like giving away a part of my soul.
Physical books may not be the most efficient medium, but they are the most meaningful. So keep your Kindle, by all means. But I’ll be happy hoarding with my library.
【小题1】Why did the author give his iPad to his brother?【小题2】What can the author get when he sees his notes in an old book?
【小题3】Please decide which part of the following statement is false, then underline it and explain why.
● The author loves physical books and he usually gives them away when he finishes reading them.
【小题4】What is your favourite book? And why? (about 40 words)
