So, I won a prize

 

2e

‘A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.’ – Chinese proverb

I don’t win many prizes.

Cracking this gold Pocket ‘trophy’, though, is a thrill because it goes to the heart of one of my great joys: reading.

Pocket, for those unlucky enough not to know, is an app service for managing a reading list of articles from the Internet. That description hardly does it justice. What Pocket does is aggregate all the amazing stuff on the web that appeals to me to store and then read when I’m on the go.

The links are stored in a single place and when I’m ready I dip in and out. It’s functional and clever and quite easily my best, most-used app – and I have a couple. I can access it at any time from my phone or iPad, which I do, constantly.

Pocket-logoTo say I read a lot is an understatement. I’m voracious. I steal moments everywhere, in lifts, when my car is parked, in queues, during TV watching and in the dead time in meetings.

I read plenty, but I’m staggered (and pleased) to be ranked among the top one percent of Pocket readers. The service has 17 million users. At a guess I reckon I average around 15 000 to 20 000 words per day, although plane trips would account for far more, like my favoured #longreads.

Pocket offers many add-on features, but I tend to read my pieces and instantly archive them. The favourites get tagged, but my material piles up so quickly, I seldom go back for a second look.

I’m not sure I could get through a day without Pocket. Reading is an addiction and Pocket enables my addiction, thankfully.