Why I Read the Same Book in Physical & Digital Form
How to build a physical library without lugging around a heavy book
Have you ever looked at Atlas Shrugged? It’s massive. The book is roughly 700,000 words which, put another way, is this article 700 times. If the cover was grey, you’d think it was a cinder block. It certainly weighs enough. Could you imagine traveling with that thing? Could you picture yourself going through the airport with that in your backpack? You’d be miserable.
I recently stumbled across a little hack that, for the avid readers out there, is probably nothing new. For those late to the party like myself though, I owe it to you to share what I’ve learned. It actually came about by accident. At the time, I was reading Atlas Shrugged. In fact, I still am. Did I mention how big that book is?
I calculated just how long it would take me to finish it based on my reading speed and frequency: four months. Most books only take a couple weeks, but I digress…
Anyhow, I recently got a Kindle and wanted to test it out. I tried a book or two, but they weren’t a good fit so I returned them. I needed something though. In the coming days, I was scheduled to get a tattoo and, it being my first one, I thought bringing a book to read was the right move. Turns out, it wasn’t, and I’m happy I didn’t end up taking it. That said, it actually led me to an amazing opportunity.
Use Them Simultaneously
But let’s go back just a little in the story. To a time when I had not yet dropped the reading-while-tattooing idea and was desperately trying to find something for my Kindle.
The appointment was looming, growing ever closer by the day. Meanwhile, I was actively listening to one book as an audiobook while reading a different book in its physical version — Atlas Shrugged. Adding a third book into the mix didn’t sound all that appealing. Especially because I didn’t intend to use the Kindle too much post-tattoo.
Then it dawned on me: why not just get Atlas Shrugged on my Kindle?
I already had the physical version that I got for cheap at a local coffee shop. And I had gift cards to burn. So why…
