Long known as one of pro pickleball’s most avid readers, Ben Johns has always favored the feel of a real book—even though he enjoys audiobooks, too.

But recently, his preference for physical pages over e-books has taken a surprising turn. 

“I was hesitant to get a Kindle because I really like the feeling of a book in my hand. The issue is that I’m a really fast reader. If I sit down with a good medium-sized book, I can finish it in like five hours. When I was traveling this year and I’d go on these long flights, I would take these large books with me and it would weigh down my backpack,” he explained. “So I’d settle with only taking one or two books, and then I’d finish them quickly and have to carry them around after already finishing them.”

As a result, Johns didn’t end up reading as much in 2025 as he had hoped.

He’s catching up quickly, though, thanks to his Kindle Paperwhite.

“One of my friends finally convinced me to get one a few months ago. I love it. Once I got it, I went from barely reading to reading all the time. I’m kind of addicted to reading now,” he confirmed. “I’m reading like a fanatic, going from one to the next. I read for 12 hours straight on my flight to China and finished like three books in a row. I was a fiend.”

Johns admits he hasn’t picked up a physical book since getting the handheld device.

“I recommend it to my mom, to my friends, and everyone I know,” he insisted. “Kindle is the way to go.”

“I’m constantly in another world,” he mentioned. “Any world that’s extremely different than this one.”  

But if he had to choose one of those worlds to live in, which would it be?

“As generic and cliché as it is, I’d want to go to Hogwarts. It’s such a happy, cozy place with magic and butterbeer and Hagrid’s hut and Hogsmeade. What a place to be. The thing is, most fantasy lands, in terms of living, are probably pretty scary. Middle-earth sounds great until you realize there’s orcs and bad people trying to kill you. Same thing with Game of Thrones,” noted Johns. “But a more sci-fi world I’d like to live in is the world in Red Rising because you could travel to 1,000 different worlds. And how about Dune? That’d also be incredibly cool.”

If Johns had to recommend one book everyone should download to their Kindle right away, what would it be?

“Red Rising is my all-time favorite trilogy, so I have to say that one. But if you like fantasy and romance, you’ve got to read Throne of Glass,” he said. “Hunger Games has always been a favorite of mine, too. Those are my big three. Read any of those.”

So if you’re wondering how Johns is spending his holiday season, the answer is simple: he’s reading.

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