How Kindle made me a better reader

[Sigyn]

Originally Posted by applesauce

I know it made me able to read again, for that I love it

They opened up the world of reading that disabilities took away from the silent minority.

applesauce

My friend used to work at a weird part of the library where they had people come in and do something to recordings to make them into audio books for the blind. I forget what all it involved but remember discussions about reel-to-reel.

[usuallee]

I am certain I read faster on my kindle than I do a physical book. I tend to get distracted by the book itself - the cover, how it's bound, flipping ahead to see how many pages before the current chapter ends, etc. I feel that an ereader actually distills reading down to its essence - the words. Plus being able to select the font, font size, and line spacing of your choice helps to optimize the reading. I usually select the smallest possible font, but sometimes I go a size or two up.

[crich70]

One thing about Kindle (and other ereaders) that may make someone a better reader is that you can't just lose your place and end up re-reading a good number of pages. Between being able to set a bookmark and the fact that the reader saves your place (though if it restarts you can lose the last place you stopped (if not marked by a bookmark) where you were last.

[Dee Q]

Oh, it's extremely useful for me as a non native English speaker since it has a convenient built-in dictionary.

[danskmacabre]

I've always read a lot, but I also tend to have several books on the go at the same time and what I want to read at any specific time depends heavily on my mood and where I am at the time.
This was always a pain with pbooks.

Since I've been using ereaders (kobo touch and now a Kobo Glo) I have everything I want to read in one small device and my ereader is indispensable.
I do read more as it's much more convenient for me, I don't have to lug lots of books around.

[4691mls]

I have read a lot more since I got an ereader, since I can now get books from the library or bookstore without having to actually go there yes, I'm lazy.....

[usuallee]

Originally Posted by Dee Q

Oh, it's extremely useful for me as a non native English speaker since it has a convenient built-in dictionary.

Excellent point, the built-in dictionary is great even for native English speakers. I would rarely look up words I didn't know because it was usually too much bother to go and find a dictionary. So my vocabulary wasn't really expanding much until ereaders eliminated the excuses for not looking up words.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by usuallee

Excellent point, the built-in dictionary is great even for native English speakers. I would rarely look up words I didn't know because it was usually too much bother to go and find a dictionary. So my vocabulary wasn't really expanding much until ereaders eliminated the excuses for not looking up words.

Me too. I can usually figure out the meaning by context, but now that I can look words up at a touch, I've found out that I was wrong about a few words.

[Rylon]

I agree with you. The dictionary function makes looking-up new and potentially tricky words up easy. I love the highlight and note function, giving me a place to put my reactions to particularly memorable passages right there so I won't forget them.

I'd be interested in what studies say e-reading is slower by 10%. That doesn't sound right to me.

[Namekuseijin]

welcome to e-reading, cumpadi

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by crich70

One thing about Kindle (and other ereaders) that may make someone a better reader is that you can't just lose your place and end up re-reading a good number of pages. Between being able to set a bookmark and the fact that the reader saves your place (though if it restarts you can lose the last place you stopped (if not marked by a bookmark) where you were last.

superuseful for zapping readers, no doubt

[Sydney's Mom]

I read more now, because I never forget my book. There is a definate need for women's purses!