Burnoutix

I read a year's worth of books in a month, thanks to this gadget A hand holding an Xteink X4 over open physical books.

Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police | Pixel-Shot / Shutterstock

By Mark Jansen Published Mar 11, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT Mark has almost a decade of experience reporting on mobile technology, working previously with Digital Trends. Taking a less-than-direct route to technology writing, Mark began his Android journey while studying for a BA in Ancient & Medieval History at university. But since then, he's cast his eyes firmly on the future, with a deep love for anything that bleeps or bloops. Outside of Android tech of all types, Mark loves to hike, play video games, build small plastic men that cost far too much, and spend time with his two daughters. Sign in to your Android Police account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread 2 Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Like many of you, I was an avid reader as a child, but lost that habit somewhere over the years.

It's all too common a story, and I've tried to get back into reading many, many times since, and nothing seems to help the habit to stick.

That is, until now. Because buying one gadget has supercharged my reading habit, to the point where I was able to read 24 books in the month of February. And it'll probably work for you too.

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The always-there advantage

The Xteink X4 on top of a cupboard and a teddy bear.

I suffer a lot from "out of sight, out of mind." I'm simply one of those people who needs constant reminders about object permanence, or hey, I'll just flat-out forget that people and items exist.

That's largely a subject for another day, and my therapist, but in this case, it means that items have a strong advantage over me if they're always nearby.

My smartphone is one such item, for instance. My phone is either on my person, or is nearby, at almost all times. And that fact has been ruinous to my attention.

It's far too easy to dip a hand into my pocket, pull out my phone, and start scrolling. It's terrible, and I'd rather not do it. But going cold turkey is so difficult.

So why don't I use that habitual movement to pull out something that's good for me, instead?

I've spoken about the Xteink X4 many times before. This pocket-sized e-reader can attach to the back of my phone, but I found I was using that function less and less. Instead, it just sat in my pocket at all times, ready to be pulled out whenever I had a free moment.

And when loaded up with books I'd been intending to read, it certainly got a workout.

Every time I felt that familiar and terrible itch in my thumbs, or found my hands subconsciously clawing at my pocket, I'd take the X4 out instead, and read a few pages.

It turns out that reading a few pages every now and again really does build up, because I haven't been reading like this in decades.

Before long, I'd stopped reaching for my phone at all. I was now reaching for my e-reader because I was in, I was hooked. I was fully immersed, and I didn't care about catching the latest headlines, or scrolling short videos, or replying to memes.

I was reading again. Properly reading.

You don't need a tiny e-reader for this

The Xteink X4 may have been the catalyst that spurred my change into action, but you absolutely don't need one to start this and keep it up. As I found out for myself partway through February.

I'd been happily reading outside, only for my X4 to slip off my leg and land on the concrete. And because I'd been conditioned to expect modern screens to stand up to a lot of abuse, I'd forgone a screen protector.

Plastic would have been fine, and so would any modern Gorilla Glass, but the X4 was in a weird hinterland where it used glass, but not particularly strong glass. So it shattered. And that was that for my poor old X4. Barely two months of service.

Annoyingly, it still worked fine, but I didn't really fancy glass shards in my fingertips, so I put it aside and ordered a new one.

But it would be weeks before I got it, and I didn't fancy losing my new habit. So I grabbed a device that had largely sat on the side table and used it to fill the gap: my Kobo Clara Colour.

Kobo Clara Colour against a white flower backdrop

It wasn't as easy to use the Clara Colour in the same way as the X4. Being larger, it couldn't just sit in my pocket, and I had to make more of an effort to carry it around the place.

But the extra effort was still worth it. I finished the My Instant Death light novel series and moved straight on to Will Wight's Cradle series, which I demolished in two weeks.

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By the end of February, I'd read 24 books in 28 days, two book series with double-digit entries, and almost 7,500 pages in total.

I'd been hoping to read that much in a year, but I'd just done it in the shortest month. And all I did was start carrying an e-reader.

Exactly the kick I needed to restart a good habit

The Xteink X4 on the back of a Pixel 10 Pro, propped up on a bookshelf.

Starting March with almost 30 books already read feels pretty good. Getting the Xteink X4 and using it to kick a bad habit in favor of a good one was absolutely the right call.

Could I have done this without the X4? Absolutely I could have. Would I? I'm not so sure.

The X4 gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get the ball rolling, and now that effort is done, my regular e-reader can pick up the slack.

An impulse purchase that I thought would be a weekend oddity has instead reignited my appetite for books in a big way. And all I did was make one small change: make my reading much more accessible.

For me, that came (at least initially) in the form of the Xteink X4. But you could do it with any e-reader or book. And if you, like me, have struggled to reignite a love for reading, give this a try. It might work for you too.