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

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Interesting how many people say ereading is better if there's a power outage. If the power is off for an extended period my ereader battery could run out, but I could always read a paper book or magazine by candlelight.

I guess that depends on your definition of an extended period. I could easily read on my eink readers for weeks before needing a charge, long after my cellphone died.

I've been reading on ereaders (well, the first couple years were on a palm device) for about 15 years, and I really discovered how much I liked it while traveling. I'd much rather carry a single device that weighs less than a paperback book, can be read in any light, and I can change the font depending on my surroundings, and I can change my mind about what to read at any time. I still can't get my wife to try it, even though I know I have some books on it that she would be willing to read.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by 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.

The 1st Saturday of this month I caught a norovirus and ended up having to go to the hospital (diabetic and I live alone) but I made sure to have my Kindle when I got picked up by the ambulance (it was early and I don't have a car) so if they kept me in after getting my system settled down I would have something to read. Ereaders are a great convenience that way. Also as long as you don't forget where you put it you never have to look for the particular book you were reading. It's right there on the ereader. I think I do read a bit more often and certainly I have more variety of books than I would have other wise. I rarely buy paper any more. My local used book store is closing its doors this summer. The owner is getting older and the kindle (among others I'm sure) has taken a good piece of her business. I got my first kindle in March 2011 and I've been unable to avoid picking one up since. First I borrowed one from my local library and I found it so much fun to use that I had to go out and buy my own.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Interesting how many people say ereading is better if there's a power outage. If the power is off for an extended period my ereader battery could run out, but I could always read a paper book or magazine by candlelight.

Ah but there are battery back ups that can be used to recharge an ereader or cellphone which could extend the battery charge for a bit til either sleep or sunrise comes along.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

I guess that depends on your definition of an extended period. I could easily read on my eink readers for weeks before needing a charge, long after my cellphone died.

I've been reading on ereaders (well, the first couple years were on a palm device) for about 15 years, and I really discovered how much I liked it while traveling. I'd much rather carry a single device that weighs less than a paperback book, can be read in any light, and I can change the font depending on my surroundings, and I can change my mind about what to read at any time. I still can't get my wife to try it, even though I know I have some books on it that she would be willing to read.

Also if you enjoy reading a genre that others may comment on (such as romance for example) no one is any the wiser since you don't have a physical book cover showing while you are reading.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by crich70

Also if you enjoy reading a genre that others may comment on (such as romance for example) no one is any the wiser since you don't have a physical book cover showing while you are reading.

Lol, I don't mind if people know I'm reading romance but ugh, some of the covers, I'd rather not have on display.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

I still can't get my wife to try it, even though I know I have some books on it that she would be willing to read.

Tell her she is not allowed to us it.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

I did this sort of trip many times in the past, with a handful of paperback books in a bag. Now, just the kindle.

Oh, and I'm right there with "gmw" post above. A while ago in a thunderstorm my power went out about 7 pm; no problems; retire to bunk with e-reader. What's more, the dim glow from the e-reader was sufficient to allow me to move around confidently, using it as a sort of low-performance torch.

At the height of my paper book accumulating craze I had about 1200 books on shelves. After a decade of e-reading, I have over 3000 books on my PC in Calibre, ready to load into my e-reader anytime. And no need of shelves.

It's a whole new world.

This is so similar to my life as well. When I was in the Army back in the 80s I used to go the field with a handful of books and would constantly be swapping them out with others. After the Army and ito my married life I always had a large library of books I picked up over the years.(Easily over a 1000 I was an early Amazon subscriber and was very intrigued but the Kindle when they came out (I remember others but they were always so expensive.

Fast Forward to about 2010 and after reading the latest Stephen King doorstop my hands had enough. I developed arthritis in the last few years and holding a 1000+ page book was painful. So I picked up a K2 and loved it. I really wanted a DX but the $400+ price was just too much. I sold or donated all my books and aside from my Stephen King collection.

Fast forward a few more years and the Amazon lowered the DX to $200 ands I was hooked again.

Again a few more years and I’m back with an IPad. While the DX makes a really good reading device for plain text in books I honestly like my iPad more.

It weighs less though not enough to matter. The screen is clearer and works so much better with other formats PDFs or comics if that’s your thing. The battery is really amazing. On standby it’s long enough that it doesn’t matter and even under heavy use it outlasts me. People will say “in a power outage it’s better” but imho if the powers out that long I’ve got other worries and could always plug into the car if I had to.

I’ll probably always have a Kindle as it’s biggest advantage is lack of distractions but honestly it will take a back seat to my iPad.

[barryem]

I rarely had a large library in my paper book days. I liked having a few books around waiting to be read but rarely more than 3 or 4. Most of the time though I'd go find something new to read. The unread books in the house were more about not getting caught without something to read.

On my Kindles I've rarely had more than 20, 30 or 40 books waiting. My aim initially was 20 and as I got new books I'd leave them on the Kindle to look them over and then from time to time clean up and leave myself 20. I changed that to 30 and sometimes 40 over the years.

When I got my 32 gig Paperwhite 4 I downloaded a bunch of books and it's been a pain to find the ones I'm looking for. I'm gradually removing them till I get back to a reasonable number.

Barry

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by barryem

I rarely had a large library in my paper book days. I liked having a few books around waiting to be read but rarely more than 3 or 4. Most of the time though I'd go find something new to read. The unread books in the house were more about not getting caught without something to read.

On my Kindles I've rarely had more than 20, 30 or 40 books waiting. My aim initially was 20 and as I got new books I'd leave them on the Kindle to look them over and then from time to time clean up and leave myself 20. I changed that to 30 and sometimes 40 over the years.

When I got my 32 gig Paperwhite 4 I downloaded a bunch of books and it's been a pain to find the ones I'm looking for. I'm gradually removing them till I get back to a reasonable number.

Barry

That is the downside to the eInk readers, none of them are particularly good at library management. They all seem to assume that you will only have a handful of books on the device at a time. That's the advantage of having the Calibre/Calibre Companion/reading program set up. Using collections can help.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

That is the downside to the eInk readers, none of them are particularly good at library management.

On the other hand, you can't double shelve the books.

I'll answer the original question and say that I probably read a little less now that my ereader habit has matured compared to what I read in my all-paper days. Back then, reading was my sedentary habit and nothing else. I don't watch television and I don't engage in any kind of handicraft. But now there are sedentary distractions with the world at my fingertips. I try to control it, but time spent online is time spent not reading when I would have been reading back in pre-internet days.

However, I'll note two offsets. The first is that my eyes have aged and while I still can read paper books (with some exceptions), paper only would have affected how much reading I can do; moreover, there was a stretch when I had eye issues when I would have been unable to read at all. The other is a different form of electronic book consumption, audiobooks. While it's not reading per se, audiobooks have transformed downtime when hands and/or eyes are otherwise occupied. My reading totals skyrocketed when I started listening to audiobooks.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

That is the downside to the eInk readers, none of them are particularly good at library management. They all seem to assume that you will only have a handful of books on the device at a time. That's the advantage of having the Calibre/Calibre Companion/reading program set up. Using collections can help.

I think one of the big obstacles with library management is the inconsistent metadata in the books - it's as if publishers are hiring trainees to create epubs and no one is checking their work. This makes it difficult for any reading software to offer useful management features.

As you suggest, it's up to the individual to use Calibre and similar software to sanitise metadata (etc.) to make their e-readers work with large numbers of books.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'll answer the original question and say that I probably read a little less now that my ereader habit has matured compared to what I read in my all-paper days. Back then, reading was my sedentary habit and nothing else... But now there are sedentary distractions with the world at my fingertips. I try to control it, but time spent online is time spent not reading when I would have been reading back in pre-internet days.

There's truth to that. On the other hand, I went to the ballet this weekend and pulled out my Kobo to read during the intermissions. I would have been less likely to haul out a paperback. So I find time to read now where I wouldn't have read before.

[Apache]

I always have had a large physical library. I like to reread and I kept every book that I thought I might reread. And I have to say I have reread the majority of them more than once.
Apache

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Apache

I always have had a large physical library. I like to reread and I kept every book that I thought I might reread. And I have to say I have reread the majority of them more than once.
Apache

Same here. I still have some paperbacks that I bought back in the mid 70's when I was a teenager and buying books with my lunch money. Of course, they were 75 cents back then.

[Apache]

Unfortunately, I remember buying new books for less than that.
Apache