How do you read?

C

Cammeh

Guest
Original poster
I love a good story, but for a long while, until recently, I had a problem getting through a book.

I grew up reading. I would sit up for hours at night devouring a book, and buy up 5 books of a series at a time so I wouldn't have to wait once I finished the previous book. But when I moved to London a year and a half ago, I had to get rid of most of my books. I only brought the ones I loved the most, or that had personal significance to me. I figured, living in London and moving around a bit, that just ebooks on my iPad would be a good substitute. But as much as I love computers, and as much as I love to read, the two just weren't compatible for me.

First, I get eye fatigue very easily reading blocks of text on a screen, no matter how i try to adjust the text. Secondly, it just doesn't 'flow' like a book does for me. It feels disjointed. So, I could never read very long before I lost interest in the story. I really had to push myself to finish a story. Plus, with travelling on the bus and the tube, there's frequent interruptions and a lot of stopping and starting, and having to stop to flip back and forth between apps.

So, i reluctantly turned to audiobooks. I never thought I'd be able to do audiobooks, because I have a slight auditory processing issue. Basically, I sometimes have trouble taking in a lot of information if I don't have visual cues. I'm very much a visual learner. But, I had some credits piling up on the audible account I opened on a whim, so i figured I'd give it a try.

I finished my first 3-book series in the space of a week, and I am hooked. It took a while to get used to it, but by wearing my headphones and blocking out other auditory stimulation, it was very easy to focus on the story. And it helps if the narrator reads like a natural storyteller and not in a stiff, flat voice. And I could listen for blocks of time, despite moving around and travelling and such. And it's not dry information I'm listening to, it's a good story.

So what do you all think of audiobooks, traditional books and ebooks? Some people say audiobooks are 'not really reading' or 'lazy'. Other people say that ebooks steal from the 'experience' of holding a real book and turning the pages. This isn't a debate over the right or wrong way to read.

I just want to know, what are your preferences in reading style, and why?
 
In classes when I'm supposed to be reviewing for a final.

It's seemed like a good strategy thus far.
 
Step 1: Pick a book.

Step 2: "Ah I'll just read a couple pages..."

Step 3: "... I'm hungry. Oh what the fuck I'm finished already. Oh, wait, it's been fourteen hours... I... Huh?"

Repeat every time I get an interesting book.

As for how to keep attention on a book? Man I have no idea. There's plenty of self-helpers who will tell you the magical cure is this or that, but ultimately the only cure is being interested enough to read and disciplined enough not to falter to distractions. I sometimes find listening to background noises like these can help. Staying away from sources of distractions (Television and Computers) helps. Beyond that? No idea. Sorry mate, this is one of those "gotta answer that on your own" questions.

As for audiobooks: Great for listening to while busying yourself with mundane chores. It's like reading but time-efficient.

Ebooks make sense so long as they're on devices not filled with distractions.

I like traditional hard cover books, but I understand that it won't always be practical to have everything be a book as we progress further into the information era. So... Viva la revolution?
 
I prefer the real book experience, but it's just so damned inconvenient. I plow through books like crazy, because I have 1.5-2 hours of bus time (combined waiting for buses and the actual rides) 5 days a week going to and from work, and then at work I have 4-6 hours each day where I'm just sitting there reading. Trying to acquire physical copies of books to keep me having something to read would require a trip to the book store once every two weeks at a minimum, and that's just annoying.

So I do the ebook thing instead. I got an ebook reader that is only an ebook reader. Not a tablet, not one of the fancy ones with games and shit, just a text viewer. That way there's no apps or other nonsense to distract me. It's not the same experience as reading a real book, but being able to carry literally hundreds of books in a device that weighs as much as a paperback kind of makes up for it.

I haven't ever tried audiobooks, because a large part of the book experience for me includes listening to music while I read. I feel like losing that on top of losing everything that goes with a real book might be enough to ruin it for me, and I'm fine with the ebook thing so why bother trying something new?
 
I CAN'T read on the computer. I just can't. It's filled with distractions and I have no willpower to ignore them.

I like ereaders a lot, but somethings they feel a little awkward to hold. I have a kindle fire. O_O I have a little cover for it that makes it feel more like a book when i'm holding it. Sometimes the screen makes my eyes tired, though. And because once I get in to a story, I will sit there and read FOR HOURS it gets annoying when I start running low on battery and have to plug in. I love that don't have to find tons of storage for books, but I miss having something solid that I paid for. >>

Books are best cause they just feel good in my hands. And I tend to finish them in a day even when they are super thick. >>; They are easiest on my eyes too. And I don't get as easily distracted from them. The opposite, I ignore the entire planet while reading!
 
Oh, yeah, speaking of the eye stress thing, my ereader is not backlit. It's got a screen made of the "electronic paper" stuff that'll keep the image there forever without needing to constantly feed energy into it like a standard electronic display, which means it's effectively the same as a page of a book. This means I need a light source to read it, but on the plus side no eye strain.
 
When I was younger, I could easily stay up all night reading a book a liked. But somewhere along the way I've kind of lost my appetite for books. I still like to read, and there's a lot of stories I wish to get into, but I just have a hard time sitting down and get started. Once I've started I can read for hours if I like the book, or put it away after two minutes if it becomes uninteresting, but the part of actually picking up the book and start reading is what's hard for me.

E-books has never interested me. I tried reading one once, but my eyes get too tired of reading on my computer screen for too long, and it just doesn't give the same feeling as when I read a book I'm holding in my hand. Also, if I read I usually does it right before I go to sleep, and you shouldn't sit at your computer for the last half hour-hour before you're going to bed. That will just fuel insomnia... .. (Not because I've ever listened to that advice before xD)

As for audiobooks, I've been very against them up until maybe a year ago. But now I can listen to a five-eight hour long audiobook in a day without problems. Usually I play some games while listening. Though I have noticed that I can't listen to books that are in third person past tense (Which is quite funny, as that is the style I write in haha). It needs to be first person (tense doesn't matter) otherwise I tend to stop listening and suddenly they've teleported to a different location and I am like "Wait... What? What did I miss?". Don't know why it is like that, but it is. I can read third person in a book without problems though.. Well, for as long as the book is good at least.

So audiobooks when it's written in third person and I want to play some games. Normal books when I want to relax in bed or on the couch before going to sleep. (Except for when they keep me up all night. No going to sleep then o.O)
 
I read books in two parts. Steady, passionate, omg-can't-put-it-down part one, a break because I got busy/bored, and then either 'gotta see how it ends' or 'may as well say I finished it' part two.
 
Books to me are life water. I need them to steady myself and really think. There's nothing like cracking open a book to read, and being able to read it again. Never had a book die and come back to life on me like this computer does.
 
Brovo said:
Step 1: Pick a book.

Step 2: "Ah I'll just read a couple pages..."

Step 3: "... I'm hungry. Oh what the fuck I'm finished already. Oh, wait, it's been fourteen hours... I... Huh?"

Repeat every time I get an interesting book.

As for how to keep attention on a book? Man I have no idea. There's plenty of self-helpers who will tell you the magical cure is this or that, but ultimately the only cure is being interested enough to read and disciplined enough not to falter to distractions. I sometimes find listening to background noises like these can help. Staying away from sources of distractions (Television and Computers) helps. Beyond that? No idea. Sorry mate, this is one of those "gotta answer that on your own" questions.

As for audiobooks: Great for listening to while busying yourself with mundane chores. It's like reading but time-efficient.

Ebooks make sense so long as they're on devices not filled with distractions.

I like traditional hard cover books, but I understand that it won't always be practical to have everything be a book as we progress further into the information era. So... Viva la revolution?
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um

some of those ambient sounds?

like i dunno FIRE?

i think i would wanna pay attention to that
 
I read with my Big Brown Eyes xD LOL

Anyway.. hm.. by my fireplace sometimes or on the Bus ha ha ^^
 
Four book shelves full of books. My wife's collection of classics and series.

One book shelf. My collection of sci-fi, WH40K, comics, and art books.

Bought her a kindle and she barely used it. Got her an iPad, FOUR GIGABYTES OF BOOKS.

I use my venue8pro tablet for reading. But a good book is never a bad thing.
 
I haven't touched a reading book in... years. I'm one of the few people who just don't like books or reading at all (ironic that I join a site which involves a lot of reading, eh?)

I think I would prefer e-readers to paper books due to convenience. Even then, I can't possibly sit there for ages staring at blocks of text unless it's extremely interesting.
 
I binge read. I'll start reading one book, then try to find a dozen others like it and read those until I get tired of them. I read the entire Dark Tower series in a week and a half after reading the first book, and then couldn't touch another book for another week. @_@
 
Jorick said:
Oh, yeah, speaking of the eye stress thing, my ereader is not backlit. It's got a screen made of the "electronic paper" stuff that'll keep the image there forever without needing to constantly feed energy into it like a standard electronic display, which means it's effectively the same as a page of a book. This means I need a light source to read it, but on the plus side no eye strain.
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Yes! This! I CANNOT read for long periods of time on iPads and other such electronic devices but my Kindle Paperwhite is the e-paper. Mine is really new so it does have a backlight, but I can turn it off or dim it. I usually have it on the lowest setting of backlight just so I don't have to mess with it ever, but I love it.

I will inhale books. Reading is one of my all time favourite past times. I do loooove physical books. I love their smell, the feel of them... Usually what I do is read the ebook, and if I really like it I'll then go and buy the real book and reread it in physical form. I used to be a book purist, but then I started doing a lot of travelling, and it's the worst when you finish a book mid-flight and have no second book because you couldn't fit anything else in your carryon.

I haven't tried audiobooks, but even with real books sometimes I tend to read a few pages and then realize I have no idea what I just read because I wasn't paying attention. I do this to people when they talk to me, too, so I worry about missing a bunch of stuff.
 
Asena said:
I haven't tried audiobooks, but even with real books sometimes I tend to read a few pages and then realize I have no idea what I just read because I wasn't paying attention. I do this to people when they talk to me, too, so I worry about missing a bunch of stuff.
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I thought that would be my issue as well, but it really hasn't happened nearly as much as I'd thought it would. Unless I'm actively reading something else or talking to someone, I haven't zoned out on the story. The main times I have to stop and go back is when I fall asleep listening ;)
 
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