Charging Station

August 17, 2022

It was a wonderful novel, one of those you can’t put down. The author had been building to a tremendous climax. I knew how I wanted it to end. Everything inside me was pulling for the heroine, though she faced terrible odds. I wanted her to win.

And then everything went black.

There is a disadvantage to reading an ebook. You can get so involved in the plot that sometimes you run out of charge. It has happened to me. In fact, it just did. I wouldn’t know how the book ended until I plugged my tablet in for a little while.

For the purists among us, we remind other readers that hard-copy books don’t have to be plugged in. They cite other advantages, like the ease of going back to remind ourselves of details like location, hair color, and so forth that we know were revealed at certain points. There is something about turning pages, about using a pretty bookmark, certain tactile qualities we’ve grown accustomed to. The person used to reading electronically can also point to things they consider advantages, like being able to find a book to read on your cell phone if you have a chunk of unexpected wait time.

Still, the moment the screen goes black is a real gut punch. When you read, you enter the book’s world and put your own world on hold. To run out of charge is to be suddenly without footing.

Having a good charge on your electronic device before you start reading is so analogous to many other things in life. Don’t start a big project with inadequate energy. Read a recipe through and have all the ingredients before you start cooking. Don’t plan to wear something tomorrow that’s still in the dirty clothes basket? You get the idea.

I read a few chapters in the Bible every day. I never know exactly what I’ll be facing each day, but I don’t want to run out of charge.

“The reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” Proverbs 9:10.