Enjoying reading again with the PW4

[sydmalicious]

I spent a long time away from the forum because I just simply wasn't reading. Sure, I read 22 books last year, but for me, that simply isn't enough.

I've been reading ebooks for almost 7 years now, starting with the Nook Color. After I bought an iPad, I read exclusively on that, with some print books in between.

I read profusely on my Nook Color, even though you could have apps on it they were really limited so I wasn't tempted to open another app like Twitter and get lost. But that changed with the iPad and I never really got back to reading as much.

It didn't help that I changed careers into software development, and most of my time is spent reading blog posts. Blog posts are my main source of information; but this doesn't, and has never, set well with me.

I had been thinking about picking up a Kindle for about a year now. I just recently purchased MapleRead because Marvin is not being maintained. But I picked up the Kindle anyway because I thought the e-ink, the single purpose device, etc would jumpstart my reading again.

I devoured books as a kid, as I am sure most in the forum had. I pride myself in being a reader and losing that really bothered me.

The Kindle PW4 was probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite purchase this year, and I purchased all the latest and greatest from Apple. I look forward to reading again, and have already read 3 books.

The Kindle has "rekindled" my love of books.

[patrickt]

I have to read. A waitress spoke to me in Spanish once in Salt Lake City and I said I didn't speak Spanish. "But, you're reading a Spanish newspaper." "Trying to. The snowstorm caught me short and I didn't bring anything to read."

I'm old, unemployed, and thanks the Amazon and Kindle I can enjoy Mexico and read the books I want in English. If the government banned ebooks, and they do love banning things, I'd still read but I'd have to buy bigger magnifying glasses.

[BookCat]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I have to read. A waitress spoke to me in Spanish once in Salt Lake City and I said I didn't speak Spanish. "But, you're reading a Spanish newspaper." "Trying to. The snowstorm caught me short and I didn't bring anything to read."

I'm old, unemployed, and thanks the Amazon and Kindle I can enjoy Mexico and read the books I want in English. If the government banned ebooks, and they do love banning things, I'd still read but I'd have to buy bigger magnifying glasses.

If one has to have an obsession, this is the one to have.

[Deskisamess]

I love my iDevices. I adore my Kindle Oasis. Once I bought my first Kindle in 2009, I never looked back. Over the years I had been reading less and less as I got older, because I just can't see the print in paperbacks. So I'd buy some hardbacks, but they had their own set of issues. That 2nd gen Kindle was amazing to me. I think I read 5-6 books that first month.

I felt like I had been given a huge gift. I could read as a hobby again! It was so wonderful...

To make this even better, my husband, who had never really been a reader, became interested. So when that little basic Kindle came out, I got him one. He reads every day now. He still works full time, so his reading is more limited than mine. But it's been great to see him develop a love of reading in his 50s. (60s now)

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by sydmalicious

The Kindle PW4 was probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite purchase this year, and I purchased all the latest and greatest from Apple. I look forward to reading again, and have already read 3 books.

The Kindle has "rekindled" my love of books.

That is awesome! I love my PW4 as well, and find that a single purpose reading device is well worth the investment. I have been reading more since I got mine, spending less time on Twitter.

[93terp]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I have to read. A waitress spoke to me in Spanish once in Salt Lake City and I said I didn't speak Spanish. "But, you're reading a Spanish newspaper." "Trying to. The snowstorm caught me short and I didn't bring anything to read."

I'm old, unemployed, and thanks the Amazon and Kindle I can enjoy Mexico and read the books I want in English. If the government banned ebooks, and they do love banning things, I'd still read but I'd have to buy bigger magnifying glasses.

I would read the side of a cereal box if it was all I had to read. Not having a book with me at all times is like, metaphorically, being naked IMHO!

[Nausicaa]

Do you rank the amount of books rather than the quality? I never read fiction and never read books that I believe are "noisy" AKA useless. I can tell you how many words per minute I wrote or how many hundreds of pages I have read, and on paper you may want to have higher amounts of both. Yet someone who wrote 500 words per minute was writing single or double letters, while the one writing at 40 words per minute was writing more complex 10 letter words, and the pages were those of facebook posts, not pages of an instructional manual.

Do you care for quality? It not easy to measure, but I am not ashamed that my numbers are low, the information I retained is high.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Nausicaa

Do you rank the amount of books rather than the quality? I never read fiction and never read books that I believe are "noisy" AKA useless. I can tell you how many words per minute I wrote or how many hundreds of pages I have read, and on paper you may want to have higher amounts of both. Yet someone who wrote 500 words per minute was writing single or double letters, while the one writing at 40 words per minute was writing more complex 10 letter words, and the pages were those of facebook posts, not pages of an instructional manual.

Do you care for quality? It not easy to measure, but I am not ashamed that my numbers are low, the information I retained is high.

A. I have no idea. I don't keep track of the numbers that seem so important to you.
B. I recommended a book to a friend and he stuck his nose up and said, "I don't have time for fiction. I only read non-fiction; the Bible." His reading is his business.
C. I taught my children that there is often more truth in fiction than in non-fiction.
D. When I was working my reading was 95% work related and was non-fiction. When I quit working it flipped and 95% of my reading is fiction.
E. I enjoy reading books written by people from other cultures and set their culture. Some are foreign and some are cultures in the U.S. that are foreign to me.
F. So, I can't answer your question about whether or not my reading is worthy.

[93terp]

Originally Posted by patrickt

B. I recommended a book to a friend and he stuck his nose up and said, "I don't have time for fiction. I only read non-fiction; the Bible." His reading is his business.

That’s the undoubtedly the best thing I’ve read all day!!

Originally Posted by Nausicaa

Do you rank the amount of books rather than the quality? I never read fiction and never read books that I believe are "noisy" AKA useless.

Do you care for quality? It not easy to measure

"Quality" and "useless" are both very subjective and very personal. I've read non-fiction that left me wishing I hadn't wasted my time on it, and been enlightened and entertained by fiction. My recreational reading is just that - for recreation, so if it entertains or amuses me, it's not useless. Whether it is fiction or non-fiction is irrelevant, although as it happens, most of my recent favourites have been non-fiction. I certainly don't believe that a fixation on "quality" of reading makes any more sense than a fixation on quantity.

[Sirtel]

I couldn't care less what someone else thinks of the quality of my reading material. I read for pleasure and the only important criterium is whether I like it or not. The "it" may be fiction or non-fiction, meant for entertainment or information; such categorization doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters is that it should be enjoyable. For me personally, of course.

[Plumadona]

I agree. I read for enjoyment and I read for knowledge. The best reading for me is when I find both in the same book, be it fiction or non-fiction, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love Harry Potter. I also love my Oasis, and all the e-readers that came before it. My old tired eyes just can’t handle the smaller fonts on printed books, especially long ones. Couldn’t do without an e-reader now.

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by Nausicaa

Do you rank the amount of books rather than the quality? I never read fiction and never read books that I believe are "noisy" AKA useless. I can tell you how many words per minute I wrote or how many hundreds of pages I have read, and on paper you may want to have higher amounts of both. Yet someone who wrote 500 words per minute was writing single or double letters, while the one writing at 40 words per minute was writing more complex 10 letter words, and the pages were those of facebook posts, not pages of an instructional manual.

Do you care for quality? It not easy to measure, but I am not ashamed that my numbers are low, the information I retained is high.

I read across a number of genres. I don't want or need to retain much of what I read in light fiction...it's done for pleasure, as a hobby. What you call useless may very well be enjoyable to me. I don't track how many hundreds of pages I've read, but I can estimate loosely how many fiction books I read in a years time, if for some reason I need the info.

Quality is in the eye of the reader. I don't happen to care for bodice rippers or erotica. For me, they would fall in the useless category. For me, because I don't read them, I wouldn't "use" them. But many people do, given the sales numbers of such books. (I don't like the word useless at all, only used it because it was used here)

I've no reason to count pages, or keep strict track of how much I read. Who cares? What's the point, beyond casual conversation? I can easily read a piece of light fiction with 260 pages in a couple of hours. Because I enjoy it. I also enjoyed putting 15-20 hours into No Ordinary Time. I've enjoyed the heavy info in the trilogy about China by Frank Dikötter, even though it made me cry many times, and I had to put them aside for a break from the horrors.

Comparing my reading to others in a quest for comparing "quality" seems like a waste of time and brain space.

I love to read. Bringing subjective yardsticks into it isn't necessary.

[sydmalicious]

Originally Posted by booklover6

That is awesome! I love my PW4 as well, and find that a single purpose reading device is well worth the investment. I have been reading more since I got mine, spending less time on Twitter.

Ahhhh. I use Twitter mainly for networking and finding industry links/conversations. I also enjoy it so I keep using it. I do, however, limit my usage. The noise can get to me sometimes.

[sydmalicious]

Originally Posted by patrickt

A. I have no idea. I don't keep track of the numbers that seem so important to you.
B. I recommended a book to a friend and he stuck his nose up and said, "I don't have time for fiction. I only read non-fiction; the Bible." His reading is his business.
C. I taught my children that there is often more truth in fiction than in non-fiction.
D. When I was working my reading was 95% work related and was non-fiction. When I quit working it flipped and 95% of my reading is fiction.
E. I enjoy reading books written by people from other cultures and set their culture. Some are foreign and some are cultures in the U.S. that are foreign to me.
F. So, I can't answer your question about whether or not my reading is worthy.

Brilliant answer.

I read mostly non-fiction and some fiction. I tend to not care how many books people read or what they read. I let people enjoy things.

I used to be a big time book snob but that changed a couple years ago. I just love books.