Time to read the paper

And a good Sunday morning to you! Today is a rare occasion – I actually have time to sit down and read the Sunday newspaper. Fine, except for one small matter – I no longer have the Sunday New York Times delivered to my home!

I usually don’t have the luxury of time to sit down, sip my coffee and read the paper – section by section, article by article. This morning I had the time, but alas no NY Times in my hand.

Reading the paper on-line is a different experience. There are some aspects of on-line reading that I prefer, some that I do not.

The newspaper on-line offers:

  • Refreshed content – important for news items.
  • Links. I can click to go to similar articles or source material. But… within 10 minutes, guaranteed, I am no longer on the NY Times website reading the paper. Now, I am probably off doing something work-related. I am no longer reading for pleasure.

The traditional paper offers:

  • A tactile experience.
  • A complete experience – I get to glance at articles that I might not have noticed on-line. Some I read, some I don’t. But… just being able to see the “grabber” headline” a visual and a few captions – I probably choose to read more of the Sunday NY Times content when I actually have the paper in my hand. I also notice more advertising with the paper.
  • Portability. Yes, it’s funny but I actually find that the Sunday paper is much more portable. For example, I do not take my laptop into the bathroom to read the paper. If I want to continue reading outside, the paper is adaptable. If I take my laptop outside I never actually manage to read anything – the glare of the sun makes this impossible!
  • A crossword puzzle that I actually enjoy solving.
  • Lots of black newspaper ink on my fingers!

What is your preference – and why? Please share your comments with our readers.