only reading

Used to be that when I bought a new piece of technology I wanted to push it to the limits to see what it could do. But earlier this week I bought myself a new e-reader and I’m approaching it with a completely different tactic: I’m using it solely as an e-reader.

Let me elaborate. 

A decade ago when I bought myself a similiar piece of technology, my first instinct would have been to dig into it and see how I could use it beyond reading books. I may not have gone as far as hacking the firmware, say, but I certainly would have connected it up to a computer within the first day, dug into the file system, tried loading other media types, experimented with connecting things to the bluetooth, attempted to use it as a game device of some kind, certainly dabbled in using it to write if that was any way possible. Played. Pushed. Nudged. Forced the single-function device to bend to my will.

Today? I bought one of those new colour Kobo readers to replace my Kindle and continue moving away from my Amazon dependency. And I’m using it as a book. I’m going to read books on it. I’ve hooked it up to the accounts it suggested, linked it with my public libary card, and I downloaded a half dozen books. That’s it—and I have been reading.

Only reading.

And while I would like to emphasize that this does not necessarily signal a shift away from my inquisitive and exploratory nature, it may indicate that I’ve quenched that need to “multi-purpose” everything in my life.

A decade ago I found joy in making simple things do complex things.

Today I find joy in using simple things closer to and merely in the way they were intended. And I’m good with that.