I am an impulsive book buyer. I would buy a book because someone I trust referred to in a tweet. Thanks for the audible experiment that I completed a few months back, I now get the same book in all three formats. Paperback ( or hardcover, whichever is cheaper), Kindle edition, and an audible. The audible version gets a priority if the author is the narrator. I have now listened to a bunch of books on audible. And I have come to the conclusion that the author’s narration makes it authentic and hence far easier to listen to. Barrack Obama’s Promised Land is a classic example.

The physical version is handy and if I like the book, it becomes the perfect gift. If not, it is usually on the nightstand. Twice a week , I use a book to put myself to sleep and having a good book around always helps. It is the Kindle version that I go back to for making notes and highlights. I have carried my Kindle almost everywhere – work travel, solo travel, leisure travel, even family trips. I’m still not ready to highlight and write in a book and that’s where Kindle comes in super handy. The middle class mentality lives on. The audible version is the one that I default to in early mornings, either while cycling or when I am driving alone. That’s another thing about audible. Audible goes best with an activity that’s only physical. Cycling and Driving are the two that make that list. I haven’t been able to listen to a book in broad daylight at my home. I just find that impossible. Kindle is much more easier that way.

And because I am buying books all the time, I end up reading 3-4 books at a given point. For instance, right now I am reading – End of the World by Peter Brannen, Is This Anything by Seinfeld, Short History of Everything by Bill Bryson. The context keeps on changing but it is only when a diverse set of ideas enter your head, am I able to connect the dots better. or drop the book really quick. And in this context, I find the switching between the three formats superfluid. It almost feels like writing an email – on iPad, Macbook, or mobile. You are able to resume where you started from. And even if you can’t remember where you were, reading a few pages again, is almost always fun.

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