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Children prefer to read books on paper rather than screens

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

#51

Post by problems »

SomeStupidPoint wrote: post #8

I have a number of ebooks and PDFs, mostly references. I have a number of the reference books as both ebooks and paper books. I just... Don't have the freedom with digital copies of things that I do with paper ones, and I refuse to have key knowledge DRM'd. Papers on PDF are alright (as in, I only print really important ones), but proprietary ebooks? Im not trusting my only copy of professional knowledge to the peopl…

Definitely, but there's plenty of ways to obtain legitimately without DRM, obtain legitimately and strip DRM or just straight up pirate books.

And the advantages from that point are excellent. I can read the same thing on my phone, e-reader or desktop, so it's a very fluid experience whatever I'm doing.

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

#52

Post by colmvp »

emodendroket wrote: post #40
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #26

Ebooks are fine for quick referrals but I simply can't stand using them for sustained reading. If I'm engrossed in reading a paper book, I'll knock off a hundred pages without noticing the time. I try to do that on my iPad or a computer monitor and I'm edgy and disinterested in just a handful of pages.

The Kindle really is way, way better for extended reading.

Yeah, I recognize the valid criticisms of the Kindle, specifically it doesn't feel as nice as reading a paper book, but the ability to control brightness and font-size, alongside the super light weight of the Kindle makes for some very easy extended reading.

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

#53

Post by problems »

zingermc wrote: post #32
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.

It's more than nostalgia -- interacting with a physical object is more stimulating than an e-reader. Paper books have a smell, a texture, and a colorful cover. You might remember where something happened in a story because of how many pages you held in your hand.

So... entirely fluff and nothing practical then?

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

#54

Post by pharrington »

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.

Unfortunately, the source study treats iPads interchangeably with Kindles, and from there assumes any sort of computer attached to a screen that lets you read words is essentially the same. The interfaces aren't being considered for their own merits.

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

#56

Post by problems »

libria wrote: post #48
overcast wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

In my experience desktop PDF readers are better than paper for technical books - maybe there are good tablet readers for them too, but they'll allow you to jump directly to sections and make bookmarks in an instant rather than searching through random physical pages and holding your finger in different spots. Displaying the full tree of the book's index while you read through interesting sections is incredibly valuable.

I find it hard to read any technical book on something other than the computer I'm using it on though. Without being able to copy and paste to try things out on my own I tend to learn absolutely nothing.

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

#57

Post by jasonkostempski »

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.

Nostalgia is not my reason. Anything that requires a battery, DRM, a subscription, active bank account, various service accounts, and has a touchscreen that will do FSM-knows-what if you touch it the wrong way, is not convenient to me. There's always that looming feeling that the "book" will just stop working.

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

#58

Post by rustynails »

jobu wrote: post #22
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…

> Having said all that my kids will be getting physical books. The distractions in electronic devices is something I'm still struggling Having four kids myself, I would never have tried to start them reading on a device. Kids don't start reading novels or textbooks, they have books that are physically interactive in a way that doesn't translate very well to a screen. Starting out, children learn by touch and taste as…

I like the thoughtfulness of your comment. They are good advantages. And ...

My kids prefer (important word, prefer) paper copies of books over a kindle/iPad and I see a similar trend with their friends. The book has an interesting texture, you can fiddle with it. It's easy to skim ahead and back and flip between two sections of the book to compare.

The kids I've observed find books like a comfy pair of shoes. I am guessing, but I think it's about control; ease of access in a non-linear fashion. You can feel in control of a paper book. Front cover, back cover, starts of chapters. They're hard to access with a kindle but easy with paper.

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

#59

Post by qntty »

lmm wrote: post #47
marbletiles wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- 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.

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

Don't do it with library books obviously, but if you own the book, try it. It vastly improved my reading experience when I started annotating.

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

#60

Post by stinkytaco »

I've just finished doing quite a bit of reading and research on this since e-books are big responsibility of mine as a librarian. The data seems to point to most people not having a really strong preference. There are a small percentage of people (less that 10%) that prefer ebooks and a larger percentage (30%+) that prefer physical books, but most people's preference is either complicated (they prefer one for a specific use case such as travel or technical books) or not that strong. We are looking to shift to a fulfillment model, which reduces collection crossover some. Most people just want to read their book and will take it however they can get it soonest. For what it's worth, I expect our ebook circulation to top out at about 30-35%, which is about where estimates of the commercial market are. Those estimates are complicated by Amazon's holding Kindle Direct numbers close the chest, which are probably fairly large.
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