Quote:
Originally Posted by Fledchen
I read an article about a similar study done by the same organization a couple of years ago. I was not impressed, because their criteria for what constitutes "reading" seemed ridiculously limited to me. It was limited to novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. It didn't include nonfiction or periodicals.
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That may well be the case although this report clearly says that their research reveals that Americans are reading more "literature". This clearly would not include nonfiction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Russell
* Are you reading more than you did in 2002?
* Do you read more because of e-books?
* Do you read more because of MobileRead.com?
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- I don't think I'm reading more than I did in 2002. In 2004, I starting keeping track of the books that I read. I vary from 8 to 20 books per month, completing about 120-150 books each year. I don't think the number of books has changed much in the past few years.
- Since I'm not reading more, then "because of e-books" doesn't apply.
- Since I'm not reading more, "because of MobileRead.com" doesn't apply.
But, the characteristics of what I'm reading
have changed since I bought my Kindle in February 2008.
- I'm buying books much sooner after their first publication than before. I tend to avoid hardback books because of the cost and the size/weight. So, I would delay purchasing a book until the paperback edition was available. If I was really very eager to read a book before the paperback was out, I'd borrow it from the library rather than purchasing it. Now, with e-books, I just buy a book when I want it. The electronic version of a hardback is exactly the same "size" as the electronic version of a paperback, though maybe not cheaper.
- I'm reading more classics. I can definitely attribute this to both e-books and to MobileRead. The MobileRead Download Guide also contributes to this change.
- I'm reading independently published books for the first time. Again, both e-books and MobileRead are influential in this change. I've become aware of books and authors that I would never have known about and probably would not have taken a chance on.
- I acquired more books in 2008 than in previous years. This is not totally attributable to e-books since I resumed book swapping and have been receiving lots of books in the mail. But I've also taken most of the free e-books that I've run across -- from TOR, from Amazon.com, from Random House, from Baen, and of course from MobileRead.
So, while the number of books has not changed substantially, the characteristics have. I've delved into genres that I previously ignored. I've discovered authors that I had never heard of before.
Keep it up, MobileRead.