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The older I get the less I trust myself to know how to administer or even to care how to work any current or future reading e-device. A printed book requires

The older I get the less I trust myself to know how to administer or even to care how to work any current or future reading e-device. A printed book requires light as just about it's only dependency! I definitely agree with you about the distractions of digital devices. Switching to a book is a focused mode.

ethbr1 3y ago
When I'm on vacation, I always read paper books. Because I want minimal complexity. (Usually in the tropics, often with rum and a hammock) Dead tree books' short term failure modes are water and fire, and once failure is confined to emergencies-that-are-already-emergencies they impose no additional cognitive burden. Also, I suspect the physical friction involved in "swiping away from" paper books helps reset my dopamine baseline / memory, but that's just suspicion from having lived pre-smartphone. PS: Also, re: environmental impact. eBay and Amazon sell tons of used books. Sure you're shipping them around, but I really buy new these days.
- dripton 3y ago
  I'm just the opposite. One of the worst things about vacations was having to carry along all those books or take a detour to a bookstore (if there were any) to buy more. Now I just carry a single small e-reader. It's a great savings in terms of cargo space. I don't consider an e-ink reader very complex. You charge it once in a while, download books to it once in a while, and otherwise it's basically a book except it remembers what page you were on.
- AlotOfReading 3y ago
  You forgot the third and fourth failure modes: weight and bag space. Books take a lot of it. An e-reader is thinner than any book and weighs the same no matter how many it's holding. I used to take my e-reader on field expeditions when I was an archaeologist. Never had one die or break even after months in places like Siberia. The number of notebooks that were ruined during those same expeditions is non-zero, usually from condensation or the physical trauma of a backpack.
  - TheCapeGreek 3y ago
    Considering you're on HN, it's likely a safe bet to say you also travel with a laptop. In which case, an e-reader is still a waste of space because your laptop can just open ebooks too. Or if you don't, then your phone is still a better space saver for reading books with. Yet, you will likely prefer to take your e-reader with anyway (and its charger if it isn't the same as other devices). This is why I find "saving space during travels" a very relative argument to make, because it's clearly down to preference.
    - theshrike79 3y ago
      The ergonomics on any laptop is dogshit compared to a dedicated e-ink reader. Just the amount of brightness the display beams to your face makes it suboptimal for reading in low light. And the "charger" I need with my ancient Kindle is a standard micro-USB cable, not exactly exotic. And as soon as this one breaks down, the next one will be USB-C like a good 90%+ of my devices I travel with.
    - BoringTimesGang 3y ago
      My laptop and phone can't last through a long-haul flight. My e-reader doesn't need charging until I come home, fits in a jeans pocket and is a similar weight to my passport.
      - TheCapeGreek 3y ago
        That's kind of my point - your preferences are to the advantage of the e-reader. For others, the same might apply to physical books instead, despite the disadvantage of bulk.
    - AlotOfReading 3y ago
      Of course it's a relative argument. Everything is. I don't personally travel with a laptop unless I plan on working remote. Too heavy/bulky and more importantly, you need to take them out going through TSA. The e-reader doesn't need a charger for the 2-4 weeks I usually travel. If I'm traveling longer, I'll bring a single additional USB cable (that will go away the next time I upgrade). A phone doesn't take bag space because it's always in my pocket, but it's significantly less ergonomic and much less power efficient for reading. The value-add of being able to read without draining battery on my most important travel tool is worth it on its own.
criddell 3y ago
The older I get, the more I appreciate being able to select a larger font with my Kindle. I love books, but the accessibility features of a modern ereader are pretty great too.
- echelon_musk 3y ago
  I've been putting off glasses for as long as I can. I suspect I'll return to my Kindle again in the future for this reason. It's good to be reminded that both things can coexist.
- Tor3 3y ago
  The ability to select a font size I like is one of my main three reasons for using a Kindle.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
hollandheese 3y ago
E-readers are often very simple devices. Their main audience is older people. Light being a dependency of reading a printed book is one of the biggest plus for e-ink readers. You don't need light, they already come with it! It's so much easier reading with a Kindle (in dark mode) at bed time than it is a paper book.
- Tor3 3y ago
  Well, yes and no.. I do use the backlight on my Kindle if it's dark, but this changes how it looks. I have a Paperwhite Kindle. With the backlight on it's more like reading on LCD, though not as bad. The Kindle looks much nicer if I can use a bedside lamp instead of the backlight, just as I would with a paper book.
  - nottorp 3y ago
    You still can't turn off the light on a Kindle completely can you? Always felt like a waste of battery on a beach...
    - Tor3 3y ago
      There's a tiny amount of light, yes. I don't know why Amazon made it that way. It's not really visible.. not to me, at least. But it's probably one reason the battery is slowly drained, over weeks, even if not in use.
      - nottorp 3y ago
        It does turn off when you're not using the kindle. But you can't turn it completely off while reading. I suppose the use case is picking up the kindle at night in a dark room while you disabled the light when you were reading outside during the day.
    - wizzwizz4 3y ago
      If you put it in / out of sleep mode juuuust right, you can trigger a bug (race condition?) where it doesn't turn the backlight on.

ethbr1 3y ago

When I'm on vacation, I always read paper books. Because I want minimal complexity. (Usually in the tropics, often with rum and a hammock) Dead tree books' short term failure modes are water and fire, and once failure is confined to emergencies-that-are-already-emergencies they impose no additional cognitive burden. Also, I suspect the physical friction involved in "swiping away from" paper books helps reset my dopamine baseline / memory, but that's just suspicion from having lived pre-smartphone. PS: Also, re: environmental impact. eBay and Amazon sell tons of used books. Sure you're shipping them around, but I really buy new these days.

dripton 3y ago
I'm just the opposite. One of the worst things about vacations was having to carry along all those books or take a detour to a bookstore (if there were any) to buy more. Now I just carry a single small e-reader. It's a great savings in terms of cargo space. I don't consider an e-ink reader very complex. You charge it once in a while, download books to it once in a while, and otherwise it's basically a book except it remembers what page you were on.
AlotOfReading 3y ago
You forgot the third and fourth failure modes: weight and bag space. Books take a lot of it. An e-reader is thinner than any book and weighs the same no matter how many it's holding. I used to take my e-reader on field expeditions when I was an archaeologist. Never had one die or break even after months in places like Siberia. The number of notebooks that were ruined during those same expeditions is non-zero, usually from condensation or the physical trauma of a backpack.
- TheCapeGreek 3y ago
  Considering you're on HN, it's likely a safe bet to say you also travel with a laptop. In which case, an e-reader is still a waste of space because your laptop can just open ebooks too. Or if you don't, then your phone is still a better space saver for reading books with. Yet, you will likely prefer to take your e-reader with anyway (and its charger if it isn't the same as other devices). This is why I find "saving space during travels" a very relative argument to make, because it's clearly down to preference.
  - theshrike79 3y ago
    The ergonomics on any laptop is dogshit compared to a dedicated e-ink reader. Just the amount of brightness the display beams to your face makes it suboptimal for reading in low light. And the "charger" I need with my ancient Kindle is a standard micro-USB cable, not exactly exotic. And as soon as this one breaks down, the next one will be USB-C like a good 90%+ of my devices I travel with.
  - BoringTimesGang 3y ago
    My laptop and phone can't last through a long-haul flight. My e-reader doesn't need charging until I come home, fits in a jeans pocket and is a similar weight to my passport.
    - TheCapeGreek 3y ago
      That's kind of my point - your preferences are to the advantage of the e-reader. For others, the same might apply to physical books instead, despite the disadvantage of bulk.
  - AlotOfReading 3y ago
    Of course it's a relative argument. Everything is. I don't personally travel with a laptop unless I plan on working remote. Too heavy/bulky and more importantly, you need to take them out going through TSA. The e-reader doesn't need a charger for the 2-4 weeks I usually travel. If I'm traveling longer, I'll bring a single additional USB cable (that will go away the next time I upgrade). A phone doesn't take bag space because it's always in my pocket, but it's significantly less ergonomic and much less power efficient for reading. The value-add of being able to read without draining battery on my most important travel tool is worth it on its own.

criddell 3y ago

The older I get, the more I appreciate being able to select a larger font with my Kindle. I love books, but the accessibility features of a modern ereader are pretty great too.

echelon_musk 3y ago
I've been putting off glasses for as long as I can. I suspect I'll return to my Kindle again in the future for this reason. It's good to be reminded that both things can coexist.
Tor3 3y ago
The ability to select a font size I like is one of my main three reasons for using a Kindle.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

hollandheese 3y ago

E-readers are often very simple devices. Their main audience is older people. Light being a dependency of reading a printed book is one of the biggest plus for e-ink readers. You don't need light, they already come with it! It's so much easier reading with a Kindle (in dark mode) at bed time than it is a paper book.

Tor3 3y ago
Well, yes and no.. I do use the backlight on my Kindle if it's dark, but this changes how it looks. I have a Paperwhite Kindle. With the backlight on it's more like reading on LCD, though not as bad. The Kindle looks much nicer if I can use a bedside lamp instead of the backlight, just as I would with a paper book.
- nottorp 3y ago
  You still can't turn off the light on a Kindle completely can you? Always felt like a waste of battery on a beach...
  - Tor3 3y ago
    There's a tiny amount of light, yes. I don't know why Amazon made it that way. It's not really visible.. not to me, at least. But it's probably one reason the battery is slowly drained, over weeks, even if not in use.
    - nottorp 3y ago
      It does turn off when you're not using the kindle. But you can't turn it completely off while reading. I suppose the use case is picking up the kindle at night in a dark room while you disabled the light when you were reading outside during the day.
  - wizzwizz4 3y ago
    If you put it in / out of sleep mode juuuust right, you can trigger a bug (race condition?) where it doesn't turn the backlight on.