Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

theconversation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 95 posts

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#41

Post by panzagl »

overcast wrote: post #28
panzagl wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the tactile experience means that much I'd think you'd be too pissed to read anything from the past 40 years or so except from small specialist publishers. Even hardbacks now are mostly cheaply made disposable products, with whatever money that goes into their production apparently wasted on the dust jacket.

I buy a lot from Folio Society ;)

That would do it then. I read a lot of history and it seems like the only books I keep anymore are either digital or were published last century.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#42

Post by pharrington »

Well yeah; since right now kids are still human beings, the animal is just going to be far more receptive to staring at broad spectrum light than narrow spectrum light. That's before accounting for what we already know about human children needing way more tactile stimulation than adults.

Of course, 10 years from now when we've started optimizing our genetically engineered offspring for staring into the black mirror, all bets are off.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#43

Post by overcast »

emodendroket wrote: post #34
overcast wrote: post #24

While I still use my Kindle for travel, I've actually purchased more hardcover books SINCE I got a Kindle, then I have at any other point in my life. Using the Kindle, just gave me even more appreciation for the experience of holding a book, flipping the pages, the smell, that whole tactile experience that is just missing otherwise. I'm also making a serious attempt to distance myself from technology for at least par…

I have the opposite experience. I read a lot on the train and I read a lot of books on the Kindle I probably would have avoided before because they seemed so large that I didn't want to carry them or they just seemed imposing. I also find reading for extended periods on the Kindle far more comfortable. The only thing I don't prefer it for is books where I know I'll be flipping back and forth a lot (textbooks, referen…

Again, for the travel convenience, the Kindle is great. I fortunately do not spend long periods of time on a train. My reading is at home, in silence.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#44

Post by alpaca128 »

jobu wrote: post #13
Johnny555 wrote: post #3

Until I got a Kindle Voyage, I found the Kindle reading experience to be subpar to books (but still more convenient in most cases). But with the higher resolution of the Voyage (300ppi), better backlight, and most importantly, buttons to move forward/back instead of swiping, I now prefer the Voyage over paper books. Much easier to read one-handed on the train, and having a good backlight makes for convenient reading…

What is the color like for the Voyage backlight? Lately I've been using my iPhone in night-shift mode as a reading light with paper books. It may just be psychological, but I do seem to fall asleep easier than I did with a regular white LED reading light. At the very least I haven't found myself still reading at 3am wondering why I'm still awake.

It's not just psychological. According to some measurements the cold light from screens, neon lights, white LEDs etc. causes an increased heart rate, making it more difficult to fall asleep.

The Voyage is supposed to have a warmer backlight mode, but I only have experience with the Paperwhite(I only read during the day anyways).

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#45

Post by MarkMc »

chromalife wrote: post #6

I prefer having a physical book. Flicking through pages to reread sections, highlighting and margin notes are not yet seamless with the reading app I'm using. But Getting a tablet has increased the amount I'm reading by at least a factor of 4. It is now so easy to buy books after reading a recommendation online. The free sample feature makes it so I don't buy a book I won't like, And the built in dictionary has me lo…

I'm often reading in bed or on the sofa where highlighting would be a pain with a physical book - with my Kindle app it's so easy.

What's even better is how quickly I can access my highlighted notes. I often find I'm in a conversation with someone and say, "hey there's a great quote on the topic we are discussing from book I read years ago - let me show it to you".

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#46

Post by drak0n1c »

flippyhead wrote: post #20
jasonkostempski wrote: post #9

Adults too.

I know this seems a common sentiment here, but I just don't get it. There is almost nothing better about a physical book vs. a Kindle, especially on the high-eng (e.g the Voyage). Whenever I've discussed this with people the only reason I seem to get is some vague sense of nostalgia.

In addition to the points brought up by the others, physical objects that are readily visible serve as reminders and are much easier to introduce and share with guests than a purely verbal introduction and attempt to talk it up.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#47

Post by lmm »

marbletiles wrote: post #30
flippyhead wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this seems a common sentiment here, but I just don't get it. There is almost nothing better about a physical book vs. a Kindle, especially on the high-eng (e.g the Voyage). Whenever I've discussed this with people the only reason I seem to get is some vague sense of nostalgia.

- Random access. - Non-random access: we are surprisingly good at knowing where in a book something we read was, and flipping back to it. While keeping our finger in the place or places we were. You can build a working stack of locations in paper that's a pain to do in every e-reader I've tried. - Notes/Marginalia/Markup are available on both, but with vastly more expressiveness and options on paper (though without s…

> Notes/Marginalia/Markup are available on both, but with vastly more expressiveness and options on paper

I wouldn't want to annotate or highlight a paper book - that feels like damaging it.

> No batteries required.

Not really an issue for a Kindle-like device - it lasts about 30 days without a charge, which is long enough to read more books than I'd care to carry on a no-electricity trip.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#48

Post by libria »

overcast wrote: post #43
emodendroket wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the opposite experience. I read a lot on the train and I read a lot of books on the Kindle I probably would have avoided before because they seemed so large that I didn't want to carry them or they just seemed imposing. I also find reading for extended periods on the Kindle far more comfortable. The only thing I don't prefer it for is books where I know I'll be flipping back and forth a lot (textbooks, referen…

Again, for the travel convenience, the Kindle is great. I fortunately do not spend long periods of time on a train. My reading is at home, in silence.

Even at home, I prefer the ergonomics of holding a pad that's flat open. Paperbacks - new ones especially - require pressure to keep open, usually a thumb/pinky grip. Often the words nearer the spine are read at an angle and with less light. Kindle is more evenly lit and more comfortable to hold.

As mentioned above, it's great for linear reading e.g. fiction; poor for computer books.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#49

Post by alpaca128 »

neom wrote: post #19

I think that the quality of intake of information is somewhat different when it comes to projected light vs reflected light. I think that with dyslexia printed words are slightly easier because it's easier to see the edge of the ink (so you can see the shape better), on a screen it's much harder to see the shapes in the letters. The dyslexia font thing helps a little but it's kinda gimmicky I think.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

> I think that with dyslexia printed words are slightly easier because it's easier to see the edge of the ink

What e-book reader have you tried? The more expensive Kindles have a high resolution, on my Paperwhite the edges of the letters are very sharp just like in a printed book or magazine, no matter how close I hold it to my face. Combined with the right backlight setting and some daylight it really looks like a printed page to me.

Re: Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

#50

Post by colmvp »

MarkMc wrote: post #45
chromalife wrote: post #6

I prefer having a physical book. Flicking through pages to reread sections, highlighting and margin notes are not yet seamless with the reading app I'm using. But Getting a tablet has increased the amount I'm reading by at least a factor of 4. It is now so easy to buy books after reading a recommendation online. The free sample feature makes it so I don't buy a book I won't like, And the built in dictionary has me lo…

I'm often reading in bed or on the sofa where highlighting would be a pain with a physical book - with my Kindle app it's so easy. What's even better is how quickly I can access my highlighted notes. I often find I'm in a conversation with someone and say, "hey there's a great quote on the topic we are discussing from book I read years ago - let me show it to you".

I just wish the "Your Highlights" interface online was faster and better designed. It just feels like they did it to placate users but didn't put a lot of care or effort into making it feel like a great experience.
Post reply on HN