Tips for reading on a laptop?

[tali3sin]

Whoa, still getting replies

3) What kind is your notebook? Less weight and noise is better. For reading, you should sacrifice every bit of speed you can for lower power consumption. That is because less power means less heat and might (depending on the device) also mean less fan noise. As a bonus, you can take the cord off which makes it easier to change your side (if on bed).

I've actually got two laptops, one 17", and one 9". To top it off, the 9" is an Eee 901 - with the SSD. Battery lasts about 7 hours, never gets hot, small and comfortable to tote around, and it can (and thankfully has) survived a few bumps here and there without any issue at all.

At the moment, the 901 would be my reading device of choice. A clever mobileread'er put together some scripts for formatting files to two page per full screen PDF, with suitably large text, link here for those interested.
The script works perfectly, but I haven't had a chance to actually read anything yet - and I say it "would be" my reading device of choice... but... as soon as my girlfriend saw me pull up a book on the screen, which just happened to be one of her favourites, she stole it from me.

I assume it all works very nicely, as she has since ploughed through several lengthy texts, and has been taking it everywhere.

All these pieces of eReading software seem great, but this script formats perfectly for the 901 screen, and Foxit PDF viewer allows for full screen, "page turn" at the press of a button, and bookmarking without any extraneous or unnecessary features.

So, I think that's my current solution... if I ever get it back from her

[jgray]

I've been in lurk mode for a while, but I recently came across a program that is relevant to this discussion. With the typical desktop/laptop screen, the aspect ratio is too wide for fullscreen reading, unless your reader supports dual page mode (FBReader and others do not). This situation is worse with modern widescreen displays.

One solution to this problem is a program called Ghoster, which can be found at the URL below (scroll almost to the bottom). What Ghoster does is to dim or even black out the screen, except for the active window. So, I just size the FBReader window to suit my tastes, run Ghoster and reselect FBReader as the active window.

Note that to deactivate Ghoster, you right-click the icon in the System Tray. I also changed the default transparency level to make it easier to see the other program windows that are dimmed. Around 200 works for me. You can also try different background colors. I just stick with black (000000).

Ghoster: http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Skrommel/

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

There are a number of free e-book reader apps available for PCs, including Mobipocket, Sony Reader, MS Reader, and Stanza (yes, the iPhone app... I just found this out). And you should be able to find a lot of free content just waiting to be downloaded for them. As it happens, during Read an E-Book Week, a number of places are going to make catalogs of free e-books available... check out the Read an E-Book Week website for details. I'm making one of my novels available for free this week, too.

By the way, if your laptop is a fairly new Windows-based machine, it may come equipped with ClearType, a system that smoothes the edges of fonts on screen, making them easier on the eyes. (It would be in your screen settings.) It makes a huge difference!

[JSWolf]

I find eReader's bug of opening two windows when you launch it to be rather annoying. Plus, the eReader format of no paragraph indents and a line space between paragraphs to be horrid. I know they thought it was a good idea on a small screen. But even then it wastes space that you don't really have to waste. And when you use ereader2html to remove the DRM, you get the worst HTML out of it. My advice is stay away from eReader format.

Now to get back on topic...

When I was reading using a laptop, I used a wicker stand that was the perfect height. Great for sitting and great for in bed sas long as I didn't mind laying on my left side to read. The only thing that was a bother at times was having to reach out to the keyboard to turn the page. When I read on the laptop, I read mostly MS Reader eBooks as I found MS Reader easiest to read with.

[snipenekkid]

All the free ebook sources have been mentioned. I can only add a suggestion. I will qualify it with I know there is no extra money right now. Despite that fact I do have a suggestion which might make it a lot easier for you. Plus it will help stretch the lifespan of your laptops.

I would suggestion, and mind I am not forgetting you are a broke-arse person these days. Trust me, I have been there and will prolly be there again sometime. Breakfast, lunch & dinner made of some ramen noodles, an egg, a bit of cheese and if you are lucky the grocery store has some old snake legs being sold under the guise of chicken legs. But if you can garner around $50 over the next whatever time-frame start looking for an older PDA type device with a transreflective display. I am a fan of the Clie devices from Sony as I have an PEG-NX80v that I bought a while back used on eBay for about $50 because the battery did not work. $8 for a new battery and I have used it daily for almost 2 years now.

Admittedly I got a steal on mine but there are other brands and devices which all can be had for under $50. I know the trick would be finding someone to ship to you with the cheapest possible mail class. If you can get someone to ship it in a small box and it weighs under, I believe the limit is 4lbs., First Class is not going to be very expensive. A 2lb 1st class parcel from the US will be around $17 for just the postage and hopefully there would be no duty and or VAT of a device older than 4 years. Or maybe you might find something on the eBay UK site.

A PDA with a transreflective display lets you read outside if you like. Just know not all transreflective displays are created equal and may not all be as readable outdoors. I forget but one of the Palm devices, maybe the III (?) can be found dirt cheap at under $20US and would solve the issue for you for a while. But there are just oodles of great undervalued PDA devices to be had for a song with years of life left in them. Plus they have all the PDA functions on top of being very decent reading devices. Sure they will only last for a few hours of reading but that is far better than no reading or even lugging around your 17" laptop. I know because I have one, even though I do take it everywhere.

This thread and the forum in which it resides might give rise to some practical and affordable options. And remember eink is the the cure for life. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21582

And if you do consider adding a Clie search out one with the jog wheel on the side. It makes one handed reading a pleasure in portrait orientation. There are several which have the wheel there and several with this tool located elsewhere. I read a thread somewhere here with a discussion on that very topic.

If reading really is you only sort of escape and recreation from daily stresses, finding a way to budget for one should be a priority. To quote a favorite character of mine, Lazarus Long, "budget the luxuries first". I always took that to mean, life is far too short and if one is merely surviving, it is not going to be much point any of it.

[tali3sin]

Hey snipe (and everyone) that's a whole bunch of great advice

It just keeps pouring in.

Luckily, it's looks like a member of my family is about to take pity on me and purchase one of the eink devices for me... I'm sure I'll have to make it up to them some how though, of course, heh.

That won't solve the problem of having to share one device between myself and the book hungry girlfriend, but it's a massive step forward... and so far using the 901 has worked out very well. I'll have to take a look at some of the dedicated reading software you guys have mentioned, still just been formatting books with the 901 script I mentioned earlier. Will just have to see if the difference is valuable enough

[jgray]

Originally Posted by tali3sin

That won't solve the problem of having to share one device between myself and the book hungry girlfriend, but it's a massive step forward...

Hey, sharing one e-reader with the girlfriend (at the same time, of course) sound like great fun to me

[tali3sin]

Originally Posted by jgray

Hey, sharing one e-reader with the girlfriend (at the same time, of course) sound like great fun to me

Ah, but we work odd hours, and both tend to read on the train.

So it's fun until one of us wants to take the book/device somewhere, and the other one wants to take it somewhere else at the same time ;-)
That's how fights start! Except, not really, we just share and complain ;-)

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by tali3sin

That's how fights start! Except, not really, we just share and complain ;-)

Fights with girlfriends are good, because then you get to make up.

BOb

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by jgray

Hey, sharing one e-reader with the girlfriend (at the same time, of course) sound like great fun to me

Sounds like the girlfriend will have the reader...

[Jill75]

Originally Posted by jgray

Hey, sharing one e-reader with the girlfriend (at the same time, of course) sound like great fun to me

Seems the reader will also pave the way of hopefully a stronger relationship to both of you since you both enjoy reading. If you look at other posts here about what time is best to read your ebook, you would find reading in a train or going back to work/home or when traveling is best to while the time away.

The ebook will surely free you from reading from your laptop and will lessen the strain in your eyes. Have you also try using an anti-glare or UV glasses but without any grades in it? I do as im also always in front to the monitor and was recommended by my ophthalmologist.