How going digital helped me realise ‘I love the idea of books’.

The natural scientist takes another step towards social science.

I’ve always loved books. They provide me with information and that brings me joy. It took me 45 years to realise I also love books because of what they signify.

In mid-2018, after living in Singapore for 15 years the time came for me to bid adieu to the Little Red Dot. It was the peak KonMari period so I opened my mind to minimisation whilst packing my worldly goods, only keeping the bare essentials I most valued and needed. The very idea of reducing was therapeutic and the process smooth, until I faced my books.

Over the years I dabbled with the idea of going digital for my professional and personal readings. After all, it was the content I was interested in and digital offered more, faster and easier. On the professional side I jumped in 2011, spurred by a change in role and office location. I didn’t miss the anxiety-inducing paper piles, bulky filing cabinets nor outdated text books. My surfaces became the envy of many, locating pdfs in e-folders was a breeze and I was armed with the latest info via online sources. Still, I was holding on to several old text books from my undergraduate days and acquiring printed copies here and there, for seemingly no good reason.