Is it Lord of the Rings, or because it's paper?

[Katsunami]

Weird. I'm reading Lord of the Rings again. On paper.

Well, that's not the part that's weird per se. What I mean is the following. I can't get "into" the books I've been reading lately. I read a few pages (screens), and then I'm distracted, or have the feeling I want to read something else. Then if I read something else, I get the same thing. It doesn't matter what I read; Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, a Sherlock Holmes story, or some short story in an anthology.

Because I often read Lord of the Rings in December/January (something I started doing in 2001, when the movies came out in December), and I haven't read the illustrated version of the book yet which I've owned for years, I decided to do so.

I've read to page 54 in one go (this includes the Note on the Text, Foreword, Prologue, etc) before I went to bed yesterday.

This book has 67 characters per line, and 41 lines per page, which gives it 2747 characters a page. I use 2100 for my e-books (with Count Pages). So, these pages are 1.309x the length of the ones in my e-books.

This means reading 54 pages in this version of LotR, is akin to reading 70 'pages' in the e-book version. It's a long time ago that I've been able to read that much in one go on an e-reader without putting it away.

I wonder if the ease and lack of distraction with which I'm reading this book is because it's a paper book, or because it's LotR. (I can basicallly read that book in a repeat loop; together with all the other Middle-Earth stuff.) Maybe I could switch back and forth to the e-reader and the book and find out.

[Cinisajoy]

We are watching it at the moment.
My guess would be because it is LotR.

[crich70]

I'm with Cinisajoy. LotR is a great story. I'm re-reading a Stephen King book "The Dark Half" at present, in paper.

[darryl]

Personally the only difference I find between reading a paper book and an ebook is that the ebook is just so much easier on my eyes. Concentration issues can simply mean you are not into the particular book or can be other things. Sometimes if you are tired, stressed, sick, other problems on your mind etc you may have this type of difficulty. Even then, sometimes an extraordinarliy good book can still draw you in. You would not be the first person to lose yourself in Middle Earth for a time.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by darryl

Personally the only difference I find between reading a paper book and an ebook is that the ebook is just so much easier on my eyes. Concentration issues can simply mean you are not into the particular book or can be other things. Sometimes if you are tired, stressed, sick, other problems on your mind etc you may have this type of difficulty. Even then, sometimes an extraordinarliy good book can still draw you in. You would not be the first person to lose yourself in Middle Earth for a time.

Yep, I go through similar phases myself, where I have trouble getting into any one book. More times than not it's a combination of being in a particular mood and not having any new good books that match that mood. A lot of times, it's I'm bogged down in something at work and having trouble leaving it at work.

[pdurrant]

I think it's the LotR is a great read.

[latepaul]

It's funny you should mention this now because I've been thinking a similar thing about the Harry Potter books which I'm re-reading. I'm not only more engaged but my pages/hour rate has gone up. And I found myself wondering how much this is due to reading on paper. I'm well aware that there's other factors such as the simplicity of the prose (just finished book 3) and the fact that I just really enjoy them as stories.

On a related note, I finished Prisoner of Azkaban yesterday and was musing whether to go straight into Goblet of Fire or read another book for a change and come back to HP after that. I picked up Goblet and suddenly remembered the joys of ebooks - they're all the thickness of my ereader! That tipped me over so I picked up the paperback of the alternative (Bob Shaw's The Ragged Astronauts - a slim 310 pages) and was reminded of another: the font was small and ugly. Also as a 27 year-old paperback it's readable but I need to be a little careful with it lest it lose pages.

Ho hum. It really is all about the words at the end of the day.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Weird. I'm reading Lord of the Rings again. On paper.

Well, that's not the part that's weird per se. What I mean is the following. I can't get "into" the books I've been reading lately. I read a few pages (screens), and then I'm distracted, or have the feeling I want to read something else. Then if I read something else, I get the same thing. It doesn't matter what I read; Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, a Sherlock Holmes story, or some short story in an anthology.

I often have the same problem and I have it with paper books too (sometimes I still have to read them, if there's no digital edition at all). So I'd also say it's the LOTR, not the container.

[Katsunami]

So most people think it's LotR.

There is a very big difference in the reading experience though. When using an e-reader, or a paperback, I mostly read on the couch. With the illustrated version of LotR (2005, Illustrated by Alan Lee) this is not possible; the book weighs 2.5kg. You can't hold that comfortably for any length of time. It has to be supported somehow.

I put that one on the kitchen table, and then support my head with one or both hands; I read that book the same way as if I was studying something. (Same goes for all of my other hardcovers; the ones I still have are all huge, except for the two smaller illustrated Sherlock Holmes ones.)

Therefore, I still wonder. I can imagine that if I swap the huge LotR hardcover for something like this huge version of Sherlock Holmes, I would still be able to read without distraction.

Maybe I should try and put the KA1 onto a stand and read as if it's a 2.5kg hardcover. But still, it won't come close to be big enough.

edit: however, I can't go back to reading only paper books, because a few years ago, I gave them all away due to lack of space. I now only have the absolute favorites as hardcovers.

With regard to fonts: I've noticed I've been using fonts much larger than the ones in my LotR book. They're effectively 3-4x as large, even though it's not really necessary.

[cvkemp]

I have read Lord of the Rings about 5 times. It does not matter if it is a paper book or my kindle, when I start to read it I can never put it down. And I ways seem to learn something new from my readings, no matter how many times I read it.

[Pajamaman]

I think it's because the writing is better, not the medium.

I am re-reading Against the Fall of Night (Clarke) and I am entranced. I am also re-reading Hard to be a God (Strugatsky) and the prose is flying off the page.

The problem, I suspect, is not e-ink, but uninspired writing.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

The problem, I suspect, is not e-ink, but uninspired writing.

Well, if I'd say that Pratchett or Doyle have left us uninspired writing, I can name a few people who'd immediately line up to bash my head in, gut me, and then hang me

Maybe I'm becoming some sort of Hobbit; that I only like reading what I know already.

[cvkemp]

I seem to get into series, once I start reading them then I relate with the main characters and I always want more and more from them.

[theducks]

I bought Fellowship years decades ago (because everyone raved about LOTR), I think I made it to the end of CHAPTER 1

Peter Jackson made the Trilogy into movies, Those I liked (and have rewatched the extended editions many times)

Why the difference? Is it the Character count that you must keep straight when you read vs just look at the costume? (Oh! that is Legolas)


A few other popular epics failed to get my attention, even on screen (Got?)

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

So most people think it's LotR.

There is a very big difference in the reading experience though. When using an e-reader, or a paperback, I mostly read on the couch. With the illustrated version of LotR (2005, Illustrated by Alan Lee) this is not possible; the book weighs 2.5kg. You can't hold that comfortably for any length of time. It has to be supported somehow.

I put that one on the kitchen table, and then support my head with one or both hands; I read that book the same way as if I was studying something. (Same goes for all of my other hardcovers; the ones I still have are all huge, except for the two smaller illustrated Sherlock Holmes ones.)

Therefore, I still wonder. I can imagine that if I swap the huge LotR hardcover for something like this huge version of Sherlock Holmes, I would still be able to read without distraction.

Maybe I should try and put the KA1 onto a stand and read as if it's a 2.5kg hardcover. But still, it won't come close to be big enough.

For me, reading like that would be the perfect way to lose my connection to the book. I always preferred to read from a semi-laying-down to reading in bed. That's why I hardly ever read outside, unless I have a hammock or a decliner chair...