hyperpaper newsletter #6

Fewer than 5% of the books I read are ebooks. That's strange, because I have a reMarkable, a Kindle Scribe, and a Supernote that should be perfect devices for reading – big, crisp screens and space for hundreds of books. While I use my reMarkable at least hourly each day, it's primarily journalling, note-taking, task tracking, and the like.

For the last few months I have been heads down on a new project: trying to make e-ink tablets great for books.

I set out to design a reading experience that fits the strengths of the hardware, using high-quality translations of classic literature and formatting them in PDF files designed for these tablets.

I'm (aspirationally) calling this project hyperpaper press, and the following works are now freely available for download (a few more are in progress):

• The Enchiridion by Epictetus
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Tao Te Ching by Laozi
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Candide by Voltaire

So what makes these better than the other ebook files you can find anywhere else?

• Consistent design and nice typography
• Ample space for your notes, both in the margins and on dedicated note pages.
• Supplemental content: each PDF contains appendices from Wikipedia that puts the text in context
• Standing on the shoulders of giants: derived from files by Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg to make public domain literature accessible

This is the first time I've shared these files, and the concept in general, so I'd love your feedback. Would you read these? How do they work on your tablet? What works and what doesn't? Which public domain book(s) should I tackle next? Just respond to this email :)

You can read more and download them all here. And with that, a few related links...

🔗 The End of Reading is Here

This lengthy feature in The Atlantic made a stir when it was published last month. It lists harrowing statistics about the decline of reading, and its implications for our minds and our culture. A subscription may be required for the full article, but it's a worthwhile read. Let's keep literacy alive :)

🔗 Why Books Don't Work

The provocative title might seem out of place in this issue, but this article by researcher and technologist Andy Matuschak provides several tactics to improve knowledge retention, and boost the return-on-investment for time spent reading. Spaced repetition is key! In my own reading I've found that taking notes during and after reading a book, and revisiting them weeks after, has made a significant difference. That's why the ebooks above emphasize support for convenient note taking.

🏷️ Back to school discount

Besides trying to make books, I'm also still doing planners & notebooks! For many of us school is coming up next month, so organization is top of mind. You can use the discount code redacted - subscribers only for a 15% discount on everything I sell at hyperpaper.me, good until the end of September.