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Have We Lost The Ability to Read Books?

Not long ago, we read books and newspapers. Nowadays, everything is bite-sized. But is that necessarily bad? Friday’s Digest #143

Table of contents

1. Life Update
2. Tools and Tips
3. Readers’ Favorite
4. Stuff

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Life Update

This week I'll be visiting Singapore for a conference.

A nice opportunity to meet my friends and colleagues from abroad and catch up.

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However, packing and preparing for the flight is a headache. This one in particular.

You see, at these conferences you spend most of your time wearing a suit, and Singapore is really hot and humid. The temperature stays around 30 degrees Celsius day AND NIGHT, and it rains often.

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I usually try to get a hotel room at the conference venue, even if it's a little more expensive.

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But this time it was 4 times more expensive 🤪.

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So I went with a hotel located a 15-minute walk away.

Hopefully, it won't be a wet experience 🌧️ 🥵.

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And there's the flight ✈️.

I usually get work done on the plane, but this time I'll be too exhausted for that 🥱.

A perfect opportunity to read a book.

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But what will I read?

And will I have enough patience to read a book?

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Number 143!

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Tools and Tips

I used to read A LOT as a kid.

In those days, I read several books a week.

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Later in life, as a student, resident, and fellow, I read extensively too.

It was a different kind of reading, but it still counted.

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In the past 6 months, however, I haven't read a single book.

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While I still review scientific literature and surgery books, it doesn’t take so much of my time.

Why don't I read books anymore? First and foremost, I'm exhausted — I'm so tired that I fall asleep whenever I try to read.

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But I've noticed a broader trend: many people around me are reading less too. And it’s not because they’re tired.

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It began with audiobooks (which I love) that shifted people from reading to listening.

Now, many have moved from audiobooks to podcasts.

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And while audiobooks are, in essence, books, podcasts are simply conversations.

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Podcasts can't replace books.

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They don't engage your imagination the same way, and their content tends to be simpler and more condensed.

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Then came apps that summarize books. And then came AI.

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Sure, these tools are so convenient— we can extract information from long texts in a fraction of the time.

But we're losing the magic of reading: immersing ourselves in different worlds, using our imagination. After all, reading a book has the same benefits as meditating 🧘‍♀️.

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Many of us have lost our ability to read books.

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We brought it on ourselves after years of consuming bite-sized information.

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I even adapted this newsletter to this trend. I made it shorter, added more spacing between paragraphs, and used larger fonts for certain sentences.

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Like this one.

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I made it skimmable— you can easily scan the text and decide if the content interests you before reading it.

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But even newsletters like mine are becoming rare.

Long-form content is disappearing from the digital landscape.

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Is it bad?

Is it irreversible?

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I don't know.

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But my long-form newsletter is here to stay.

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Readers’ Favorite

Have you ever had a moment where you kicked yourself for not realizing something 10 years ago?

​Here I wrote about 3 things I know today, I wish I had known when I was 30.

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Stuff

💡Gear I use - Expandable Garden Hose​

I previously had a rubber garden hose with plastic connections.

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It was frustrating—constantly twisting, kinking, and leaking water everywhere.

So after we moved, I upgraded to this high-quality hose with metal connections.

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It’s a pretty expensive hose 💰.

But let me tell you— it's worth every penny!

It's incredibly lightweight and durable, and when you turn off the water, it coils up like a snake.

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Epilogue

If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to join Friday's Digest, visit https://newsletter.shaysharon.com​

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That’s it for this issue.

See you next week!

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Shay

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