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> "Rose isn't a dinosaur reader; she likes her Kindle." I am probably a "dinosaur" reader. I have, and use a Kindle, but given the choice of reading a physical

> "Rose isn't a dinosaur reader; she likes her Kindle." I am probably a "dinosaur" reader. I have, and use a Kindle, but given the choice of reading a physical book or same book on Kindle, I will choose physical book 99% of the time. There is just something about a real book that is deeply satisfying to read.

JoshMnem 9y ago
It appears that paper content is better than electronic, at least for retention of material: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb-less-kindles-paper-study-plot-ereader-digitisation https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb... Ebooks also might negatively affect sleep: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30574260 http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30574260
- PakG1 9y ago
  This article makes it pretty clear that if the Kindle doesn't emit light, it's ok. The experiment was done with an iPad. Kindles were designed with this issue in mind, so I think posting the article in this manner is misleading.
- sbmassey 9y ago
  Personally, I don't usually retain much, ebook or physical book, unless I take notes, and I find ebooks make such note taking a lot easier.
  - godelmachine 9y ago
    I agree. Note making is very important for me if I wish to study a subject deeply. Besides, I can always refer to it later.
  - JoshMnem 9y ago
    Taking notes on paper can help you retain more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret... http://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-put-your-laptops-away http://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-p... If I don't have paper nearby, I write in the margins and dogear the pages, and then refer back to the book to extract the information later. I keep a few pens and pencils in my pocket at all times.
    - sbmassey 9y ago
      Those articles are about students taking notes on laptops during lectures, which Ibthink is a pretty different case to taking notes while reading a book. Reading on a phone, I get the ability to look up unfamiliar words immediately, add them to my spaced recognition tool if they seem useful, add quotes to my quote file, and arrange notes on new things learned either per book, or on a per project basis. In addition, taking notes like this they are still available over the years, and backed up in multiple places, whereas the paper notes I have taken are either filed away somewhere or lost during one of my moves.
- amorphid 9y ago
  I need to bounce around in a book. Flipping physical pages is way easier than scrolling around in an ebook reader.
  - agumonkey 9y ago
    my bedroom theory is that our brains like to associate physical stimuli to ideas, and flipping through pages is a lot more giving than typing a page number or swiping.
  - erikbye 9y ago
    I do most of my reading on physical books, but I have the core of my library on a Kindle as well, and where it shines is search. I can phrase and keyword search the larger part of my library. It has become an invaluable research tool. I also import highlighted passages into a database on my computer. Granted there are things like books.google.com, which I could use for search, but that's not my library. I also prefer to read on a Kindle compared to my monitor, so I regularly email large documents to it. My wish for the next Kindle is for it to be faster (more responsive UI) and handle even larger libraries.
- Fnoord 9y ago
  Recent Kobos have night mode, vastly reducing blue light.
omaranto 9y ago
It doesn't even depend on the weight of the book? Some books are just too bulky for comfort on public transit.
Grustaf 9y ago
I read a lot of textbooks on pdf and it’s a very poor substitute. Jumping back and forth, as you do, between definitions, theorems, appendices is a nightmare with the pdf readers I’ve found. I have to reaort to making screenshots of things I’m likely to need to refer to again. Perhaps a good solution exists? It wouldn’t be hard to make.

JoshMnem 9y ago

It appears that paper content is better than electronic, at least for retention of material: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb-less-kindles-paper-study-plot-ereader-digitisation https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/readers-absorb... Ebooks also might negatively affect sleep: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30574260 http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30574260

PakG1 9y ago
This article makes it pretty clear that if the Kindle doesn't emit light, it's ok. The experiment was done with an iPad. Kindles were designed with this issue in mind, so I think posting the article in this manner is misleading.
sbmassey 9y ago
Personally, I don't usually retain much, ebook or physical book, unless I take notes, and I find ebooks make such note taking a lot easier.
- godelmachine 9y ago
  I agree. Note making is very important for me if I wish to study a subject deeply. Besides, I can always refer to it later.
- JoshMnem 9y ago
  Taking notes on paper can help you retain more: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret... http://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-put-your-laptops-away http://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-p... If I don't have paper nearby, I write in the margins and dogear the pages, and then refer back to the book to extract the information later. I keep a few pens and pencils in my pocket at all times.
  - sbmassey 9y ago
    Those articles are about students taking notes on laptops during lectures, which Ibthink is a pretty different case to taking notes while reading a book. Reading on a phone, I get the ability to look up unfamiliar words immediately, add them to my spaced recognition tool if they seem useful, add quotes to my quote file, and arrange notes on new things learned either per book, or on a per project basis. In addition, taking notes like this they are still available over the years, and backed up in multiple places, whereas the paper notes I have taken are either filed away somewhere or lost during one of my moves.
amorphid 9y ago
I need to bounce around in a book. Flipping physical pages is way easier than scrolling around in an ebook reader.
- agumonkey 9y ago
  my bedroom theory is that our brains like to associate physical stimuli to ideas, and flipping through pages is a lot more giving than typing a page number or swiping.
- erikbye 9y ago
  I do most of my reading on physical books, but I have the core of my library on a Kindle as well, and where it shines is search. I can phrase and keyword search the larger part of my library. It has become an invaluable research tool. I also import highlighted passages into a database on my computer. Granted there are things like books.google.com, which I could use for search, but that's not my library. I also prefer to read on a Kindle compared to my monitor, so I regularly email large documents to it. My wish for the next Kindle is for it to be faster (more responsive UI) and handle even larger libraries.
Fnoord 9y ago
Recent Kobos have night mode, vastly reducing blue light.

omaranto 9y ago

It doesn't even depend on the weight of the book? Some books are just too bulky for comfort on public transit.

Grustaf 9y ago

I read a lot of textbooks on pdf and it’s a very poor substitute. Jumping back and forth, as you do, between definitions, theorems, appendices is a nightmare with the pdf readers I’ve found. I have to reaort to making screenshots of things I’m likely to need to refer to again. Perhaps a good solution exists? It wouldn’t be hard to make.