Situational reading: a digital fairytale

E-reader cir. 1935. Source: http://www.boingboing.net

If you’re reading this blog it’s probably a safe assumption that you love to read. We’re going to upfront – this blog is about e-reading. But please don’t go! We have a story to tell you. This is the tale of how an evil, stubborn, neglectful reader banished so many types of books and reading into the dark only to stumble upon a few magical new ways of reading where they can enjoy more books than ever before.

Once upon a time, there was a bedside table. Upon this table, was a stack of books. Not just any stack but a never-ending stack that grew and grew. Atop this mountain a tome perched precariously. It might have been War and Peace, Tess of the D’urbervilles or Moby Dick (it depends on who you ask exactly). This book has been left alone for a long, long time.

The evil reader delays tackling its dense prose, until one day the evil reader curses the challenging classic back to the bottom of the pile and replaces it with a bestseller (again, it may be The Slap, Water for Elephants or Fifty Shades of Grey; it depends on who you ask).

But who should arrive at this crucial turning point for modern readers but the charming digital prince! Who takes the dense text up in his arms and turns it into a digital format that can be read or listened to on so many different devices in so many different situations that the evil reader can’t help but pick it up again in a matter of days.

Now you might think that the story ends here. That the reader turns out to not be so evil and rides off into the sunset (on the 5.30pm train) slipping am e-reader out of their bag and beginning Moby Dick again. But not so, in fact an even more wonderful thing happens. The reader is completely transformed into a situational reader and begins to change their stubborn ‘one at a time/must finish what I start’ ways.

Since they enjoyed their reading on public transport so much they could read a sneaky romance novel and no one would judge them for their whim because they can’t tell what they’re reading – perhaps a little thrill in itself!

Then again, why should the reader restrict themselves to reading at all? It’s been a tough week, surely the most suitable book right now would be an eye resting audio while in the bath. Not running the risk of dropping and ruining paper or electronics — the reader downloads a sci-fi to their iPod.

Short stories read on their smart phone have crept their way into the readers lunch break routine – they sometimes even get through two or three to create a sense of achievement even if their work isn’t achieving results quite as fast.

And Poof! Just like that, our stubborn reader has suddenly turned into a muli-platform, multi-book, multi-situational reader.

This is the moral of our story ladies and gentlemen: The modern reader doesn’t need to dig in their heels and stick to one-at-a-time stubborn reading but instead can embrace the immense choices reading has to offer. Especially when they take the time to really match the book with their situation and mood. When we get the combination of book, format and situation just right the reader will get their happy ending – even if that particular book is subject to a zombie invasion.

By Cherry Byford — Melbourne Writers Festival intern and e-book lover