Do you enjoy reading on a PC?

[Karellen]

I know this may sound a bit weird for some people, but with many books I prefer reading them on my desktop computer rather than an ereader?

Why? Usually because I become quite involved with the story, so in addition to having the Calibre reader open on one screen, I also have Wikipedia and Google Maps open on my second screen.

With Wikipedia I can quickly research and understand technical references. eg the book I am currently reading mentions the Fermi Paradox which I had not heard of before, but was quickly able lookup, rather than just glossing over it in the novel.

With Google Maps, I can plot and track the progress of the expedition. I can call up streetview or those 360deg images of the sites that are being described in the novel and actually see them, rather than trying to imagine them.
A good example of this is The DaVinci Code and following Robert Langdon around the sites of Rome or one of the Vince Flynn novels where Mitch Rapp is travelling through the Middle East.

This can also hold true with some close to Earth sci-fi novels - those based on one of the planets in our system or on the moon. Still using Google Maps and zooming around the solar system or viewing sites on a particular planet being described in the story.

It is also more convenient when having to fix spelling and other mistakes in the ebook.

Does anybody else do this?

[ZodWallop]

Not me. For one thing, my PC doesn't work so well in a pool, bath tub (those are why I want a waterproof reader) or my bed.

Also, reading on a PC is even more distracting to me than reading on a phone or tablet.

[Uncle Robin]

Yes. I often read non-fiction on my PC for this reason, especially if they're PDFs. The 34-inch monitor gives plenty of room to get the most out of maps and diagrams. The other type of reading I do on my PC is at the opposite end of the intensity scale. I work nights in a WFH 'call centre' type job with LONG periods of inactivity. So I have my work app resized to 85 of my screen and the Calibre viewer in a column next to it, and read light novels using the autoscroll function. very handy.

[Sirtel]

I don't read books on a computer, but I often look something up there while reading, like you do. I read 99% of the time on my sofa, with my laptop or tablet close by on a desk. So it's easy to use Wikipedia or some other resource while reading.

[Quoth]

I'd read non-fiction and research. But not reading novels, though before 2006 I didn't have any alternative for electronic only fiction. Sometimes between 1986 and 2007 I printed out a book. I never enjoyed it. It only this year got a 23″ 4K screen nearly as good to read on as eink. Laptop 1600x1200 in 2002 was a big improvement over CRT.

[aardbewoner]

Yes i read all on my computer,why simple the big screen The downside of getting old.
And calibre is making it easy to find.

[Maggie May]

I have never been tempted to read a book on my computer. I much prefer to read from my Kindle or a physical book from the comfort of my armchair. Preferably with a nice cuppa and a biscuit or two or three.���� I look forward to spending many enjoyable hours doing just that beside my open fire in the coming months. The little pleasures in life. ����

[svenlind]

It is not often that I read fiction on my PC. But it does happen.
Anyone reading on a PC should take a look on the WordWeb program
It has the distinct feature that it can read the word under the mouse cursor with a hot key combination and then activate the program.
In the picture below I have activated the program by doing a ctrl + rightclick on the word "Cambridge".
You can now select to search for "Cambridge" using any dictionary tab.
The dictionary tabs can be user defined in the pro version.
I am not in any way affiliated with WordWeb.

[Apache]

I do not read on my desktop or laptop. I prefer to be comfortable when I read. The desktop isn't very mobile. The tower weighs 43 lbs. empty. That said I read on my surface pro. I have calibre installed and if I need to look anything up, I can do it on the Surface Pro. I don't normally look things up when reading though. I am so immersed in the books I read that I am unaware of anything else. Ask my wife. She tends to get irritated when I don't respond to her questions.
Apache

[kandwo]

No, I don't enjoy it in the least. I usually skim through any geographical, botanical, character, etc etc, descriptions anyway.

Reading Russian classics I don't care exactly what kind of carriage the characters are traveling in (out of 500 slightly different models) and how many of what kind of horses you'd use for that particular mode of transport. Any description of clothes are translated in my head to just that, clothes - I only care about the colour. Often the rank of a character is deemed important - somebody is a Collegiate Councillor and is conversing with a Collegiate Assessor; and again I don't particularly care and just read on. It's usually clear from the context who's higher on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Ranks.

If I do encounter something I want to delve deeper in I have Wikipedia available on my Android e-ink devices. My main phone is the Hisense A9 and it's always with me, so I can check Wikipedia and Wiktionary whenever I need and want to.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Apache

I do not read on my desktop or laptop. I prefer to be comfortable when I read. The desktop isn't very mobile. The tower weighs 43 lbs. empty.

And don't forget the monitor! It's also one of the reason I don't like reading behind my PC. Though I have a very good office chair at home, I prefer reading laying down. And I never managed to position my 27" monitor so that I comfortably read from it...

I don't mind reading from a LCD or OLED screen though. It's just the convenience a tablet or ereader provides.

[kekinash]

My job involves being around computers all the day, even as I mostly work from home. I always have 3 computers or more open in one moment. So for me nothing beats to get "disconnected" from my PC world and read from a e-ink device or a traditional printer book. When I need to research something in the book my tablet or phone is the best tool.
But yeah, sometimes I read something in my computer, normally is PDFs, manuals, instructions and such.

[issybird]

I don’t enjoy reading on a PC now, but when I got my first one and could access all those public domain books I’d never been able to find in bookstores, oh, I loved it then! Then I got a handheld and then an eink reader and the world of public domain as well as libraries and bookstores was my oyster. I wouldn’t read on one now.

As for looking up stuff while reading, I use Alexa a lot for that. Don’t have to put the reader down or even navigate away from the page. She’s easily good enough for the trivial, dates, locations, names etc. although obviously not for in-depth background.

[DiapDealer]

If my PC screen(s) magically appeared in front of face wherever I happened to want to do some reading, I suppose I wouldn't be opposed to "reading on my PC". Otherwise: "in front of my PC" is where I do work, so it's typically my least favorite place to relax with a book.

I don't edit/format ebooks I'm reading, so that's not a factor.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I'd read non-fiction and research. But not reading novels...

I mainly read novels, but I do read non-fiction from time-to-time. But I've noticed generally I pick up non-fiction because it is some rabbit hole I've already gone down online. So by the time I read the book, I already have enough familiarity to not need to do extra research.

Or maybe I don't read especially challenging non-fiction