Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I almost entirely read books from my phone now - the ability to search through notes and highlighted passages is just too good.

I’d argue that’s it’s not the phone per se, but the presented media that’s most damaging.

For me at least, dropping all social media was a game changer. No longer being force-fed content or having an app explicitly vying for my attention feels really refreshing - I choose where my attention goes.

I’ve noticed colleagues that receive Slack notifications for every. single. message.

I can’t comprehend how they’re able to continue to use a computer.




How are you reading books on your phone? I find the screen narrow and scrolling difficult.


I use the “Books” app that comes with iPhone. All books are downloaded in .ePub format (.mobi if on Kindle I believe).

epubs enable full text search, highlighting, bookmarking, ToC, automatic annotations, and dynamic scaling of page-numbers respective to font size.

As for turning pages, I really prefer the continuous scroll as opposed to the sideswipe. Maybe try that?

Reading a pdf can be a pain in the ass though, especially if it’s multi-columned. Although I gripe about that even with a monitor. My preference is to print in that case.


It’s not as comfortable as a tablet or e reader by far, but it’s good for random downtime that you can’t predict if you ask me.


*almost all social media. We're still here on HN, after all


My point is more that I decide when to participate - and that I’m not beckoned by a “red dot”, a “ding”, or another other sort of notification.


Fair, and I agree. I've actually added notifications for myself via http://hnreplies.com/, but the reason is to reduce my impulse to log in and scan my comments for replies; I filter notification emails into a dedicated folder that I can check when I want — no interruptions.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: