India, June 12 -- Mark your place in the novel you're in the middle of, and consider this for a second. Most conversations around books aren't about books at all. Instead, they're about how much non-readers want to convince others that yes, yes, they are ardent readers too.

Here's the most common one: Do you prefer physical books or the Kindle? On Reddit, every month someone revives the query on a new thread. But here's the thing, dedicated readers don't care. They'll read anything, anywhere. They've downloaded public-domain classics on their phone and squinted through A Tale Of Two Cities on the tiny screen. They've stayed back late at work to sneakily use the office printer, because a website had a one-day-free download of Andy Weir's ...