I've been debating for the longest time about purchasing an e-reader (Kindle Paper White, to be exact).

What's kept me from purchasing one was my appreciation for the tactile experience that holding a book gives you.
Since the advent of e-readers and tablets, I've been of a mind that an e-reader could not offer the same "intimate" experience paper offers (i.e. marginalia).

Just as I was about to give in, I decided to find out what science had to say about the e-reading experience (yeah! imagine me consulting Science!)

This article has offset my desire to purchase an e-reader. At least for now. I've decided to put the purchase on hold till further notice.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... r-screens/

Does anyone consider the findings to be an accurate representation of their experience?
I'm totally not convinced it's the way to go. Perhaps for some books, but not personal favorites/classics.

Thanks for sharing this.

My experience has been that I read slower on a computer screen but faster on a tablet. Why I do this is two fold: comfort and the computer is associated with work. I also like a light gray background to make it easy on the eyes.

I like e-readers, but I don't like the ones made of a metal. A book is warm and soft to the touch. So I choose a plastic cased one.

Do you find memory retention better from a book or e-reader?

I use a Kindle Fire HD.

I have noticed no difference with retention of material. Overall it is more pleasant to read print on paper...but, I can carry thousands of books with me, instantly look up a word's definition, easily make and refer to notes, copy and paste text and access thousands of public domain books with my tablet.

Gripes, paying nearly the same for an e-book as a print edition.

You probably have a smart phone to access the internet and I am not familiar with the capabilities of the paperwork but I started with a Kindle keyboard and found it unsatisfying as I wanted internet access.

I am pretty happy with the Fire HD 7"

I have a nook Wi-Fi edition (old school e-ink nook) and I really like it, but don't really use it very often. I mostly used it for downloading public domain classics for free and transferring them to it. I also had a couple of favorite self-published authors that I would buy their ebooks and read on there.

For the "traditionally" published and newer works, I still either rent from the library or purchase.

There still is no equal to holding the book in your hand, is how I look at it, despite the convenience of being able to load multiple books on the eReader.

I am perfectly comfortable using ereaders. I don’t have to carry around a notebook and dictionary anymore because of the built in note taking ability, bookmarks, and dictionary. I also love the convenience of having a ton of books one device for traveling and always having access to the book I’m in the middle of on my phone so when waiting I can just whip it out on the Kindle app and read instead of having to plan ahead and lug a book with (I don’t carry a purse, otherwise I would always have a book in there). I personally do not miss the look, smell, or feel of a book at all, though I can understand why people would. I find ebooks easier because I read I lounge around in funny positions and with a paper book my hands and arms get tired more quickly holding it up and open, especially with a big hardcover book.

I was not interested in getting an ereader because I thought a one use device was silly when I could read on my phone, but after receiving a second generation Kindle as a gift I found that it was comfortable and easy to use. I have also read books on an iPad but don’t like it nearly as much because it is larger, heavier, and the text is backlit. I would never get a backlit ereader.

But of course there are drawbacks. Taking notes and looking up words are easy in an ereader, but the actually writing out of these things helps me to remember better. It is definitely not as easy to find previous pages when you want to go back and check something as a paper book. The options for borrowing from a library or lending books to a friend exist, but aren’t nearly as good as the options for physical books, not to mention the loss of browsing around a second hand book store looking for something cheap and adventurous. There are plenty of free ebooks available, but they are not necessarily the ones that I want to read.

I have no idea if I remember better or worse. I haven't noticed a difference, but I suppose I simply don't remember that I once read something that I forgot. I do very often flip back a few pages to re-read difficult things and stop reading to ponder what I've just read, so I think I'm ok in the metacognitive learning regulation department. I also haven't noticed a difference in the speed that I read at.

Overall I generally prefer ebooks.

Not too long after I joined Book Talk, I posted a thread on this same subject. History: My children had given me a Kindle (Keyboard) for Christmas, and I was getting used to it. I had many of the same feelings you all do about paper vs. screen. The overriding factor for me to prefer a Kindle (or other e-reader) was the ability to increase or decrease the font size. I am over 70 and my eyesight is not what it used to be. The second plus is (as others have mentioned) carrying around a library in one hand. The primary negative I have found is it is tricky to scroll backward and forward if you are going more than a few pages. But for me, the adjustable font size trumps everything else.

Is there a such thing as an eReader that can toggle from the eInk, like the original nook, to backlit, like some of the newer tablets. Logistically, what I am asking may be an impossibility, but I was just wondering.

Cattleman wrote:Not too long after I joined Book Talk, I posted a thread on this same subject. History: My children had given me a Kindle (Keyboard) for Christmas, and I was getting used to it. I had many of the same feelings you all do about paper vs. screen. The overriding factor for me to prefer a Kindle (or other e-reader) was the ability to increase or decrease the font size. I am over 70 and my eyesight is not what it used to be. The second plus is (as others have mentioned) carrying around a library in one hand. The primary negative I have found is it is tricky to scroll backward and forward if you are going more than a few pages. But for me, the adjustable font size trumps everything else.

Thank you, Counselor

I use my e-reader all the time. I have an old kindle keyboard (I'll probably upgrade next year). I love it because I read a lot of series and I used to check them out from the library because I didn't have room in my house for them but I buy them e-book form now. It saves space and I love that I can just pop the kindle in my purse and take it anywhere. I couldn't always do that with a physical book.