Can you read complete books on an LCD screens?

[Apache]

I can and will read on anything.
Apache

[cromag]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Requests a third option -

Yes, I can, but would not if I had another option.

I voted "No" but it's really a case of "Only if there are absolutely no other alternatives."

I can, but I'm not comfortable with it.

[cfrizz]

I voted yes. I'm farsighted, have worn glasses since I was 2 years old. I like lots of light. My weekend is spent at my pc reading books, when I finish one I go on to the next.

My Kobo is in the bedroom for when I can't sleep at night. It is the ONLY time I read in the dark. I firmly believe doing so is not good for the eyes, we are not meant to be able to see in the dark.

I don't really care what I read on so long as I'm reading on something. With the exception of paper books, I no longer read those.

I get my eyes checked once a year, and was told by the doctor that I have dry eyes (due to age) and that I need to put in eye drops at least twice a day. So if you are older, start lubricating your eyes it helps put things back to normal. She reccommended Systane Balance, I promptly ordered two bottles.

[Pajamaman]

It's interesting. It appears that some people can read books on LCD, and others can't. There is clearly an intrinsic difference in the two sets of readers; it is not simply a "choice." But no one knows seems to know what that difference is.

[DiapDealer]

All the novels I read are read on LCD. I no longer have an eink device that will hold a charge.

[MarjaE]

No.

Severe nearsightedness, astigmatism, photosensitivity, possibly post-concussion syndrome.

[ottischwenk]

It could be that I could read a whole book on LCD - I don't know because I've never tried.
I went from reading paper books directly to EInk.
Since then I don't like LCD - now I have already dumped my laptop and use Boox Note Air with BT keyboard instead.
I also plan to replace my workstation monitor with a Dasung 253 when it becomes available.

[gmw]

I voted no mostly as a practical/realistic answer rather than an absolute one. My phone is too small to read on comfortably (in comparison to my e-ink reader), my desktop computer screens are not comfortable for relaxing at while reading narrative text (I have recently read an entire non-fiction book on them, but only one chapter in a sitting). My laptop is far too heavy and awkward to sit back and read a novel on. I do have a tablet-like-device but it's screen quality is not the best and it's still heavier, shorter of battery life and awkward to use one-handed.

I suspect a comfortable LCD solution is possible - if it was designed like an e-ink reader at a size and with a user interface appropriate to the purpose - but then it would likely compare unfavourably to existing e-ink solutions because of its shorter battery life.

I tend to think of it a bit like comparing a paperback novel to a large format paper magazine. Yes it is possible to read a novel published in magazine format, but it's far less comfortable and convenient than the smaller paperback form. But there are still plenty of things that work better in the large glossy format of a magazine - so I'll have both my e-ink and my LCD devices, thank you very much.

[4691mls]

A couple of years ago, I happened to have an eye checkup not long after I'd attempted using a phone as an ereader for more than brief periods. I described the symptoms I'd had to the eye doctor. His recommendation: stick to e-ink

[JSWolf]

Please don't vote no because you prefer to read on eInk. Only vote no if you cannot actually finish a novel on a device with an LCD screen.

If you did vote no because of your preference for eInk when you can read a novel on a device with an LCD screen, please ask for your vote to be changed because that will skew the results.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by John F

The trick was for you to turn down the brightness to what worked for you.

The problem s that many people have the brightness up too high and then when they try to do something like reading, it bother them. They don't think to turn down the brightness.

[John F]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem s that many people have the brightness up too high and then when they try to do something like reading, it bother them. They don't think to turn down the brightness.

Why don't those same people have the same problem when they switch to lit eink?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by John F

Why don't those same people have the same problem when they switch to lit eink?

For the same reasons people don't typically taste oranges when they're eating an apple?

Eink technology doesn't require non-ambient lighting for text to be seen on the screen. Text cannot be seen on LCD without some level of backlighting applied. As to why people tend to blast their eyes with "everything she's got cap'n" while using an LCD device... I don't know, you'll have to ask them. Mine is barely above 25% in the brightest of settings. It's as low as it goes (with the built-in blue-shade on) in the darkest.

Never knew I wasn't supposed to be able to comfortably read for long periods of time that way. Never listened to my parents when they told me watching TV in the dark was going to ruin my eyes either.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Please don't vote no because you prefer to read on eInk. Only vote no if you cannot actually finish a novel on a device with an LCD screen.

If you did vote no because of your preference for eInk when you can read a novel on a device with an LCD screen, please ask for your vote to be changed because that will skew the results.

And your rules apply because ...?

The question referred to "without significant discomfort", it did not ask about physical possibilities. Should my e-ink device fail, I would choose to read a paper novel off my book shelf rather than move to one of my LCD devices. That's how significant I find the difference in comfort. So I'll stand by my "no" vote.

[John F]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

For the same reasons people don't typically taste oranges when they're eating an apple?

Eink technology doesn't require non-ambient lighting for text to be seen on the screen. Text cannot be seen on LCD without some level of backlighting applied. As to why people tend to blast their eyes with "everything she's got cap'n" while using an LCD device... I don't know, you'll have to ask them. Mine is barely above 25% in the brightest of settings. It's as low as it goes (with the built-in blue-shade on) in the darkest.

Never knew I wasn't supposed to be able to comfortably read for long periods of time that way. Never listened to my parents when they told me watching TV in the dark was going to ruin my eyes either.

I hate to project, but I will.

I would guess that many (probably the majority) of eink users who read in the evening or night, have the front light on.

So why is it necessary to tell LCD readers to turn down the backlight, but not necessary to tell eink readers to down the light.