Reading Experiment - Narrow Margins

[svenlind]

Well, it is also what happens if you go on a diet in order to loose weight. Any diet plan works in the beginning, even a plan that specifies that you restrain yourself to chocolate and port wine.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I like to read. Analyzing how (or how well/fast) I read?? Not so much. Reading is the goal for me, not finishing. *shrug*

And then, when you're on your deathbed, you suddenly realize you could have read 800 more books in your lifetime if you had just selected a different margin width, font size, or display type... that must be a horrible way to go.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

And then, when you're on your deathbed, you suddenly realize you could have read 800 more books in your lifetime if you had just selected a different margin width, font size, or display type... that must be a horrible way to go.

Would never occur to me. I'd only be upset about not being able to finish the current book I was reading. Just like not having any desire to live forever, I have absolutely no desire to read as many books as possible in the time I'm allotted. I've already said it: I like reading. I'm not in a race with myself, other readers, or authors to win some kind of existential deathbed numbers contest--that can't possibly be "won" to begin with. Not that that's the sort of thing barryem and others were referring to, mind you, but to address your--I apologize for my brusqueness--nonsensical "deathbed scenario": I'll never regret reading less than I possibly could have in order to savor more fully that which I do complete.

For instance: I just put a book down for a couple of days because I was reading it too fast and wasn't ready for the experience to be over quite yet. I'm enjoying it so much, I want to experience it more slowly. How's that for weird?

Fonts, margins and such simply have no permanent effect on my reading habits. I did all that experimenting early on in my ebook career.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Would never occur to me. I'd only be upset about not being able to finish the current book I was reading. Just like not having any desire to live forever, I have absolutely no desire to read as many books as possible in the time I'm allotted.

Not me! I think dying is a waste of time. I have far too many other things to keep me busy. My plan is to live forever and I'm going to if it kills me.

Barry

[Katsunami]

My scenario was obviously meant as a joke

Regardless, I -do- have a desire to live forever (at the mental and physical age of 35 or so); I'd only want the world to be a little less f****** up. But that's another discussion altogether

[sun surfer]

I wouldn't want to live forever. Witnessing the end of humanity besides me, the death of the sun and the collapse of the universe, among other things, doesn't appeal to me. But I would like to get in a few hundred or thousand years if I could do it in good health and happiness, and preferably with others close to me in the same situation. I can only imagine how many books I could get through with time like that!

[pdurrant]

Discussions of the desirability (or not) of physical immortality probably belong in P&R.

They certainly don't belong in this thread!

[acprinter]

I have been reading with wider margins on my Paperwhite since Barryem suggested this and I have found it to be good. My wife has finally adopted wider margins as well and likes it.

Thanks to barryem for the push to try something that at first seemed wasteful of screen space.

[Dazrin]

Thanks for the reminder acprinter, I had forgotten about this, which is probably a good things as far as doing a comparison is concerned.

From January through May this year (prior to starting this test), I averaged 3,234 pages per month. From June through November, I averaged 3,397 pages per month, so a small increase.

I can't say that this is is scientific and my reading this year has been way higher than previous years either way (last year I averaged 2,550 pages/mo and from 2011 through 2016 I averaged 2,300 pages/mo), but at the very least it doesn't show a decrease and maybe a small increase. I don't even notice the wide margins any longer.

[GERGE]

Ideal is around 65 characters in a line, with spaces and all. My Kobo gives around 66 lines too, I just checked, the book I am reading right now is rendered 65 in a line with Glo HD.

Line spacing is also very important. Don't try to fit too many lines in a page, it will be tiring.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by GERGE

Line spacing is also very important. Don't try to fit too many lines in a page, it will be tiring.

I won't be participating in the narrow margins experiment, but I have learned to bump up the font size and line spacing a notch. I accidentally increased both once when I was trying to change fonts and found it a much more pleasant reading experience.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by acprinter

I have been reading with wider margins on my Paperwhite since Barryem suggested this and I have found it to be good. My wife has finally adopted wider margins as well and likes it.

Thanks to barryem for the push to try something that at first seemed wasteful of screen space.

I think it was reading a thread from one of you that gave me the idea. I love how wide margins help me follow the reading material better.

[Purple Lady]

So do most people who like larger margins use a small font size? With small margins on my 8.4 inch tablet I get 55 - 58 characters per line. I wouldn't get much on a line with larger margins. Maybe that's why I find large margins very annoying.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

So do most people who like larger margins use a small font size? With small margins on my phone 8.4 inch tablet I get 55 - 58 characters per line. I wouldn't get much on a line with larger margins. Maybe that's why I find large margins very annoying.

I think the wide margins are to emulate the format of reading on a phone. Long narrow columns. I'd think wide margins on a phone would be overkill.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I think the wide margins are to emulate the format of reading on a phone. Long narrow columns. I'd think wide margins on a phone would be overkill.

I don't know how the word phone got in there. I just deleted the word phone. It already said 8.4 inch tablet.