Time to Read....accurately? - Page 2

xendula · 10-12-2012, 01:48 AM

Ah, well, awesome like "great", not like "breathtakingly awe inspiring"

David58117 · 10-12-2012, 01:59 AM

One of the most useful features of my old Nook ST w/ Glow was the "Pages in chapter remaining" feature.

Almost the sole reason I wanted to keep the Nook over the competition.

Helgetus · 10-12-2012, 03:48 AM

If I had to come up with an algorithm for that feature I would not base it on pages in an eReader but on positions (small section defined by Amazon, probably 128 letters). This way it is independend of the book you are reading and the fonts size and page settings.
To begin with I would set a starting value based on an everage reading speed. Then The value alters based on the actual persons reading speed.
I have no idea how you can neclect flipping pages (maybe by putting a minimum time for reading one section, i.e. position) or longer periods for example when putting down the device to poor yourself a cup of coffee (maybe by defining a upper limit for reading a position).
I do not have a PW yet (coming in nevember in Germany) but I like this feature already. And like in a real book I check the following pages to judge how long it takes to finish the book or chapter. How accurate is this estimate? Can not be accurate!

kevinpars · 10-12-2012, 07:31 AM

Certainly I think the new feature is accurate as a reflection of how long it will take to read the chapter you are currently reading. This is helpful if you are looking to find a stopping point in the next few minutes.

I think that the overall time for reading a book is good to give you an idea of the size of the book. For example I have two books of about the same length but the reading time for one is a good bit less than the other. And it makes sense since one is a fast read piece of fiction that is action driven and not a book that gives you pause to consider the brilliance of the language. The other book is denser with a larger vocabulary and more complicated sentence and paragraph structure.

One thing that is not clear to me is how this calculation handles the bibliography and index sections of non fiction books. Does it calculate that as part of the reading time? You might have a nonfiction book where the end notes and information is about 20% of the length - and clearly most people don't read all of this information.

As for page numbers, I just don't think that (for me) page numbers are applicable to e-books. I think that page numbers are old technology and just don't translate to the new world of electronic reading. I am not sure how great a job page numbers did in the old world either. I know that I track each book I read and often use Amazon or GoodReads to get the number of pages. It is amazing how much this varies by edition. I personally think that 'percentage read' and location numbers gives a much more accurate representation. My "Page Numbers" would be different from 'yours' because I am using a different font and a different font size. My 'page' also varies due to my margins and spacing between lines. With the exception of a new book where there is only 1 edition, I don't see having a page number comparison being useful in e-books.

pdurrant · 10-12-2012, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

"Awe" is a feeling of reverential wonder or dread. Is this really the feeling that knowing how long it's going to take you to finish the chapter of a book inspires in you?

Yes, misusing words is really awful.

Unless, of course, those words have changed their meaning. Awesome no longer means inspiring awe, anymore than awful means inspiring awe. We have a new word for that meaning: "awe-inspiring".

I refer you to the wonderful (in the sense of "good and well written" rather than "provoking wonder") radio show John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, which covered this topic just this week.

Now that's an awesome coincidence.

xendula · 10-12-2012, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinpars

Certainly I think the new feature is accurate as a reflection of how long it will take to read the chapter you are currently reading. This is helpful if you are looking to find a stopping point in the next few minutes.

I think that the overall time for reading a book is good to give you an idea of the size of the book. For example I have two books of about the same length but the reading time for one is a good bit less than the other. And it makes sense since one is a fast read piece of fiction that is action driven and not a book that gives you pause to consider the brilliance of the language. The other book is denser with a larger vocabulary and more complicated sentence and paragraph structure.

One thing that is not clear to me is how this calculation handles the bibliography and index sections of non fiction books. Does it calculate that as part of the reading time? You might have a nonfiction book where the end notes and information is about 20% of the length - and clearly most people don't read all of this information.

As for page numbers, I just don't think that (for me) page numbers are applicable to e-books. I think that page numbers are old technology and just don't translate to the new world of electronic reading. I am not sure how great a job page numbers did in the old world either. I know that I track each book I read and often use Amazon or GoodReads to get the number of pages. It is amazing how much this varies by edition. I personally think that 'percentage read' and location numbers gives a much more accurate representation. My "Page Numbers" would be different from 'yours' because I am using a different font and a different font size. My 'page' also varies due to my margins and spacing between lines. With the exception of a new book where there is only 1 edition, I don't see having a page number comparison being useful in e-books.

I feel the same way about page numbers: I don't miss them. I thought I would, when I started reading ebooks, but then realized I really didn't. However, I always check the page numbers when I purchase a book, as I assume they are based on the paper version, in order to see how thick the book actually is.

Prestidigitweeze · 10-12-2012, 10:38 PM

In fact, awesome means the opposite of awe-inspiring when it's used ironically: "

My new state-of-the-art e-reader has blotchy screen lighting, the battery life of a book of matches and crashes so often that using it feels like a conversation with GLaDOS. Awesome."

10-12-2012, 10:38 PM	#22
Prestidigitweeze Fledgling Demagogue Posts: 2,384 Karma: 31132263 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: White Plains Device: Clara HD; Oasis 2; Aura HD; iPad Air; PRS-350; Galaxy S7.	In fact, awesome means the opposite of awe-inspiring when it's used ironically: " My new state-of-the-art e-reader has blotchy screen lighting, the battery life of a book of matches and crashes so often that using it feels like a conversation with GLaDOS. Awesome." Last edited by Prestidigitweeze; 10-13-2012 at 04:39 PM.

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10-12-2012, 01:48 AM	#16
xendula eBookworm Posts: 2,300 Karma: 4525746 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: East Coast brrrrr Device: Kindle 4B/K ~ Nexus 7 ~ Kindle Paperwhite 1&2 ~ iPad Air	Ah, well, awesome like "great", not like "breathtakingly awe inspiring"

10-12-2012, 01:59 AM	#17
David58117 Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 1020558 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Sony T1, K4NT (To Wife), Nook ST, NSTG	One of the most useful features of my old Nook ST w/ Glow was the "Pages in chapter remaining" feature. Almost the sole reason I wanted to keep the Nook over the competition.

10-12-2012, 03:48 AM	#18
Helgetus Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 172 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Germany Device: PW1, PW2, KB3G, Sony PRS-T3	If I had to come up with an algorithm for that feature I would not base it on pages in an eReader but on positions (small section defined by Amazon, probably 128 letters). This way it is independend of the book you are reading and the fonts size and page settings. To begin with I would set a starting value based on an everage reading speed. Then The value alters based on the actual persons reading speed. I have no idea how you can neclect flipping pages (maybe by putting a minimum time for reading one section, i.e. position) or longer periods for example when putting down the device to poor yourself a cup of coffee (maybe by defining a upper limit for reading a position). I do not have a PW yet (coming in nevember in Germany) but I like this feature already. And like in a real book I check the following pages to judge how long it takes to finish the book or chapter. How accurate is this estimate? Can not be accurate!

10-12-2012, 07:31 AM	#19
kevinpars Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 509166 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Kindle	Certainly I think the new feature is accurate as a reflection of how long it will take to read the chapter you are currently reading. This is helpful if you are looking to find a stopping point in the next few minutes. I think that the overall time for reading a book is good to give you an idea of the size of the book. For example I have two books of about the same length but the reading time for one is a good bit less than the other. And it makes sense since one is a fast read piece of fiction that is action driven and not a book that gives you pause to consider the brilliance of the language. The other book is denser with a larger vocabulary and more complicated sentence and paragraph structure. One thing that is not clear to me is how this calculation handles the bibliography and index sections of non fiction books. Does it calculate that as part of the reading time? You might have a nonfiction book where the end notes and information is about 20% of the length - and clearly most people don't read all of this information. As for page numbers, I just don't think that (for me) page numbers are applicable to e-books. I think that page numbers are old technology and just don't translate to the new world of electronic reading. I am not sure how great a job page numbers did in the old world either. I know that I track each book I read and often use Amazon or GoodReads to get the number of pages. It is amazing how much this varies by edition. I personally think that 'percentage read' and location numbers gives a much more accurate representation. My "Page Numbers" would be different from 'yours' because I am using a different font and a different font size. My 'page' also varies due to my margins and spacing between lines. With the exception of a new book where there is only 1 edition, I don't see having a page number comparison being useful in e-books.