I very seldom buy books sold as paper. These three are the exception and two were given to me as presents. The third was coauthored by a friend who writes crime fiction set in South Africa. I wanted a signed copy. This is it for the past year or so. I like reading the type of book that requires you to turn paper pages every now and then. The one thing I notice is that the type seems small. I am spoiled from being able to enlarge the type on an e-reader.
I divide the books I consume into two categories and this division only tangentially relates to whether the books are read from paper or a device. There are the books I read for enjoyment and the books I read for learning. Pleasure reading can either involve listening or seeing. Books I read for learning must involve seeing and using a device. A visual and digital approach is important for a couple of reasons. First, reading allows greater control than listening. Sometimes it is important to go slow or to repeat and this just doesn’t work well with an audio input. The digital approach allows me to highlight, annotate, and save this layered material independently of the original material. In retirement, I spend a lot of time reading and then writing. I think of the process as a matter of personal interpretation and condensation.
I understand that this is a different way to look at reading, but it is relevant to certain positions I take. An important issue for some might be that I think it appropriate for students to read from a device. I understand that some are critical and claim that comprehension is lower with this type of input. There are several reasons for this (lack of experience, easy distractibility) that I recognize, but here is my perspective. There is a difference between reading and studying. All text involves reading, but much of what we read we do not study. Reading to learn works best when the reader has the greatest control and can act on ideas for better understanding and to make use of information. The opportunity to highlight and take notes and then to use this material in the future either as ideas layered on the original content or as material stored separately involves a better approach to using information encountered through reading. Depending on your goals for reading you might want to consider some of these ideas.