Reading speed - Ebook vs. Pbook?

[drjd]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I don't think it makes any difference to me.

I am coincidentally currently reading an ebook which has about the same number of pages as the pbook I just finished (Mote in God's Eye - paperback, 560 pages vs Promise of Blood - ebook, 561 pages). And yes, I'm making much faster progress in Promise of Blood, but I think it's largely down to the more modern writing style. Mote... comes from a time when 200 pages was a novel, Promise... is only a few years old, and I'd say the norm now is about 350-400 pages. Even if that sometimes means printing big.

I agree. Books written in modern style are easier and faster to read. I remember having read The Nine Unknown (1923) by Talbot Mundy during last month, it took me around double the time to finish due to its ornamental English and writing style used a century ago. Frequent use of dictionary to understand the words was an added task.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by drjd

I agree. Books written in modern style are easier and faster to read.

I sometimes wonder: are the older books more difficult to read because the language is just older, or because they are actually more difficult, using more obscure words and/or more complicated sentence constructions?

The only thing I have difficulties with are references; older works tend to refer a lot to even older classics, or to lo locations, places and events that were common knowledge back then, but aren't now. So I read slower because I have to stop and go look something up.

If it'd be possible to give a new book to someone in 1850, would he also have difficulties?

[drjd]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I sometimes wonder: are the older books more difficult to read because the language is just older, or because they are actually more difficult, using more obscure words and/or more complicated sentence constructions?

The only thing I have difficulties with are references; older works tend to refer a lot to even older classics, or to lo locations, places and events that were common knowledge back then, but aren't now. So I read slower because I have to stop and go look something up.

IMHO, the structure of sentences and the complexity and use of somewhat obsolete words makes the thing more difficult while reading old books. For an example, I quote below a dialogue from the book cited in my post above, The Nine Unknown (1923) by Talbot Mundy :

"And there you are!" remarked Chullunder Ghose, as the two went out, illustrating the "thereness" of the "areness" by catching a fly on the wing with his thumb and forefinger and releasing it through the open window, presumably unharmed. "Matters of mystery still lack elucidation, but 'the wine's on ice!' How Anglo-Saxon! Wonderful! United States now holding greater part of world's supply of gold, and India holding total invisible ditto, same are as plus and minus—so we go to lunch! I dishonestly propose to issue bills of exchange against undiscovered empyrean equity, but shall be voted down undoubtedly—verb. sap. as saying is—brow-beaten, sat upon—yet only wise man of the aggregation. Sell stock, that is my advice! Issue gilt-edge scrip at premium, and pocket consequences! Sell in U. S. A. undoubtedly, residing subsequently in Brazil. But there you are! Combination of Christian priest, Sikh, fanatical Moslem, freethinker, agnostic, Methodist minister's son and cynicalist, is too overwhelming for shrewdness to prevail. Myself, am cynicalist, same being syndicalist with opportunist tendencies. I go to tiffin. Appetite—a good digestion—a siesta. Sahibs—humbly wishing you the same—salaam!"

You will wonder how many times would I have to read and re-read the sentences like above to grasp the in-depth meaning of them. And those books are full of these descriptions everywhere . Apparently, we can't expect to finish these books in a reasonable time.

Originally Posted by Katsunami

If it'd be possible to give a new book to someone in 1850, would he also have difficulties?

Ah.. he would have fainted away reading words like f*** and f****ng on nearly every page of the modern novels!

[DrNefario]

In the case of the two books I mentioned, I think it's simply that more happens in fewer words in the 1974 book compared to the 2013 book.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by drjd

I recently finished a Pbook having around 450 pages, and it took me around 5 days to go. Usually I read a similar size ebook in around 2.5-3 days. Reading a pbook has apparenty taken about double the time. Incidentally, I haven't read a pbook in last 2 years and I think (non-adjustable) printed fonts may be a valid phenomena for the slow reading speed.

I would take a closer look. Your life is different than it was 2 years ago. There may be more interruptions when you read vs. 2 or 3 years ago. While I agree that there may be some differences between the mediums for some people, you are literally taking twice the time to read a book now. I cannot fathom that it is a font change or due to it being on an ereader unless there is some serious vision problem going on.

I read faster at a smaller font than my normal font, but my eyes get blurry much faster, so I try to stick to the font that is currently best for me. It probably adds a couple of minutes per chapter extra to the reading.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

In the case of the two books I mentioned, I think it's simply that more happens in fewer words in the 1974 book compared to the 2013 book.

Ah.. I got it.

Originally Posted by Tarana

I would take a closer look. Your life is different than it was 2 years ago. There may be more interruptions when you read vs. 2 or 3 years ago. While I agree that there may be some differences between the mediums for some people, you are literally taking twice the time to read a book now. I cannot fathom that it is a font change or due to it being on an ereader unless there is some serious vision problem going on.

I read faster at a smaller font than my normal font, but my eyes get blurry much faster, so I try to stick to the font that is currently best for me. It probably adds a couple of minutes per chapter extra to the reading.

Hmm.. you have invoked a brand new process of thoughts. I agree with you, with the growing age, one can not rule out the possibility of slowing down in every action, including reading, and certainly if we consider the gradually decaying eyesight, a couple of minutes extra spent on every chapter will considerably affect the overall speed. Thanks for your views.

[Conan46]

Style makes a big difference in reading text. Stylistically you can plow quickly through an NIV Bible precisely because they had stylists go over it to make it read very smoothly. Compare that version to the NRSV Bible.
Louis L'Amour writes in a very simple style that I can read quickly. The other side of the coin is that more difficult books like the KJV Bible or a work like Moby Dick can be rewarding and memorable even when more difficult to read and understand, sometimes the struggle makes us better readers and rewards us for the effort.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by Conan46

....can be rewarding and memorable even when more difficult to read and understand, sometimes the struggle makes us better readers and rewards us for the effort.

Very true and thoughtful.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by faltradl

Wy does the speed of reading matter? Are you on the run while reading?

That's kind of what I was wondering.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by rcentros

That's kind of what I was wondering.

As I said earlier, life is short, books are too many and I won't like this in news someday - "... and he left behind a wife, two sons and a TBR list of over 5000 books...."

Jokes apart, I was trying to gather the reading experience of various members, to see if the ereaders help us improve our reading speed by any means, as I felt in my personal experience. Besides the above, a whole bunch of new reasons which may affect the reading speed, have been suggested to me by various avid readers, which I am thankful for.

Speed Reading has been a subject of debate for many years. In past, even US president John F. Kennedy was a proponent of speed reading and encouraged his staff to take lessons. President Jimmy Carter, and his wife Rosalynn, were both avid readers and enrolled in a speed-reading course at the White House, along with several staff members.

Common controversies in speed reading are between its intent and nature with traditional concepts like Comprehension vs Speed. The World Championship Speed Reading Competition stresses reading comprehension as critical. Mental readers generally read at approximately 250 words per minute. Auditory readers read at approximately 450 words per minute. Visual readers read at approximately 700 words per minute. Visual reading is a skill that can be developed through continuous training and practice. The top contestants typically read around 1,000 to 2,000 words per minute with approximately 50% comprehension or above.

Even computer programs are available to help instruct speed reading. Some programs present the data as a serial stream, since the brain handles text more efficiently by breaking it into such a stream before parsing and interpreting it.

In this context, my curiosity regarding improvement in reading speed should not be considered extraordinary.

[arjaybe]

A very patient and thorough explanation. Thank you.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by drjd

Ah.. I got it.

Hmm.. you have invoked a brand new process of thoughts. I agree with you, with the growing age, one can not rule out the possibility of slowing down in every action, including reading, and certainly if we consider the gradually decaying eyesight, a couple of minutes extra spent on every chapter will considerably affect the overall speed. Thanks for your views.

Typography can make a massive difference, whether comparing two pbooks, two ebooks or one of each. Overly long lines of text, or overly short ones, severely reduce readability. I've seen many very poorly done pbooks over the years, probably the worst was a trade paperback edition of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Brown text on off-white paper yielded a low contrast page that was hard to read, a case of form over function killing the product. Similarly, there is a local newspaper format literary journal of sorts that chronically uses exceptionally long lines that are impossible to scan easily; when your eye returns to the beginning of the next line it takes some effort and time to find the right line.

Despite my mild dyslexia, in the over 1/2 century that I've been reading novel length pbooks and over 1/4 century that I've been reading ebooks I haven't noticed any speed or difficulty differences that I can attribute to anything other than typography. I properly made ebook on a properly setup device can be as easy for me to read as a well typeset pbook. Both the typography on either and reading efficiency plummets.

[drjd]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

A very patient and thorough explanation. Thank you.

You are welcome.

Originally Posted by dwig

Typography can make a massive difference, whether comparing two pbooks, two ebooks or one of each. Overly long lines of text, or overly short ones, severely reduce readability. I've seen many very poorly done pbooks over the years, probably the worst was a trade paperback edition of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Brown text on off-white paper yielded a low contrast page that was hard to read, a case of form over function killing the product. Similarly, there is a local newspaper format literary journal of sorts that chronically uses exceptionally long lines that are impossible to scan easily; when your eye returns to the beginning of the next line it takes some effort and time to find the right line.

Despite my mild dyslexia, in the over 1/2 century that I've been reading novel length pbooks and over 1/4 century that I've been reading ebooks I haven't noticed any speed or difficulty differences that I can attribute to anything other than typography. I properly made ebook on a properly setup device can be as easy for me to read as a well typeset pbook. Both the typography on either and reading efficiency plummets.

Yes, I agree with you. A proper typography and a reasonable length of sentence make a book easier to read and comprehend. Even I have experienced while reading a little mistake of grammar or spelling error rings a little bell in my mind, and after the end of sentence, I often come back to the beginning and re-read it, to properly grasp the correct meaning. If it is an exceptionally long text, it even takes a longer time to comprehend.

Thanks to ebooks, we always get a properly lit, white background and a constant and reasonable level of contrast on the text lines. It has been a long trending problem with pbooks with varying quality and color of paper and printing ink.

Your views are highly appreciated, thanks.