Do E-Books Make It Harder to Remember What You Just Read?

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

"First, more repetition was required with computer reading to impart the same information."

I'm open to the idea that e-ink reading somehow has a different effect on memory, but this article shoves false-equivalence all over the place. Computer does not equal eink. Eink visually has more in common with paper than LCD.

I agree, reading off a computer screen is not the same thing as reading from an e-ink device. I was skeptical of e-readers at first because I didn't like reading books from a computer screen. But once I tried an e-ink device, I changed my mind, because it was so unlike reading from a computer screen.

[gmw]

I can't say I've noticed any difference in my retention from ebooks vs pbooks - at least, not since the first novelty wore off (during which I spent more time fiddling with the ereader than I did concentrating on my reading).

Regarding some of the earlier discussion: Finding things ebooks is easier when you need do an explicit text search, but I agree with CatLady: in some instances it is easier to search through a pbook. For example I may remember that something was near the front, "near" being one of those subjective terms and will flex according to what you find when you flick back; you glance a paragraph and know it was after that, so you flick forward a few more pages, and so on. That sort of quick scanning through a book isn't feasible with ebooks (or not as they exist now). There is no sense/memory of what "near the front" means with an ebook. In another few generations it is may be that people will forget pbooks and the physical associations that accompany them, but that doesn't deny those associations exist and have some advantages (just as recognising those advantages doesn't mean I don't also recognise the different advantages of ebooks).

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by gmw

I can't say I've noticed any difference in my retention from ebooks vs pbooks

Same here as far as content is concerned. What I've noticed however, is that with ebooks, I tend not to remember the name of the book I'm reading I guess it's because unlike pbooks, I don't see the title on the cover every time I pick it up.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by gmw

Regarding some of the earlier discussion: Finding things ebooks is easier when you need do an explicit text search, but I agree with CatLady: in some instances it is easier to search through a pbook. For example I may remember that something was near the front, "near" being one of those subjective terms and will flex according to what you find when you flick back; you glance a paragraph and know it was after that, so you flick forward a few more pages, and so on. That sort of quick scanning through a book isn't feasible with ebooks (or not as they exist now).

The latest Kindle has a pretty neat "flip through the book" feature which works well. Not as convenient as a pbook still, but an awful lot better than what's been available previously.

[BearMountainBooks]

The only problem I have is going back to a place I forget to bookmark. I was recently reading a Netgalley version of something and contacted the publisher about a timeline problem. I forgot to bookmark the dang thing. I had no trouble remembering it, but finding it was a bit of a hassle. Sometimes I'll think of something "off" during the night in a book. Then I want to go double check. In paperback, I can flip pages and find things pretty quickly. It is definitely slower with ebook unless I remember to mark it.

[Nev]

I love my e-readers (Paperwhite and Sony T3), but I find it harder to remeber what I am reading or have read. I figure when you pick up a "real" book to continue reading, you see the cover and title, but both these clue are missing in a reader.
I miss the page numbers on most books on the paperwhite, too. If Sony front lit their PRS T3 reader, it would be perfect!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Nev

If Sony front lit their PRS T3 reader, it would be perfect!

If Sony would have removed the buttons from the reader to make it smaller and add a front-light starting with the T2, I probably wouldn't have had a Kindle. In the Netherlands, the Sony's are much easier to acquire, and because of the Kindle's import and shipping costs, it's not more expensive (a bit cheaper, often).

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Catlady

It is not as easy to flip back screens as it is to flip back pages. It is not as easy to find something that your mind remembers was near the bottom of the page when there's no page.

The search function only works if you remember the specific wording rather than the idea.

I am bemused by the way any criticism of e-reading, however slight, seems always to be met here with disbelief and disdain.

I also find that strange. Personal anecdotes always seems to win over research in these cases.

I find nothing strange with these findings since I remembered things by remembering if it was on a left page or right page and were on the page the text was.

[saoir]

Originally Posted by Nev

I love my e-readers (Paperwhite and Sony T3), but I find it harder to remeber what I am reading or have read. I figure when you pick up a "real" book to continue reading, you see the cover and title, but both these clue are missing in a reader.
I miss the page numbers on most books on the paperwhite, too. If Sony front lit their PRS T3 reader, it would be perfect!

I have a crap memory anyway. But using Folders and Calibre solves everything.

Firstly:
On my Paper White I keep two Folders called "MyName Read" and "Myname Unread". I move new titles into Unread immediately, and I move titles across as I read them. (The software is clunky and you have to add the title to Read and go back and remove it from Unread ...)

Secondly:
I periodically remove eBooks from my device with Calibre and I add a Custom MetaData field (VERY easy to do) where I enter "Read 2013" for each book I read. I added a column showing the MetaData and I can see at a glance which titles have been read and in which year.