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I like e-readers now

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Re: I like e-readers now

#41

Post by logosmonkey »

mitquinn wrote: post #6

eReaders are awesome. I used to read so many physical books but the physical space that they were taking + needing to carry the books around was a barrier. I tried reading books on my phone but it just destroyed my eyes. I got a super old Kindle Paperwhite and it has been super enjoyable. There are times I just throw it in my pocket now I will end up reading on the go. It took me a while to discover Calibre but once…

Yeah, personally I find e-readers significantly more useful than physical books for casual reading anyway. I might prefer a physical book for reference work but otherwise I find using an e-reader much easier overall. Calibre is great, I would second your recommendation.

Re: I like e-readers now

#42

Post by Joeri »

maltalex wrote: post #16

As someone who's reading a lot of technical material, I'm on the fence about e-readers. On the one hand, many technical books are thick and heavy, and can benefit from having a search function. But on the other, e-reader screens tend to be small and require a lot of scrolling back and forth (like between a code sample and an accompanying explanation). Does anyone have experience with reading technical books on an e-r…

I’ve tried to read tech books on kindle, but 6 inches is too small. I’ve had better luck reading them on an ipad. The screen is just big enough, but navigating between the book and my notes proved cumbersome. Mostly I read tech books on my laptop and desktop because it’s easy to flip between book and notes. In the grand scheme of things it is the best trade-off for me.

Re: I like e-readers now

#44

Post by echlipse »

maltalex wrote: post #16

As someone who's reading a lot of technical material, I'm on the fence about e-readers. On the one hand, many technical books are thick and heavy, and can benefit from having a search function. But on the other, e-reader screens tend to be small and require a lot of scrolling back and forth (like between a code sample and an accompanying explanation). Does anyone have experience with reading technical books on an e-r…

Even if the e-reader supports pdf, I think it's a much worse experince than even reading on a big computer screen(which doesn't work for me either). Physical copy of techincal books are way superior than e-book version. It's way easier to study in a physical book from my personal experience.

Re: I like e-readers now

#45

Post by mmcdermott »

clktmr wrote: post #9

Personally would love to use an e-reader to read lengthy blog posts, but last time I tried it was very tedious. I converted the post to PDF using firefox's reader mode and uploaded these to the device. Are there any e-readers with something like firefox's reader mode integrated?

If you are looking at the big names (Kindle, Kobo, Nook), I doubt it. The devices become far more open elsewhere. I have a Boyue Likebook eReader which has unfettered access to the internet via built in web browser and Chrome.

Re: I like e-readers now

#46

Post by Otek »

2Gkashmiri wrote: post #7
vmurthy wrote: post #2

>I’m still not into the prospect of purchasing books on the e-reader – it’s something I’ll probably avoid Agree with most of what the author (including a preference for physical books) says but this. I must have spent close to USD 2k on various e-books (I use Amazon because of legacy reasons .. availability of e-readers in India around 2013 etc ) and the joy these purchases have given me can't compare with what I mig…

i am a pirate and i extensively use a borrowed overdrive. i still buy kindle from olx because i can get them on the cheap, much more than amazon itself.

Ebooks are so cheap these days, that it's a shame to pirate them.

Re: I like e-readers now

#47

Post by pfranz »

maltalex wrote: post #16

As someone who's reading a lot of technical material, I'm on the fence about e-readers. On the one hand, many technical books are thick and heavy, and can benefit from having a search function. But on the other, e-reader screens tend to be small and require a lot of scrolling back and forth (like between a code sample and an accompanying explanation). Does anyone have experience with reading technical books on an e-r…

I think e-readers are awesome for linear, text-based material. I don't think they're great for reference or things that need specific formatting or have a lot of visual data; like textbooks, something with code snippets, cookbooks, or newspapers. But tablets or desktop computers work fairly well. Since those aren't single-use machines and don't have great vertical integration they can be cumbersome (and a bit of an eye strain for long sessions).

The smallish size and slow screen loading make it really hard to skim (and requires decent search and UX). Because of the small screen info can get reflowed, making code snippets or charts very awkward--if it even renders.

Basically, I'm just reiterating what you're saying. I haven't found a solution to what you're describing. In an effort to minimize physical books, I try to utilize the library as much as possible and buy digital versions to reference on the computer months or years later. I've seen solutions like putting pdfs into Dropbox. Sadly, a lot of the reading software that allows highlighting or writing in margins don't sync between a tablet and desktop (at least last time I investigated). Academics seem to have the most motivation for finding a solution to something like this, but that may be tailored to their own needs.

Re: I like e-readers now

#48

Post by pfranz »

mitquinn wrote: post #6

eReaders are awesome. I used to read so many physical books but the physical space that they were taking + needing to carry the books around was a barrier. I tried reading books on my phone but it just destroyed my eyes. I got a super old Kindle Paperwhite and it has been super enjoyable. There are times I just throw it in my pocket now I will end up reading on the go. It took me a while to discover Calibre but once…

I'm not sure how many authors are aware when writing books, but it changes how you read it. With physical books I often peek a few pages ahead to the end of the chapter or just by the weight of the book know when I'm near the end. Sure, there are progress bars, but they're way more subtle. Knowing when something will wrap up I tend to have an expectation of what might happen. Without those cues I have a different experience.

Similarly, my wife can burn through thick books without realizing it for the same reason. Previously, you may even be intimidated by how much is left, but now it's one screen at a time.

Re: I like e-readers now

#49

Post by abrowne »

nindalf wrote: post #21

I prefer reading on my e-reader for a number of reasons you’ve probably come across elsewhere. But the most underrated thing for me is that I can read large books. I feel they’re too unwieldly to carry around and also heavy enough that I feel too much friction actually starting to read. I had The Gene on my shelf for 3 years before I realised this was why I hadn’t even read 10 pages of it. I bought the ebook and fini…

Once I bought a used copy of a 1200+ page book and took the binding off so I could carry a couple of chapters at a time back and forth to work to read on breaks. Luckily it was a 10+ year old history book that was available shipped for under $10. But I can't really do that for a library book, so I agree ebooks are the way to go.

Re: I like e-readers now

#50

Post by NoGravitas »

mrkickling wrote: post #28

I bought a Kobo Aura in 2013 or 2014. It handles epubs/mobis perfectly while PDFs are a terrible experience, but what impresses me is that the device works just as well as it did 8 years ago. The battery life is weeks or a month, the (modest) performance feels as good as when I bought it and no updates has screwed it up. I guess it is because it specializes in one specific task and tries to be nothing else than just…

For what it's worth, KOReader does a much better job with PDFs on Kobo than the stock reader (Nickel). PDFs with large page size and complex layouts (like multicolumn that's periodically interrupted by images not in the text flow) are still Not Great, but more manageable.
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