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

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.

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.

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

But this time it was 4 times more expensive 🤪.

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

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

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.

But what will I read?

And will I have enough patience to read a book?

Number 143!

Tools and Tips

I used to read A LOT as a kid.

In those days, I read several books a week.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Now, many have moved from audiobooks to podcasts.

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

Podcasts can't replace books.

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

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

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 🧘‍♀️.

Many of us have lost our ability to read books.

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

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

Like this one.

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

But even newsletters like mine are becoming rare.

Long-form content is disappearing from the digital landscape.

Is it bad?

Is it irreversible?

I don't know.

But my long-form newsletter is here to stay.

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.

Stuff

💡Gear I use - Expandable Garden Hose​

I previously had a rubber garden hose with plastic connections.

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

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

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.

Epilogue

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

That’s it for this issue.

See you next week!

Shay

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