A conversation on the joys/benefits of e-reading :)

[droopy]

Dear fellow readers,

I'm about to embark on what I believe to be a life-transforming, joy-enhancing, mind-expanding, digital-detoxing journey. I'm about to buy my very first ereader. (I'm still doing my research on which to buy).

I'd like to ask those who read a lot on their dedicated ereaders: Did you find that you read more after you got an ereader than before? What was your reading frequency/volume like before you got an ereader (when you're reading just paper-based books) and after you got an ereader?

I hope that after I get an ereader, I'd waste much less time on my smartphone, on joyless apps, and more time enriching my mind and life by reading on a dedicated ereader.

Let's talk!

I got into e-readers when the first Kindle came out, and have owned at least one ever since. In the intervening years, as the effects of CP have become more noticeable, e-reading has become my first choice. Reading dead tree books is an absolute last resort, only for a literal "must read" that simply isn't available in e-format. I actually bought and tried reading Robin Buss's translation of the unabridged Monte Cristo in paperback, but was simply not able to hold it. Ditto A Suitable Boy.

E-readers let me read with one finger, my "page turning" finger. They let me have several books on the go at once and always with me to choose from depending on my mood, and of course, it's trivially easy to load up on and carry an ample supply of books for the road. With vanishingly few exceptions (I currently own only two), I don't care AT ALL about the physicality or aesthetics of dead tree books. I'm unmoved by the "mystical feel", or the "indescribable, irreplaceable magic" they are said to possess. For me, the content counts, not the medium. And for content delivery, at least of general fiction, e-readers win hands down.

[droopy]

Hi Stuart,

Thank you for chiming in. Sorry about the CP. Glad to know that, with modern technology, you're able to read.

(One of these years, we won't even have to hold a device at all in our hands. I'm imagining a tiny screen on eyeglasses or on contact lenses )

[gmw]

I'm going to skip all the stuff that gets talked about regularly and note a couple of less obvious things that have become apparent this summer:

* Reading at night despite power outages. Thanks to thunderstorms we had a lot of power outages earlier this summer and it was great being able to settle back and read anyway.

* Attract less insects. Summer here is a time of insects. With an e-reader you can turn the main lights out, set the e-reader front light very low, and enjoy reading without insects buzzing around the windows and finding ways past the insect screens (there are always some) to annoy you.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by droopy

I'd like to ask those who read a lot on their dedicated ereaders: Did you find that you read more after you got an ereader than before?

It's hard to say. I've been reading ebooks for the past 15 years or more, so comparing how much I read now with how much I read (say) in the 1990s probably says more about changes in my life than paper/ebook.

I think I probably do read more now. If only because I never have to find the next book I want to read - I have a vast array to choose from immediately available in my already-purchased-but-not-yet-read pile (my TBR).

While I used to haunt second hand bookshops to find my next read. Perhaps Amazon and Abebooks have changed that even for paper books.

[Edited to add: I almost never buy paper books anymore.]

[Deskisamess]

When I was young, reading was my favorite thing to do during my down time. Marriage, kids, etc. meant less time for reading. As I got older, reading paperbacks became more difficult due to poor vision and some neurological issues. I still read hardbacks, but not nearly so much.

Along came my first Kindle in late 2009. It was AMAZING. Font size I could change as needed, hundreds of books on one device, dictionary lookup, instant delivery, and so on. Several models later, it's just gotten better and better.

I have gone from reading perhaps one book per month to 5-8 per month. With a front lit Kindle, I can read anywhere, regardless of ambient lighting. Reading apps on my smart phone mean never being without something to read.

I still have favorite hardbacks on shelves, because I like to see books. But little by little we are thinning out the print books.

One huge plus of Kindles? My husband of 42 years is now a reader also. He rarely read as a hobby, but once he got his own Kindle in 2011, he learned to love reading also. He doesn't have much time during most days, but does read at least 30 minutes before bed. More time for reading is one thing he is looking forward to when retirement comes in 2021.

[McGonigle]

Basically e-readers have saved my reading life.

Where I live physical (and e-books) are ridiculously expensive and priced as luxury consumer goods because of ancient principles of gate-keeping, guardianship, paternalism in the publishing and literary business.

Furthermore, what is on offer is mostly local authors in my native language and rarely the genres I like. I far prefer English/American authors and books.

Because of e-readers I have been able to find and download e-books from Gutenberg, Manybooks, Kobo and Amazon at a fraction of the cost and effort I would otherwise have had to employ.

Consequently, I read a lot more.

[4691mls]

I definitely read more since I got an ereader. The biggest reason for me is the ability to get library books or books from a store without leaving the comfort of my home. I don't have any physical limitations, I just like the convenience!

[ekbell]

I can't comment on the number of books I read now vs when I read paper books (different stage of life) but I can say that most of the books I read now are in digital form. It's simply more convenient.

Besides I've wanted to be able to carry a whole library in my hand since the eighties

[pondscum]

The thing that converted me 100% to e-books was when I was injured in an accident in 2013 and spent about 6 weeks in the hospital and rehab. I was so grateful that I had a Kindle with me already loaded with dozens of free books from Project Gutenberg, plus the ability to download more. (One of the EMTs who loaded me in the ambulance thought to ask me whether I wanted to bring a book to the hospital, along with making sure I had my wallet, phone, keys, etc). I can't imagine how I would have kept myself from going stir-crazy with nothing to read, or being dependent on friends to keep me supplied with reading material.

Anyway, before my accident I was only using the Kindle to augment my collection of paper books, and afterwards I basically stopped buying paper.

I went thru phases: paper only, then ebooks only when Kindles first came out, now I'm firmly in the camp of 'both'. I still love reading paper books too--it gives an 'experience' that's hard to describe--plus there's never an issue with screen resolution and battery life.

I've never found that having an ereader, in itself, caused me to read more if I hadn't already been a reader. But if getting a reader helps you to avoid distractions, makes the books more 'portable' so you will be able to read in more various settings, at nighttime, on the bus, etc., that's probably a good thing and makes it more likely you will read.

[Plumadona]

Originally Posted by ekbell

I can't comment on the number of books I read now vs when I read paper books (different stage of life) but I can say that most of the books I read now are in digital form. It's simply more convenient.

Besides I've wanted to be able to carry a whole library in my hand since the eighties

Amen!

[ZodWallop]

Aside from what others have mentioned, one benefit of my moving to ebooks is that I read far more classics than I used to. Instead of having the idle thought that I really ought to read The Scarlet Letter 'someday' (while never actually purchasing a copy), I can now snag a free copy from Gutenberg, Standard eBooks, Amazon or wherever and get to reading (I loved The Scarlet Letter and moved on to read House of the Seven Gables as well).

I'm reading Silas Marner right now and found I like George Eliot. So I've already picked up Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss for free.

Also, I love reading old, OOP midlist (or lower) fiction. Now, instead of combing through used bookstores or paying collector's prices on eBay, I can often purchase the ebook for a trivial amount and the author makes some money off of my purchase.

[barryem]

I got my first ereader, a Kindle, in 2009. I don't think it changed how much I read but it's sure made reading a lot more convenient and I think I enjoy it more.

When I was young I read a lot. Maybe 3 or 4 books a week. Now I read maybe a book a week. Sometimes two. Sometimes a book takes 2 weeks. I do it because I enjoy it and I do it about as much as I want to. I've never felt a need to push myself to read more.

I think ereaders have made it easy for me to have a large selection to pick from when I'm ready for a new book and I like that. I've never had a problem finding books. I've always had a few to pick from when I'm ready. But now I have a lot at hand.

When I got my new Paperwhite 4 it came with 6 months of free Kindle Unlimited, something I didn't think would interest me. I'm currently reading my first Kindle Unlimited book even though I've had the account for a couple of months and it happened because while I was going through the books on my Kindle I began to feel guilty for ignoring Kindle Unlimited so I decided to take a look. I found one that interested me and I'm off and running.

Another benefit of ereaders, at least in my case, is that they're far easier when I read in bed. Paperbacks weren't bad holding them over my head but they were clumsy. Hardbacks were impossible. I keep one of my older Kindles on my nightstand with no cover so it's very light and holding it up over my head is nothing. Also since it has its own light I don't have to make sure it's facing my lamp.

Barry

[maddz]

I’ve been reading ebooks since my Palm m500, and I haven’t noticed any difference in my reading habits. I was the sort of person that took a couple of dozen books on a 2 week beach holiday and still ran out of reading material after 10 days or so (I could get through a standard mass-market paperback in 2-4 hours; doorstops took longer).

These days I mostly read ebooks as I have a 55 minute train journey on my daily commute, and it’s a lot more convenient to have the iPad, the iPhone and my Icarus with me than a couple of paperbacks (let alone hardbacks). In terms of buying habits, we’re talking about 99% electronic; I very rarely buy hard copy for reading - I generally only buy RPG books in hard copy for favourite systems (systems I’m unlikely to play I buy PDFs).

What I do notice is that on weekdays I prefer reading short stories or anthologies, and I reserve longer reads for weekends when I can spend an afternoon reading, rather than under an hour.

The one thing I would recommend is getting a device that supports collections or tags; it’s so much easier to find something when you think ‘I fancy this genre for my next read’. Also, if you read a lot of series, you need something that displays series info as well (otherwise you have to fiddle around in Calibre setting up output formats).