Where do you read?
July 1, 2023 9:11 AM
Computer? Phone? Tablet? Kindle? Paper? I know we've delved into this, but I suspect the answers have changed over the years, and there are details:
The goal: I have accumulated hundreds of articles, blog posts, columns, newsletters, and various papers that I'd like to read. Actually Read, not just skim. Most of them are in the form of a website; a few are PDFs.
The challenge: reading on my computer is not great. The location, the position, the possibility of distraction, the not specific-to-Actually Reading nature of it. My phone suffers from much of those same drawbacks, plus it's too small for extended Reading.
Questions I ask myself: Should I buy a cheap tablet just for this? Should I convert every single thing to Kindle and use that? What about charts with colors?
Your mission, should you decide to accept it: Tell me about your setup, in as much detail as you want. I want to learn from your experience. Thank you!
The goal: I have accumulated hundreds of articles, blog posts, columns, newsletters, and various papers that I'd like to read. Actually Read, not just skim. Most of them are in the form of a website; a few are PDFs.
The challenge: reading on my computer is not great. The location, the position, the possibility of distraction, the not specific-to-Actually Reading nature of it. My phone suffers from much of those same drawbacks, plus it's too small for extended Reading.
Questions I ask myself: Should I buy a cheap tablet just for this? Should I convert every single thing to Kindle and use that? What about charts with colors?
Your mission, should you decide to accept it: Tell me about your setup, in as much detail as you want. I want to learn from your experience. Thank you!
I read on my kindle in general, the vast majority being fiction books borrow from the library through Libby. However during grad school I would send PDFs to my kindle for easier reading at the bus stop, on the bus, etc. I really liked it for that but not sure how things like blog posts would work
posted by raccoon409 at 9:30 AM on July 1, 2023
posted by raccoon409 at 9:30 AM on July 1, 2023
The most seamless reading experience for me so far is with a Kindle Fire. Oddly, the Fire tablets are cheaper than the Kindle e-readers.
Because I often read in bed holding the device up over my face, I recently switched from the Fire to the lightest, smallest Kindle e-reader. It's much easier on my hands and forearms, but I hate it. I hate that illustrations (including maps) are useless, I hate the weird non-intuitive interface, I hate the smaller amount of text on the screen, and most of all I hate that it's not a web browser so I can't look stuff up or follow links.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:32 AM on July 1, 2023
Because I often read in bed holding the device up over my face, I recently switched from the Fire to the lightest, smallest Kindle e-reader. It's much easier on my hands and forearms, but I hate it. I hate that illustrations (including maps) are useless, I hate the weird non-intuitive interface, I hate the smaller amount of text on the screen, and most of all I hate that it's not a web browser so I can't look stuff up or follow links.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:32 AM on July 1, 2023
I'm near exclusive to ebooks at this point.
I primarily read on my phone. I love that I can be in a slow line at Costco or wherever and I've got whatever books I'm currently reading on me! One of the things that I love about reading apps vs. browsers is I can tap the page and get a new one, instead of browsing requiring the constant scrolling.
Sometimes if I'm settling down to read for 20+ minutes I'll get out my tablet (Moon+ reader syncs current place across devices, and I've used this for about the last decade), but that's maybe 50% of the time. While I like the larger screen of the tablet, it is also heavier.
I would suggest not getting a tablet unless you're willing to shell out for one with an amoled screen. At least I find black ground and light grey text (or burned orange at night) most comfortable to read on, and the real blacks of oled is so much better than the best standard LED screen.
posted by nobeagle at 9:53 AM on July 1, 2023
I primarily read on my phone. I love that I can be in a slow line at Costco or wherever and I've got whatever books I'm currently reading on me! One of the things that I love about reading apps vs. browsers is I can tap the page and get a new one, instead of browsing requiring the constant scrolling.
Sometimes if I'm settling down to read for 20+ minutes I'll get out my tablet (Moon+ reader syncs current place across devices, and I've used this for about the last decade), but that's maybe 50% of the time. While I like the larger screen of the tablet, it is also heavier.
I would suggest not getting a tablet unless you're willing to shell out for one with an amoled screen. At least I find black ground and light grey text (or burned orange at night) most comfortable to read on, and the real blacks of oled is so much better than the best standard LED screen.
posted by nobeagle at 9:53 AM on July 1, 2023
Solely on my phone, apart from a very occasional paper book from the library. My phone's always with me and has loads of epub books on it to drop into anywhere I have time. I use Moon+ Reader Pro app ($8, on an Android Pixel 2).
For bedtime reading I made a little stand from foamcore so I can lie on my side and fall asleep reading (currently in The Birth of Britain, vol 1 of History of the English Speaking Peoples by Churchill, great for bedtime)
posted by anadem at 9:59 AM on July 1, 2023
For bedtime reading I made a little stand from foamcore so I can lie on my side and fall asleep reading (currently in The Birth of Britain, vol 1 of History of the English Speaking Peoples by Churchill, great for bedtime)
posted by anadem at 9:59 AM on July 1, 2023
I don't have an actual "setup" but I'll share how I read. For articles I mostly use my iPad because like you, I don't like reading on my computer, it's not comfortable; and a phone is too small for me. I have a constant backlog of articles to read and regularly weed them out (i.e., delete without reading) because there's always new articles to read. It never ends.
For books, I use my Kindle almost exclusively. This seems to be a matter of personal preference as I know lots of people do read books on tablets but for me, the Kindle really does feel like reading a book on paper. It's so easy on the eyes. I loved the technology from the very first moment I used my first Kindle over ten years ago.
If the lighting on a tablet doesn't bother you for extended reading, a cheap tablet sounds like the easiest option. So you wouldn't have to be continually sending PDF files to a Kindle, plus you would get all the color charts and graphs without having to do anything. I've never used my Kindle for anything other than books, so I don't know if there's a way to convert all these articles to get them onto a Kindle, but maybe you already have that figured out. Factor in the time and effort of converting not just the hundreds of things you currently want to read, but everything new going forward.
posted by daikon at 10:25 AM on July 1, 2023
For books, I use my Kindle almost exclusively. This seems to be a matter of personal preference as I know lots of people do read books on tablets but for me, the Kindle really does feel like reading a book on paper. It's so easy on the eyes. I loved the technology from the very first moment I used my first Kindle over ten years ago.
If the lighting on a tablet doesn't bother you for extended reading, a cheap tablet sounds like the easiest option. So you wouldn't have to be continually sending PDF files to a Kindle, plus you would get all the color charts and graphs without having to do anything. I've never used my Kindle for anything other than books, so I don't know if there's a way to convert all these articles to get them onto a Kindle, but maybe you already have that figured out. Factor in the time and effort of converting not just the hundreds of things you currently want to read, but everything new going forward.
posted by daikon at 10:25 AM on July 1, 2023
Kindle, iPad Mini, iPhone. The best choice for ebooks is the Kindle, as it results in less eye strain for me. The iPhone is with me all the time, and works well enough. One advantage of the Kindle is that Amazon keeps all Kindle devices and Kindle software on non-Kindle devices in sync. Perhaps other e-reader services do this as well.
PDFs are a pain on portable devices. In general, they're meant as an electronic replacement for print, and as such are often sized to be read like a piece of paper. They're awful on Kindle. I avoid PDFs as much as possible, and when I need to read them I generally do so on my laptop.
There are services that will send web pages to the Kindle. I've saved blog posts, etc. to my Kindle that way with great success.
I would highly advise getting ahold of Calibre, the premiere e-document management program. If something can exist as a file, it can be managed by Calibre (which is free), and Calibre can often transfer it to the device of your choice.
posted by lhauser at 12:34 PM on July 1, 2023
PDFs are a pain on portable devices. In general, they're meant as an electronic replacement for print, and as such are often sized to be read like a piece of paper. They're awful on Kindle. I avoid PDFs as much as possible, and when I need to read them I generally do so on my laptop.
There are services that will send web pages to the Kindle. I've saved blog posts, etc. to my Kindle that way with great success.
I would highly advise getting ahold of Calibre, the premiere e-document management program. If something can exist as a file, it can be managed by Calibre (which is free), and Calibre can often transfer it to the device of your choice.
posted by lhauser at 12:34 PM on July 1, 2023
Physical books, whether novels, or non-fiction. Just no way a book will absorb me unless it's physical and I can scribble notes and stick post-its, I don't seem to perceive the 'flow'/arc/theme/framing from digital.
I have thousands of non-fiction papers and books on computer but I only search them to find relevant passages [& metafilter folk have been very helpful with scripts and workflows to enable this ]. Digital is essential to me, couldn't do without it but it's only useful; a means to an end.
posted by unearthed at 12:40 PM on July 1, 2023
I have thousands of non-fiction papers and books on computer but I only search them to find relevant passages [& metafilter folk have been very helpful with scripts and workflows to enable this ]. Digital is essential to me, couldn't do without it but it's only useful; a means to an end.
posted by unearthed at 12:40 PM on July 1, 2023
I read on my phone (iPhone 13 mini), and I have a chromebook as well. It's supposed to be a small laptop but it's really a tablet that runs the chrome OS. I like reading on both of these. The phone is great because I can go out without a bag to hold the various things I might need (like the tablet) and read on that, as long as I know it's charged. You can change your font size, screen color, and other options to make it work for you, in most ereaders (kindle, ibook, kobo, etc.) so you can have books in multiple formats and read them with no problem. I don't think any of these variables are particular to the iphone, so it should work with any smartphone you get. You might want to consider one of the new Samsung foldables, like the galaxy z fold, the open out to small tablet size and are fairly easy to carry around.
I prefer to use my tablet in bed, it's more like a book in size. It's also nice on a flight, or in a hotel room, business meeting, etc. All of the various options for reading on iphone (with the exception of ibook) are available on it.
Having had ereaders like the kindle, I have to say epaper is not my thing. As fingersandtoes said, they are not as user friendly (at least to me). I know people swear by them and you may want to try them out, I just wasn't impressed.
posted by evilDoug at 12:40 PM on July 1, 2023
I prefer to use my tablet in bed, it's more like a book in size. It's also nice on a flight, or in a hotel room, business meeting, etc. All of the various options for reading on iphone (with the exception of ibook) are available on it.
Having had ereaders like the kindle, I have to say epaper is not my thing. As fingersandtoes said, they are not as user friendly (at least to me). I know people swear by them and you may want to try them out, I just wasn't impressed.
posted by evilDoug at 12:40 PM on July 1, 2023
Paper. I tried to read a book on a screen. The next day I bought a copy.
The research is pretty clear on the matter - people read a lot faster from paper and remember a lot more.
I've known people with ereaders. The only ones who make them work are those who are very determined. My friend ... actually the only one I know who really reads from one, is very much into figuring out what the future will hold and proactively copying it. For him the experience of using one is more important than the trouble or the content.
Most people use them like stamp albums. A friend said, "I have over a thousand books."
"How many have you finished?"
"None, yet."
A month later he read one, and he was very happy.
Books are cheap and easy to get, pleasant to hold, hard to damage, and they don't need batteries.
Ereaders are a solution to a problem nobody has. If they were in any way better than books they'd have replaced them the week they came out. As it stands they have a small market penetration among people who really like gadgets.
I left a book out in the rain, yesterday. It'll dry. I bought one at a yard sale last week. It's 91 years old and still in good shape. The story does not exist on an ereader.
I'm biased. Books are better.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 1:22 PM on July 1, 2023
The research is pretty clear on the matter - people read a lot faster from paper and remember a lot more.
I've known people with ereaders. The only ones who make them work are those who are very determined. My friend ... actually the only one I know who really reads from one, is very much into figuring out what the future will hold and proactively copying it. For him the experience of using one is more important than the trouble or the content.
Most people use them like stamp albums. A friend said, "I have over a thousand books."
"How many have you finished?"
"None, yet."
A month later he read one, and he was very happy.
Books are cheap and easy to get, pleasant to hold, hard to damage, and they don't need batteries.
Ereaders are a solution to a problem nobody has. If they were in any way better than books they'd have replaced them the week they came out. As it stands they have a small market penetration among people who really like gadgets.
I left a book out in the rain, yesterday. It'll dry. I bought one at a yard sale last week. It's 91 years old and still in good shape. The story does not exist on an ereader.
I'm biased. Books are better.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 1:22 PM on July 1, 2023
On the desktop. I've gotten so used to quickly bringing up apps, finding files and flipping pages with shortcut keys that when I try to do the same on a tablet or phone, it takes way longer and requires more of my attention. Hotkeys FTW!
posted by Hardcore Poser at 1:36 PM on July 1, 2023
posted by Hardcore Poser at 1:36 PM on July 1, 2023
If you have pdf's tablets are pretty much the only option (other than laptops or full sized computers). Eink displays are close but don't have the resolution or color for many pdf's or html saves. I would look for the largest tablet display that's affordable for you.
Kindles are my prefered reading for novels and other textual books, not art or coffeetable style books. I have a few hundred on my kindle, most having been read soon after downloading, but definitely a fair number aspirational rainiday books. Math books rarely work well either, they just have not found a solution to displaying charts or larger equations in a reasonable presentation.
Calibre, while idiosyncratic, is currently the best personal book library tool, but for books, not so much pdfs or websites.
posted by sammyo at 2:14 PM on July 1, 2023
Kindles are my prefered reading for novels and other textual books, not art or coffeetable style books. I have a few hundred on my kindle, most having been read soon after downloading, but definitely a fair number aspirational rainiday books. Math books rarely work well either, they just have not found a solution to displaying charts or larger equations in a reasonable presentation.
Calibre, while idiosyncratic, is currently the best personal book library tool, but for books, not so much pdfs or websites.
posted by sammyo at 2:14 PM on July 1, 2023
I read articles more than books currently, and that is primarily on a 10” 2021 iPad, sometimes on an iPhone 11.
posted by ellieBOA at 2:15 PM on July 1, 2023
posted by ellieBOA at 2:15 PM on July 1, 2023
I split between real books and ebooks from our local library via Libby on my iPad (which can be a pretty frustrating experience as the offerings through Libby can be very limited)
posted by Thorzdad at 8:11 PM on July 1, 2023
posted by Thorzdad at 8:11 PM on July 1, 2023
I love paper books, and used to carry stacks of them around with me. Now, though, I read on a Kindle Oasis (because I don't want to interrupt my reading if I'm in the shower). The size is good, the case keeps it safe in a purse or bag, I can choose a font size such that I don't need reading glasses, and it's great that I can read in the sun (e-ink) or in the dark (it has a backlight).
However...I use the Kindle for books, but the sort of things you are wanting to read are 100% things I would preferentially read on my laptop. The distraction/not specific to reading issues still exist, but I can pick the thing up and carry it somewhere quieter, and still have the net, a decent screen size, etc.
posted by LadyOscar at 10:25 PM on July 1, 2023
However...I use the Kindle for books, but the sort of things you are wanting to read are 100% things I would preferentially read on my laptop. The distraction/not specific to reading issues still exist, but I can pick the thing up and carry it somewhere quieter, and still have the net, a decent screen size, etc.
posted by LadyOscar at 10:25 PM on July 1, 2023
eReader, phone, desktop and laptop computer -- with the caveat that these screens all have retina-type high pixel-per-inch displays so I don't spend time inferring glyohs from a bunch of pixels but can go straight to inferring words from collected glyphs.
I've read 30+ or so books per year on Kindle in the last decade, with library management left to Amazon which handled the "email to Kindle" for books sourced outside their store.
posted by k3ninho at 12:07 AM on July 2, 2023
I've read 30+ or so books per year on Kindle in the last decade, with library management left to Amazon which handled the "email to Kindle" for books sourced outside their store.
posted by k3ninho at 12:07 AM on July 2, 2023
Large-format e-readers have really come down in price and are great for PDFs. I read screenplays on a Kindle Scribe and it works very well.
posted by alby at 1:55 AM on July 2, 2023
posted by alby at 1:55 AM on July 2, 2023
I read books on a Kindle. I save online articles to Instapaper and read them using their iPhone app or website. I think there's a way to send them to Kindle but I haven't tried it out. I'm not sure if I'd use it though as I usually keep my Kindle at my bedside and when I am reading in bed I'm not usually looking for short-form web content.
I don't think I could deal with reading novels or books on a non e-Ink device. I'm also amazed/alarmed at how cumbersome paper books feel now—before I tried a Kindle I was one of those people who thought I'd never make the switch.
posted by synecdoche at 9:35 AM on July 2, 2023
I don't think I could deal with reading novels or books on a non e-Ink device. I'm also amazed/alarmed at how cumbersome paper books feel now—before I tried a Kindle I was one of those people who thought I'd never make the switch.
posted by synecdoche at 9:35 AM on July 2, 2023
I think I'm at outlier. I read so much on my phone, just tons and tons between internet and ebooks. I think part of it is I'm exceedingly myopic and so when I take off my glasses and have my phone right up in my face it's actually quite comfortable for me. We're talking 1-3 novels a week, mostly on my phone, unless I'm trying to read in a bath once a month, then I drag out my nice waterproof kindle. It's a nice phone, though, an iPhone 13 Pro, so I'm sure the quality of the screen helps a lot.
posted by foxfirefey at 1:57 PM on July 2, 2023
posted by foxfirefey at 1:57 PM on July 2, 2023
I bought a used tablet with a large 12.8 screen specifically to take advantage of my library which offers a large selection of magazines. It's really great for this purpose. Also, comics.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 2:02 AM on July 3, 2023
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 2:02 AM on July 3, 2023
I do the latest kindle paperwhite, and embellish that with the kindle app on the iPhone and iPad. My place syncs between all, so I can read wherever. I can adjust the font size and type, have different color backgrounds. I can touch an unknown word and get a definition asap. I share my library with my wife (and she reads more than I do). I can tote HUGE amounts of books, all in a very small space. Lighting isn’t a problem. I can go from thinking about a book to reading it in a few minutes - no travel to the store. You can also borrow from the library. My wife loves doing the library with her kindle.
One point of sadness - awhile back I would purchase the Sunday NYT and enjoy that on the kindle. They don’t do the news stand anymore. I didn’t do it all the time, but it was nice to have the option.
I have been an e reader fan for a very long time - palm pilots, pocket pc’s, game boy (with a certain cart that had cf/sd slots)…
I know some just love a traditional paper book, but for me, the kindle is a nice piece of awesome.
Good luck!
posted by kabong the wiser at 11:32 AM on July 3, 2023
One point of sadness - awhile back I would purchase the Sunday NYT and enjoy that on the kindle. They don’t do the news stand anymore. I didn’t do it all the time, but it was nice to have the option.
I have been an e reader fan for a very long time - palm pilots, pocket pc’s, game boy (with a certain cart that had cf/sd slots)…
I know some just love a traditional paper book, but for me, the kindle is a nice piece of awesome.
Good luck!
posted by kabong the wiser at 11:32 AM on July 3, 2023
Thank you, everyone. I read every response, and went searching for tools. I found a couple of cool things:
1. Push to Kindle: A browser extensions that does what it says on the tin.
2. Matter: An app that takes articles and newsletters and formats them for pretty reading and annotating.
3. Remarkable: A gorgeous tablet for taking notes, drawing stuff, and reading PDFs.
My conclusion is that there still does not exist a single tool to read all the things in your hand. Computer, tablet, convertible tablet, e-reader, phones, apps, etc. all have their pros and cons. It's a very cool world we live in that we have all these options. I started out with a sense of frustration, and now I'm feeling oddly hopeful.
posted by Cobalt at 12:07 PM on July 4, 2023
1. Push to Kindle: A browser extensions that does what it says on the tin.
2. Matter: An app that takes articles and newsletters and formats them for pretty reading and annotating.
3. Remarkable: A gorgeous tablet for taking notes, drawing stuff, and reading PDFs.
My conclusion is that there still does not exist a single tool to read all the things in your hand. Computer, tablet, convertible tablet, e-reader, phones, apps, etc. all have their pros and cons. It's a very cool world we live in that we have all these options. I started out with a sense of frustration, and now I'm feeling oddly hopeful.
posted by Cobalt at 12:07 PM on July 4, 2023
« Older Help-where to eat as a family near the Boston... | A woman falls in love with a bird - what book... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
I think there's currently a disruption in the Pocket integration on Kobo while they switch to Firefox accounts, but that's probably the lowest-hassle way of doing this on an e-reader.
There are also other ereaders that run Android, which should let you either sync bookmarks or run the Pocket app directly. Something like this, though I haven't looked to deeply at what's out there.
posted by sagc at 9:20 AM on July 1, 2023