Read all about it! Device owners read more books, magazines and newspapers

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

3. Since ebooks never flip closed by accident, they are great for the Gym, or for places where I might need to stop fairly frequently for brief periods.

Yep... bigger font and elbow to the turn the pages means that I can read while brushing my teeth, washing the dishes, eating, etc. :-) I read much more now. I have a pbook that I started a few months ago, which I was enjoying immensely, but it's so darn inconvenient that it sits on my bedside table collecting dust.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

Ya know, not discounting anyone who reads ebooks, but I'm wondering if the reasons behind these numbers is less about people owning ereaders, and more about the fact that those who do are already prolific readers. Think about it. If you're someone who reads a lot, what are you going to do? Have your own public library full of print books in your house and constantly have to shovel all the read ones off to the library or book sales or other locations, or even store them? Or will you instead have a single device capable of holding a library full of books in your hand? I'd likely say the latter in all honesty. So there comes an interesting dilemma. If the early adopters are all prolific readers, what will happen to reading rates once everyone else starts to adopt ebooks and ebook readers?

I was a prolific reader before I got my first Kindle. So yes, I fall into that group of early adapters. The interesting questions though if it influenced my reading habits. Did I start to read more or was it about the same.

It kind of developed in stages for me. First, I was enthralled by the technology and the screen's quality. I happened to buy my Kindle II just a few weeks before the Kindle III was released. I asked Amazon if I could exchange my II for III, and they said it was no problem. Nice people, so when I got the III, the first thing I did was spend some $50 on eBooks. Having spent that money I felt compelled to read it all. Now, for $50 I got a whole lot more books in electronic format than I did in the paper version (S&H being the culprit for me, living outside the US), so just that factor increased my reading.

It kind of increased to the degree that I one day realized I hadn't watched any TV for three months. I looked at my cable bill, and came to the conclusion that I could read at least 60 full prized eBooks from Amazon for the same amount of money. Add to that that I could literally purchase a new book while riding the bus. That to me was the turning point, I no longer saw any need for paper books nor for watching TV.

During the summer - not the longest of seasons in Sweden - I play a lot of golf (gotta get it done before the dark returns) so I don't spend as much time reading. One day I discovered that I had my Kindle in the car, so parking at the golf club I brought it along and put it in my bag. When we came to the 8th hole there were three groups in front waiting to tee off. Instead of getting frustrated I took out my Kindle and began reading. It turned completely quiet. "What is that? What are you doing?" My answer: "Avoiding partaking in your bovine conversations". "What does she mean by that? What is bovine? I think it has to do with cows." That was the moment I had another epiphany, the Kindle could actually protect me from inane environments. No more pointless discussions while riding a bus nor a golf cart.

All this for a mere $140, now that is priceless.

[tubemonkey]

I heart old threads

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I heart old threads

Haha, I did not notice that. Even clciked on the link thinking it was "news".

[spindlegirl]

I'm from the other direction too. I read more because I have a device. I like to stay home much of the time, and the convenience of many of the free downloads and news recipes and smashwords keeps my reading list fresh as well as permanent old favorites via project gutenberg and this site.

I'm cheap for the most part and aside from library reads, often will eagerly seek out all the sites that offer inexpensive and/or freebies. Only the very special ones get put in my to buy list.

I tend to be fairly easy to please. Plain vanilla text is fine. Anything I don't like I can convert or add covers with calibre.

[K. Molen]

I rediscovered reading because of my Kindle. Starting when I was a kid and continuing into my late teens I read a lot. I'd read in restaurants, when out for walks, in the car, in bed, at the breakfast table... you get the idea.

As I entered my early twenties I kind of fell out of the habit. Oh, sure, I'd pretty much always have a book going, but generally I'd only read before bed (and often not even then) or when on vacation. On average I probably worked my way through 3-4 novels a year. This went on for a good decade.

Then I bought my Kindle. In the first year I read 35 novels and a handful of short stories. Perhaps not as many as most people here, but a tenfold increase compared to previous years.

I don't know what it is about the Kindle that made me rediscover the joy of reading. Portability is part of it, me being a gadget lover is another part, and internet communities like this one is one more.

Whatever the reason, I'm very happy to be back in the fold. I don't know what I was thinking ever leaving it.

[Tarana]

Well, duh. Those who read a lot are the first users of such technologies.

Sadly, if you get a subscription on the Kindle, it is restricted to that kindle. This means if your kindle breaks, you can't access archived content unless you were clever enough to already remove the DRM (or know the serial number of that device). The Nook does not have this limitation.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

However, I am spending less time reading newspapers and magazines.

And I don't think you are unusual.

It could be that eReader and tablet early adopters read fewer newspapers and magazines than they used to, but still read more than the average person.

[GA Russell]

Steve, I feel that both my local paper and USA Today are not as good as they used to be. I'm sure that's one reason I'm reading them less.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Steve, I feel that both my local paper and USA Today are not as good as they used to be. I'm sure that's one reason I'm reading them less.

Absolutely. And they will get worse or less good depending on how you look at it.

Newsweek just announced they will no longer have a print version. So much for the rescue effort that they just tried.

The local paper near my houseboat went to a smaller tabloid form a few years ago.

In fact, I usually read the news on a computer screen, not a reader, and the thought of paying for the news has long left my screen.