Christian Ross

Reading Is(n’t) Easy

I’ve chronicled my on-again/off-again relationship with reading books in this space before and 2011 has been another year of the same. When I find a book I enjoy, like others, I have a hard time putting it down. Conversely, I’ve hit on a couple of so-so items this year which cause me to first get bored and then struggle between thinking should I finish it or just decide that the TV is the much easier route to go. Once I get derailed, it takes a bit for me to want to get back into the habit and start the whole process again.

In the last couple of months I have attempted to go a different route than the standard hardcover editions and given a try to reading some stuff on the old digital tablet. I’ve now made it through a couple of books in the Kindle app and am halfway through my second in iBooks. My goal here is not to debate the merits of either platform (I think I prefer the Kindle app at this point) but to quickly point out a new frustration I have with a medium that is still struggling to find its place in this world.

Since I know that having a love for reading is important (and that I’ve got a pretty flimsy relationship with it), one of my favorite things to do is to take my boys every other week or so to the library to get some new books. I let them pick out a few (with the full veto power a dad possesses) and I get to pick out a couple that I think they might like as well. (more…)