Is it the end of the story for ebooks?

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I spent a great deal of time reading during my adult life, and since the 80s staring at computer screens. Years ago I bought reading glasses and then varifocals but did not like either. I don’t need glasses in natural light or if I use a good reading light. I avoid reading when I’m tired, but have no idea if this could cause problems. I’ve noticed that I automatically use the trackpad to make text larger on the computer, even if it is large enough to read.

I would support Which? mentioning larger ereaders and suggesting that potential purchasers consider various alternatives such as large tablets, laptops and even desktop machines. These are likely to be more versatile than an reader, though the battery will need more frequent charging. A friend who suddenly lost most of his sight during the last year is able to read small amounts using the 24″ iMac that he already owned and the computer also reads ebooks to him.

I’m sometimes surprised by what Which? reviews and what is not covered. A year ago, there were no reviews of carbon monoxide detectors, despite the recommendation that every room with a gas/oil/solid fuel appliance should have one. When reviews did appear, it was discovered that dangerously substandard ones were on sale.

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It’s comforting until you reach the references to war and hate. I think we had better get back to ebooks.

You have provided a link to what is the most useful study, Patrick. It would be interesting to compare a modern ereader with a modern high resolution tablet or laptop. I have little experience with ereaders but it’s certainly important for users of tablets and laptops to set the screen brightness according to ambient light conditions. For those like myself with uncorrected presbyopia, a bright screen is helpful because it constricts the pupil and improves focus.

I suggest borrowing modern devices from neighbours or friends, which is a great way of evaluating products.

Perhaps this may also be of interest as obliquely it provides a reason were a dedicated simple ereader may be superior to a tablet – other than simply eye-strain. The quote below sets the scene you need to read the article for the oblique lead.

” For instance, reading scholars increasingly find that changing the physical reading platform (from a printed book to a digital screen) leads to marked alterations in comprehension of the text read. They point to factors related to the affordance of the reading device such as haptics e.g., perception through touch (Mangen and Kuiken, 2014) and lighting conditions (e.g., Benedetto et al., 2013) as aspects undergoing a significant change which result in a reduced learning outcome. This observation is corroborated by studies probing for accompanying metacognitive processing that show less accurate prediction of performance and more erratic study-time regulation when reading on screen versus on paper (Ackerman and Goldsmith, 2011).

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5332409/

This may be of interest to opticians aswell as patients as I am generally asked what distnce do you hold a book which is rather different for smartphone readers.

“With the wide-spread use of smart mobile devices, smart device addiction has become serious health problem worldwide [6, 26]. Continuous accommodation is necessary to focus on the display of smart mobile devices for an extended period. The fatigue induced by video monitors, such as LCD and LED monitors, has been previously referred as computer vision syndrome (CVS) [4, 5, 27, 28]. About 64–90 % of computer users develop CVS [4]. It has been reported that blink rate during computer work significantly decreases and negatively correlates with eye discomfort score [10]. Another study revealed that computer work for more than 4 h significantly increased eye discomfort [29]. In addition, electronic book readers with LCD monitor cause marked visual fatigue [30].

Our results have demonstrated the aggravation of CVS upon viewing monitors such as those of mobile devices. A recent study demonstrated that the preferred distance for viewing a mobile device (36.2 cm) is shorter than the typical distance for reading books (40 cm) and this requires more accommodation and convergence [31]. The cumulative effect of continuous accommodation and convergence can manifest as various ocular, visual and musculoskeletal symptoms which are collectively called as asthenopia.”

Various methods of treatment have been suggested to manage CVS. These include correction of residual refractive errors, instillation of artificial tears, combination of specific body posture, breathing and mental control, visual ergonomics and Ayurveda medicine [28, 32–34]. There are anecdotal reports about the effectiveness of these treatment modalities. Specific pharmacologic intervention to alleviate asthenopia induced by CVS has been investigated previously. Omega-3 fatty acid was reported to decrease visual discomfort in CVS by decreasing tear evaporation and improving dry eye symptoms [35]. Topical brief application of polyphenol on eyes alleviated eye fatigue after computer work [36]. It is also important to maintain baseline efforts such as taking regular break, proper refractive correction, and treating underlying ocular surface disease to prevent CVS.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991001/

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If we’re going to play at nit-picking, I think that’s more down to a failure of proof reading, rather than spelling.

As wee no, their is an adequate “spilling chucker” on hear, butt it does knot yet cheque context and grammar, sew it allows homophones too slip through unnoticed.

Mel is normally punctilious in regard to her writing, so this is bound to be a simple proof-reading error.

Trevor – People with perfect spelling can still let errors slip through because it is well-known that we can be more fallible when proof-reading on a screen. In Which? Conversation we generally let these trivial faults pass without comment. We type what we hear in our head and reliance on a spell-checker has possibly undermined diligence with spelling and making sure it is the right word.

As to English grammar, Duncan, if we insisted on perfection with that, a lot of what is written here would be almost unreadable and possibly unintelligible to many. It matters that people can understand what others are writing but apart from that, on little slips and trips, “Ça ne fait rien”.

Any comments on ebooks, Trevor?

Following the responses from others in response to my previous comment, I would just add that the reason I commented on it is because, on reading that sentence, I did actually initially read it as written, i.e. as “you are wi-fi”, and then did a ‘double-take’ and had to re-read it 2-3 times before realising what was meant. Many typos and mistakes can be ‘absorbed’ by the reader without difficulty, whereas others do actually cause difficulty to the reader. For me, this one fell into the latter category: hence my comment. Sorry if I’ve offended people.

In response to wavechange, my father was a bookseller, so I’m biased, but I do prefer reading from paper. I have a couple of reference books that are e-books, but wouldn’t read a novel that way.

Hi TrevorD – Thanks for coming back. I prefer to read on paper too. I have just printed a 32 page article by a friend and will mark the most interesting points and then put it in a filing cabinet. I will keep the pdf too because that is much easier to search.

I would certainly prefer ebooks for reference purposes because they don’t gather dust or take up space on a bookshelf. If I’m going to read a whole book, I prefer paper.

Come and join us in a few Conversations. The natives are quite friendly. 🙂

Entirely up to you how you read ebooks. I wonder if you knew that the larger ereaders existed? The 13″ using different technology is very expensive but weighs the same as an 9.7″

I make use of calibre that can pretty much do anything I want with a file in terms of converting and re-naming. It is freeware and I have paid to the developer over the past decade tiny fraction of what the program is worth.

calibre-ebook.com/about

I do use Librarything also and that now allows you to add ebooks [ and DVD’s ] to your library. This means I can have ebooks and physical books together in a single catalogue if I wish…. though I have yet to get around to it.