e-book readers-Page 2: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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June 24, 2010 5:52 p.m. carguy123 SuperDork

donalson wrote:

but really how much of it is reading on a computer?... i think the most we read is typically on a forum and thats not to intense of reading... most of it is looking and glancing at pictures, icons and other things catching a word here and there... especially when the font gets smaller it's much more difficult to read on an LCD... there is also the battery life aspect...

but I'm sure some peoples eyes are less sensitive then others... and who knows I might be able to tollerate reading on an Ipad due to it's form factor... but reading with a laptop isn't high on my like to do list

It's a lot of reading on the 'puter. Almost everything you do in the 'puter is reading, well except for the p0rn and Youtube stuff.

Font size is a plus, at least on the iPad. You can make the font whatever size and change the font to anything you desire. You can change the whole look of the "book".

I hadn't really thought about it, but don't the other readers allow you to change aspect ratio, single page to double page and change the fonts and the sizes like the iPad does?

I'm glad you mentioned the form factor because none of the readers are as convenient to hold or look at as a book. To me that's the big downside to readers vs. book and the fact I can't pick up used Kindle books at a garage sale.
June 24, 2010 5:59 p.m. wearymicrobe Reader

I cannot get the Kindle away from my wife, she lives with the thing. Takes constant abuse and still keeps on ticking.

She buys a ton of more modern books so we actually recovered the purchase price pretty quick. Plus I can keep a lot of the classics that I read on the thing for vacations and the like. Been going thought the Aeneid slowly for a while now on the thing.
June 24, 2010 7:26 p.m. Keith SuperDork

carguy123 wrote: I hadn't really thought about it, but don't the other readers allow you to change aspect ratio, single page to double page and change the fonts and the sizes like the iPad does?

I'm glad you mentioned the form factor because none of the readers are as convenient to hold or look at as a book. To me that's the big downside to readers vs. book and the fact I can't pick up used Kindle books at a garage sale.

The Sony readers - and I'm assuming all the others - do give you control over the font size. They don't let you do double columns, but I can't see that being useful with the screen size of a reader or even an iPad.

I disagree that they're not as convenient to hold as a book. They're easier in my opinion. For one, I can hold a 1000 page Tom Clancy novel easily in one hand in electronic form :) They also don't try to fold themselves up.

The lack of garage sale equivalent ebooks is a bit of a hassle, but I never spent a lot of time reading garage sale fodder. Instead, I check out ebooks from the public library and read a lot of free releases - on top of the ones I've purchased. The amount of money I spend on reading hasn't really changed. The difference is that my library is already with me, so if I get bored with whatever I'm reading right now, Crytonomicon is just a couple of screen taps away :D
June 24, 2010 8:38 p.m. carguy123 SuperDork

I get my new releases from the library as well and pick up a ton of .50 books at garage sales as well.

The one thing I disliked about readers vs. books other than the books are still easier to hold is the fact that it's not as easy to dog ear and page and go back to find the spot again or to thumb thru the book. I find spots that I go back to a lot, like maps in adventure books or certain passages to help me unravel the mystery. There might be a way to do this on the readers as well, but no one has shown me how and of course I haven't read the instructions.

Pictures I'd think would be better in the reader and you don't have to worry about losing your place as easily on the reader.
June 24, 2010 9:01 p.m. alfadriver Dork

Fox- hope you get it soon- I just got a nice gift card from Amazon, and they do sell a lot more than Kindle.
June 24, 2010 10:05 p.m. Keith SuperDork

Carguy, you can bookmark pages in a "book" on a reader. Depending on which one you have, you can even scribble notes in the margins!
June 24, 2010 10:12 p.m. carguy123 SuperDork

Keith wrote:

Carguy, you can bookmark pages in a "book" on a reader. Depending on which one you have, you can even scribble notes in the margins!

So you're telling me I NEED to read the directions. Won't that revoke my man card?
June 25, 2010 8:50 a.m. M030 HalfDork

I will never embrace this technology. Ever. I want my hard copies. For me, holding the book (or magazine) and flipping the pages is as much a part of the experience as reading the words and getting engrossed in the text.
June 25, 2010 9:43 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

I don't see myself ever giving up on holding books either.

But I do like the new doors this ereader opens. There's a whole lot of stuff out there that I'd never get to see without one. Self published books, obscure and forgotten books, copies of old scrolls, etc. And that's just the free stuff!

I've already found about a dozen Star Wars stories that don't exist on paper that my son is dying to read. A few Heinlein Titles I've never heard of. Some old Jack London stuff I'd forgotten about. Cool! Free. All free.
June 25, 2010 9:48 a.m. Keith SuperDork

NASA also released a very cool ebook on the X15 rocket plane. It's a bit dry (not many people find the procurement process terribly fascinating) but holy cow. I did not know about the X15. Now there were some pilots that had to have extra room sewn into the flight suits in the testicular area. For those without readers, you can read it on your computer.

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/ebooks/index.htm
June 25, 2010 10:05 a.m. Buzz Killington Reader

i find the kindle to be easier to hold than most books. we have the simple flip-open hard cover for it, which folds back behind the unit like a paperback cover. we have the smaller Kindle, which is perfect to hold with one hand...the bigger one seemed to defeat the purpose a little. and like Keith said, it's not as if you can easily hold a hard copy of "Red Storm Rising" with one hand while you read.

carguy123 wrote:

Since most of us seem to be glued to a computer most of the day and reading constantly there I don't see the big deal about reading on an LCD screen. If people were going home with headaches from viewing their computers it'd be all over the news with the govt trying to fix the problem but you hear nada.

Now I've never read a full book on a Kindle, only browsed for about half hour on it, but I have read several on the iPad and I absolutely LOVE it! Plus it's much more convenient because I would be more likely to have it around since it does other stuff as well.

It really made me look at my iPhone askance since the same apps look so much better and do so much more on the iPad than on my phone. Of course screen size is the big reason why.

everyone is different...some people are more sensitive to it than others. i work on a computer all day, but if i have a long brief, court opinion or contract--anything that will take a decent time to read/edit--i print it out.

since reading your post, i've been conscious of where my eyes are actally looking while i work, and i spend a lot of time looking at the keyboard while i type, even though i don't really need to b/c it doesn't change my typing speed (although it does cut down on typos). i think those sorts of 1-2 second breaks help reduce my eyestrain, although my eyes still hurt sometimes at the end of the day. even when i'm not typing, i noticed that i am constantly glancing away from the screen just for a split second, which probably also helps. i hadn't realized i was doing that before!

i think in the end everyone will have a different preference, and it's nice that there are multiple options out there.

M030 wrote:

I will never embrace this technology. Ever. I want my hard copies. For me, holding the book (or magazine) and flipping the pages is as much a part of the experience as reading the words and getting engrossed in the text.

my wife and i felt the same way. she really loved having the book or the newspaper in her hands. then I gave her the Kindle, and she doesn't miss the hard copies the way she thought she would.
June 25, 2010 9:55 p.m. carguy123 SuperDork

What I really like about the technology is the ability to integrate content other than just print. They can integrate video to illustrate certain points, clear things up, or just to get the character into the reader's head.

A how to book with pics and video would be dynamite on the iPad! Keith?

I still won't give up my books and I'm too cheap and read too fast (2-4 hours per book) to be able to afford to buy all the books I need to keep me sane. That's why the iPad is so much more attractive to me. I can do tons of other stuff with it and only have to carry one thing with me. Then I can segue into the book portion whenever I want to.

I was at an outdoor music/food venue tonight that frequent and I read Carol Burnett's new book, "This Time Together" while I listened to the music. Very cool.