Minimalism? Probably…
The point of this exercise was to remove the bulk and clutter caused by years of book and textbook collecting. After a few moves, I felt that the cost of having the bulk and clutter of many books in my life — some read, others not yet read — was too much to bear. I heard a tip that said if you have an item that you think may have some sentimental value, often possessing some good photographs of the item is almost as good as having the item itself. So the tip was: take a nice pic or two of that kindergarten finger painting (for example) and then feel free to dispose of the original item, keeping only the pics. The idea of scanning a book into digital format flows directly from that tip.
Digital Minimalism? Probably not…
One could argue that digitizing books is substituting real-world physical clutter with cloud-world digital clutter.
That may be true. But I don’t care.
Using digital tools (e.g. computer filing systems, digital book library database like Calibre, etc.) I can sort, organize, and — this is the important part — FIND my digital stuff much more easily than any real-world book.
Library To Go!
I used to travel with a book to read. I now travel with my entire library. And the next time I move homes, I will be hundreds of kilos lighter than my last move. And that, dear reader, is a priceless feeling.