Amazon announced that for the first time ever, it sold more Kindle books than physical books in one day, on Christmas. Wow, that is not something we were expecting to hear so soon. After all, the Kindle reader has only been released for a little over two years, and physical books have been around, like, forever. Although we can see why it happened on Christmas day, and why it probably won't happen again till next Christmas, it indicates that we are embracing digital text rapidly. Heck, even I bought my first Kindle book for my iPhone last week, and I have no plans on buying a Kindle reader.
For me, it was a no brainer. I wanted to buy The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated by Tim Ferriss, but I can't find it at a local bookstore here in Hong Kong right away, but I can download the Kindle version immediately for only US$9.99, much quicker and cheaper than buying a physical book here. (Note: A US Amazon account is required to buy the Kindle version of this book.)
I already have the first edition of this book, so I thought a digital version complements each other. Besides, I have shelves and shelves of books, but I am about to be moving frequently, living here and there, for weeks and months at a time. I plan on packing light, so bringing along a bunch of books will not fit the bill or my luggage (As you can see, I am a fan of Tim Ferriss's lifestyle design). So I am ready to replace physical books with digital ones from now on. It will take time adjusting to reading on a screen and not on a page, but in time, it will be more convenient.
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