Can you read complete books on an LCD screens?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So the light for the eInk screen is not bouncy-wouncy.

Ever looked at the construction of the diffuser that spreads the light from the LEDs evenly (or so the designers hope) over the screen? Bouncy-wouncy would be a pretty good description.

[MarjaE]

In my experience, the lights on some e-ink devices haven't been as bright as lcd devices, but they are migraine triggers too.

I also get halo effects around light bulbs, headlights, etc., and blurring around that. Probably astigmatism-related. Direct lighting usually involves a sharper contrast between the light and everything else than indirect lighting has between the lit area and everything else. Front lights for screens being a sort of middle ground there. So that could aggravate halo effects, pattern sensitivities, etc.

[conan50]

I'm in the minority, but I had every Kindle e-ink device up to and including the paperwhite and even a nook, and I could not get used to any of them. I want good contrast and dark print evenly lit on my devices. I use Kindle tablets 8" and 10" to read on. Like others have said, the key is brightness adjustment. I keep it bright enough for good contrast but not enough to irritate my eyes. The only way I could comfortably read e-ink was with an external light and it still did not look as good to me as on a tablet.
Edit: I should also add that I like about 13-14 point text to read comfortably. By the time I set that size I'm left with a couple paragraphs per page. I'd rather have a larger screen and more text per page. I know there are 8" e-ink devices now, but they came too late to interest me and I still like the even lighting of a tablet.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

For those who find reading with LCD a problem, is it less of a problem to turn down the brightness in a brightly lit room or a room lit with sunlight?

I can't read in sunlight with an LCD tablet or phone because of glare - same if it's certain lighting, such as the florescent bulbs overhead at my office, it makes the screen virtually unreadable unless you hold it a certain angle or cover it partially with an object. Sunlight lighting a room is fine if the sunlight is filtered and does not produce strong glare, but again this would depend on angle, how close to the sunlight source. Unless you're a reader who mainly only reads at home and has the ideal lighting, I find it too restrictive and limiting to depend on as a reading device.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Mine is barely above 25% in the brightest of settings. It's as low as it goes (with the built-in blue-shade on) in the darkest.

That's interesting and puts paid to my theory. You can read on LCD, but don't like or need a very bright light, even in the the brightest of settings. The plot thickens.

[library addict]

I voted yes as I read almost exclusively on my tablets nowadays.

I am extremely nearsighted and wear contacts. I bump the font up a bit (to medium not super big.) Otherwise to read tiny print I have to use reading glasses even with contacts.

I still own my eink Sony, but rarely use it.

I like the backlight of the LCD. I adjust the brightness depending on what color background I am using, if I am inside or outside, etc.

[drofgnal]

Yes I can and frequently do. I'm near sighted and I used to read fine with my glasses off. I developed CSR, a form of wet macular degeneration in my right eye. I now need reading glasses, but just in my right eye. I bought a 4 pack of reading glasses for 10 bucks (+2.00) and I punch the left eye out which doesn't need reading correction. I need fairly large text because even with reading glasses for my right eye I still need a fairly large font. In this manner I get a decent composite image. Fortunately CSR doesn't hamper my distance vision too much and I get a decent composite image there too.

The 11" iPad pro makes this easy. I can have a comfortable size font and still have a lot of text on a single page. I was hating my voyage with so little text to a page. I find the iPad very comfortable for reading as long as I don't scorch my eyes with iPad brightness.

Fortunately CSR is a self correcting problem and Ive had it before and it just goes away on it's own. This time it's being a bit stubborn but it seems to be finally starting to improve. I bought a Kindle Oasis for outside back porch reading and I can get a decent amount of readable text on a page, not as good as an iPad, but good enough.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

That's interesting and puts paid to my theory. You can read on LCD, but don't like or need a very bright light, even in the the brightest of settings. The plot thickens.

Keep in mind that my brightest of settings never includes direct sunlight, nor is my darkest of settings ever completely devoid of ambient light. Much like it was with paper books, 95+% of my book-reading is done indoors (at home) with a reasonable (but never harsh) amount of ambient lighting. I used a reading light for reading in bed with paper books, and I used a reading light for reading in bed during my brief stint with an eink device, and I continue to use a reading light when reading in bed with an LCD device after dark.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Yes I can and frequently do. I'm near sighted and I used to read fine with my glasses off. I developed CSR, a form of wet macular degeneration in my right eye. I now need reading glasses, but just in my right eye. I bought a 4 pack of reading glasses for 10 bucks (+2.00) and I punch the left eye out which doesn't need reading correction. I need fairly large text because even with reading glasses for my right eye I still need a fairly large font. In this manner I get a decent composite image. Fortunately CSR doesn't hamper my distance vision too much and I get a decent composite image there too.

The 11" iPad pro makes this easy. I can have a comfortable size font and still have a lot of text on a single page. I was hating my voyage with so little text to a page. I find the iPad very comfortable for reading as long as I don't scorch my eyes with iPad brightness.

Fortunately CSR is a self correcting problem and Ive had it before and it just goes away on it's own. This time it's being a bit stubborn but it seems to be finally starting to improve. I bought a Kindle Oasis for outside back porch reading and I can get a decent amount of readable text on a page, not as good as an iPad, but good enough.

For anyone with eye problems that require a larger font, I suggest the Kobo Forma with an 8" screen. It's going to be better then the Oasis or Libra at 7". The larger the size you need, the better the 8" screen is vs the 7" screen.

I highly recommend swapping out the Oasis for a Forma.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

That's interesting and puts paid to my theory. You can read on LCD, but don't like or need a very bright light, even in the the brightest of settings. The plot thickens.

I know Diapdealer addressed his particular situation in a later post. But still, brightness can vary by device. 25% on one phone or tablet may be brighter than 25% on another.

My old phone was usable, if not comfortable, in bright outdoor light. My current phone has a better quality screen indoors but is barely legible in bright outdoor light. From what I've read online this is a common complaint, it's the way the phone is designed. If I wanted to use LCD to read outdoors I'd definitely need a different device. Fortunately I have e-ink readers that work excellently if I want to read in bright light

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

For anyone with eye problems that require a larger font, I suggest the Kobo Forma with an 8" screen. It's going to be better then the Oasis or Libra at 7". The larger the size you need, the better the 8" screen is vs the 7" screen.

I highly recommend swapping out the Oasis for a Forma.

The Forma is already several years old. For my part I'm waiting what new device Kobo will release this year. And I'm not ditching my Oasis, which I still like. If Kobo comes out with something I fancy, I'll just add it to my ereader family. Which isn't so large these days, as I sold or gave away several ereaders I no longer really used.

[azayn]

I was never able to read for long stretches on my phone until I got one with an OLED screen. Reading in dark mode on OLED was a game changer. Eliminating the backlight made it much more comfortable to read and improved text clarity.

That being said, I do limited reading on my iPad which also has an LCD display. Still can't read complete books on it though.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I know Diapdealer addressed his particular situation in a later post. But still, brightness can vary by device. 25% on one phone or tablet may be brighter than 25% on another.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

That's interesting and puts paid to my theory. You can read on LCD, but don't like or need a very bright light, even in the the brightest of settings. The plot thickens.

Also keep in mind that rather than not liking/needing very bright light (I have no special powers when it comes to the amount of light needed to read comfortably in any and all conditions), it's more that my reading habits never put me in a situation where I would have to rely upon a bright device light in order to be able to comfortably read.

I always read in situations where the ambient lighting of the room is easily adjustable to the situation. So the intensity of an LCD backlight is rarely even a concern that needs tweaking when I'm reading a book (but can still be easily done in the rare event that I want to check the score of a baseball game outdoors in direct sunlight standing on tinfoil).

[ApK]

I said no. I never could read text on a CRT or backlit LCD for long periods comfortably.
Even as a tech and developer, if I have to read a lot of source code or documentation, I have always printed it out if possible.

And honestly, I prefer non-lit eInk readers as well, though it's a different sort of discomfort. I didn't read this whole thread, but I think the softness of the diffuser has already been brought up, and I think that's part of it.
A crisp non-lit eInk screen with a good reading lamp over my shoulder would be my preference. Still, if I had to choose between my phone or a Paperwhite to read in bed at night, I'd go with the paperwhite.
I am nearsighted and now wear progressives most of the time, or intermediate computer glasses when working on the computer, but for long reading stints, I prefer to take my glasses off.

ApK

[Anthem]

I am able to read for extended periods of time on modern hi-dpi LCD screens without any discomfort. My OnePlus phone has a 6.49" screen with a PPI over 400 so text is razor sharp and can be as large as I want it. In addition the contrast is much better than my Kindle Oasis which is a nice bonus. And with night mode, dark mode, and all the other options available on a modern Android phone I can read comfortably in almost any situation.

Important to note: I have an astigmatism in both of my eyes and wear prescription corrective lenses for that as well as a slight distance blur. So I almost religiously avoid white text on black backgrounds whether it is LCD or e-ink. Black text on a white background is much sharper while white text on a black background is hazy and a little blurry.