STYLE Savvy: A Journey to the Bottom of My E-Reader

Lisa Hess goes shopping on her e-reader and comes away with an organizing life lesson.

A couple of weeks ago, I set out to catalog the content of my e-reader.

Little did I know how much there was to catalog.

Initially, I thought I'd do a little book tasting, checking out the samples I'd downloaded to get a flavor of the books before committing to a purchase. As I went on though, curiosity got the better of me, leading me to track not just those samples, but also all the other books — open and unopened, so to speak — as I scrolled past.

I have how many books?

After tallying almost 60 books in progress (37 non-fiction, 15 fiction and 7 books not meant to be read cover-to-cover, like daily devotionals and books of journaling prompts) and nearly as many unread samples, I gave up, overwhelmed. I was only about halfway through and I'd lost my zest for finding buried treasure.

I knew I was a simultaneous reader, digging into multiple books at a time, but this was ridiculous. Not only that, but it was proof positive that my I need to see it personal style is incompatible with organizing in digital spaces. My drop and run organizational style had completely taken over, piling up books and samples in a space unconstrained by physical limits. My e-reader was simultaneously a cache of buried treasure and the place where sunken book samples went to die.

But I love the convenience of e-books — so much so that even my e-reader’s incompatibility with my styles isn’t enough to convince me to abandon it. (And I’m certainly not interested in giving up the convenience of downloading free samples so I can “taste” before buying). Still, this latest foray through my e-book collection validates my long-term assertion that digital organizing and an I need to see it personal style are incompatible, at least for me.

Still, while we can set up most of our systems so they’re a good fit for our styles, in the world outside our own homes, we sometimes need to use systems that aren’t a good fit. Under those circumstances, it’s important to create guidelines and back-up plans for managing those alien systems.

Know your Styles

I’m clear on mine, along with the fact that digital organizing is not a match for my personal style (I need to see it), which allows my organizational style (drop and run) to run rampant. I’ve already figured this out with planners: I can enter appointment dates on my phone in a pinch but, when I get home, I had better write them in my physical planner or the odds are extremely good that I’ll miss that appointment. Better yet? I can send myself an email with the date of the event — something that will pop up so I can see the date without having to remember to go looking for it. These same strategies will come in handy when I need to transfer that lesson to other digital spaces, as is often the case at my job.

Be Proactive

If you must use (or, in the case of my e-reader, choose to use) something that’s not a fit for your styles, keep that mismatch in mind so key pieces don’t fall between the cracks. While sending myself an email is a great reminder of a date I need to add to my paper planner, that reminder won’t work unless I also have a plan for regularly checking my inbox and acting on actionable items. Even cursory daily email checks help make the virtual visible so I can take the necessary steps to stay on top of things.

Put a Plan in Place for Routine Maintenance

I love my e-reader, no matter how disorganized it is (was?), but I would love it a lot more if I could quickly find what I needed, which was what kicked off my desire to catalog it. Going in from time to time (usually when I want to find something to read or when I feel motivated to sort through the samples) to see what’s there and tidying it up makes a big difference. I don’t have to do it all at once, let alone do it all. I just need to restore some order so that opening my e-reader is the start of something relaxing, rather than a source of frustration. A little routine maintenance on a regular basis puts the books I’m most interested in accessing right at the top, which makes my I need to see it style very happy.

Once we identify our styles, organizing in ways that are compatible with them not only makes the most sense, but also keeps things running smoothly. But, when organizing in ways that don’t come naturally to us is unavoidable, it’s important to remember what we know — beginning with our styles — and make regular maintenance a priority so already challenging systems don’t become overwhelming.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 60+ e-books waiting for me.

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Copyright 2026 Lisa Hess
Images: Canva