Reading e-books may jeapordize your health

Colin Dunstan · 10-23-2005, 11:22 AM

Teleread is linking to an amusing yet not-to-far-from-the-truth story how someone contemplates the potential dangers of reading e-books on a Tablet PC. Basically he is worried of having a 6.5 lbs PC fall on his nose while reading a good novel. Ouch!

I prefer to lay down on the sofa and use a light-weight PDA for reading e-books. Of course not everyone agrees here and may either not like the sofa (could hurt your back) or the small PDA screen (could damage your eyes). So I am curious... what is your personal technique for reading e-books without jeapordizing your health?

rlauzon · 10-23-2005, 02:48 PM

I typically read eBooks on my Palm TX while in boring meetings, at my desk, or standing in line somewhere.

With a paper book, the smallest unit of book that I want to read is 1 page + whatever is left of the current paragraph on the next page. With an eBook, the smallest unit is a paragraph. So wherever I can read a paragraph, I usually read an ebook.

cbarnett · 10-23-2005, 09:28 PM

I've got a reclining chair in my lounge room which is my favourite reading place in the house (and my favourite web browsing spot too, now my ad-hoc wifi network is up and running smoothly

). Having said that, I can (and do) read anywhere I have more than a couple of minutes spare time.

pitcher23 · 10-24-2005, 12:12 PM

I have a few e-readers, depending on what format the book I want to read is. I will use my librie to read converted .lit files in the daytime. At night I will read ebooks on my ebookwise or on my cybook. None of which is too dangerous on the noggin if dropped while laying down.

Bob Russell · 10-24-2005, 12:26 PM

I think there's another danger for married people who drop an ebook reader. If you drop the device and it breaks, you'll probably go out and buy a replacement. That could cause you much worse than a knock on the head when your spouse other realizes how much money you spent!

cbarnett · 10-24-2005, 08:33 PM

Urk! Luckily I purchased the extra warranty with Dell that covers stuff like drops, scratches, etc. Makes me feel a whole lot better (as well as my better half!). Still, I think I'd rather drop my X50v on my head than the floor!

My old h1930 is well out of warranty now so if/when something happens to it, it becomes a paper weight.

10-23-2005, 11:22 AM	#1
Colin Dunstan Is papyrophobic! Posts: 1,926 Karma: 1009999 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Device: Dell Axim	Reading e-books may jeapordize your health Teleread is linking to an amusing yet not-to-far-from-the-truth story how someone contemplates the potential dangers of reading e-books on a Tablet PC. Basically he is worried of having a 6.5 lbs PC fall on his nose while reading a good novel. Ouch! I prefer to lay down on the sofa and use a light-weight PDA for reading e-books. Of course not everyone agrees here and may either not like the sofa (could hurt your back) or the small PDA screen (could damage your eyes). So I am curious... what is your personal technique for reading e-books without jeapordizing your health?

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10-23-2005, 02:48 PM	#2
rlauzon Wizard Posts: 1,018 Karma: 67827 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: PocketBook Era	I typically read eBooks on my Palm TX while in boring meetings, at my desk, or standing in line somewhere. With a paper book, the smallest unit of book that I want to read is 1 page + whatever is left of the current paragraph on the next page. With an eBook, the smallest unit is a paragraph. So wherever I can read a paragraph, I usually read an ebook.

10-23-2005, 09:28 PM	#3
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	I've got a reclining chair in my lounge room which is my favourite reading place in the house (and my favourite web browsing spot too, now my ad-hoc wifi network is up and running smoothly ). Having said that, I can (and do) read anywhere I have more than a couple of minutes spare time.

10-24-2005, 12:12 PM	#4
pitcher23 Zealot Posts: 138 Karma: 12 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New York USA	I have a few e-readers, depending on what format the book I want to read is. I will use my librie to read converted .lit files in the daytime. At night I will read ebooks on my ebookwise or on my cybook. None of which is too dangerous on the noggin if dropped while laying down.

10-24-2005, 12:26 PM	#5
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	I think there's another danger for married people who drop an ebook reader. If you drop the device and it breaks, you'll probably go out and buy a replacement. That could cause you much worse than a knock on the head when your spouse other realizes how much money you spent!

10-24-2005, 08:33 PM	#6
cbarnett MR prodigal son Posts: 1,085 Karma: 1083739 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura H2O	Urk! Luckily I purchased the extra warranty with Dell that covers stuff like drops, scratches, etc. Makes me feel a whole lot better (as well as my better half!). Still, I think I'd rather drop my X50v on my head than the floor! My old h1930 is well out of warranty now so if/when something happens to it, it becomes a paper weight.

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