Young people lay about drinking premixed vodka and cider in cans, languid legs hanging off the side.

An Australian girl sits at the bow, tucked as far forward as possible, hunching over to read a book resting on her knees.

Tall, dark, handsome British boy pulls himself onto the bow with one hand, the other holding a pink cruiser.

"What are you reading?"

She turns her head and squints.

"Ahh..." She shows him the cover of the crumpled paperback.

"What's it about?"

The woman thumbs the pages. "It's hard to explain."

The boy flinches. In his East London accent: "I read books, like. I'm a reader."

He's defensive.

He thought this girl, sitting by herself, was lonely. She's not, just very unfriendly.

Now the girl (who is me by the way), also looks like a condescending twat.

And how do you explain the plot of Possum Magic anyway?

But there is an unwritten rule of reading. It is like having a private conversation, or meditating, or sitting on the toilet scrolling on your phone. Not to be interrupted.

The book is not an invitation, but a shield.

That is why I hide my Dostoevsky's and Wilde's behind Playboy covers, lest an arts graduate tries to engage in conversation.

The cover manages to express what every good book should - go away, avoid me, don't talk to me, I'm a pervert.

READ MORE BOOKS:

An alleged quote by actor Chris Pine has been making the rounds on social media.

"I used to read so many books, Josh. I was f---ing murdering these books, just 15 books in like three months. And then [the phone] showed up.

"I can tell you everything about Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian, but I can't tell you a f---ing thing about literature. I just want to vomit. I hate myself, [I have] such self-loathing about it."

You and me both, Chris.

But despite the streaming and social media taking over our time and lives, books are finding a new life in digital form.

I have always believed a book is there to be dog-eared, stained, dropped in the bath and chewed just a little bit.

I don't read a book twice, and I don't keep it. Use it, abuse it and dump it in a street library (just your books, ladies).

Gone are the days I would get in trouble for stealing Sweet Valley High from my grandparents and don't ask me why they have a shelf full of the series.

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I'm no longer sneaking The Saddle Club under my sheets. I read them out in public now, unashamed.

But recently, I did what every good bookworm does when she realises her life has become devoid. I started a book club.

I was confronted to learn that two of the other members had not actually read Tim Winton's Shepherd's Hut, but listened to it.

They cheated.

Each night I had laboured through chapters, suffering as you should for your recreational activities.

And these grifters (all with good sight) were running around with headphones on pretending they had actually read a book.

But they say better the devil you know, so I downloaded a free audiobook version of the novel and fell in love with Kate Mulvany's voice.

I actually read the book at the same time as listening, occasionally dipping out of the words but keeping Mulvany in my ears and vice versa. I finished it that same day.

It was like IMAX reading and helped fix one of the few downsides of being a bookworm - mispronouncing words. It forced me to read slower, improving my comprehension and concentration.

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Newer eBooks can sync with Audible, which I would invest in if I wasn't perennially broke.

These new ways of "reading" have had broader benefits.

A Canberra public servant improved the reading outcomes of Indigenous students by lending them Kindles. A small Canberra trial was so successful it has been expanded around the country.

Still, I'm old-fashioned. So if anyone wants a phone, try street libraries in the inner north. A bit soggy with bitemarks but free to a good home.

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