Comments on: How Does E-Reading Affect the Reader?

By: Celeste

Celeste — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:05:37 +0000

Just saw this article in the NY Times and thought it related to the various comments you’ve made here on the blog about e-reading and all that goes with it. Interesting, indeed!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/books/01book.html

By: June Reading Notes — Here in the Bonny Glen

June Reading Notes — Here in the Bonny Glen — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:58:02 +0000

[...] The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. (Mentioned in this post.) [...]

By: Emm

Emm — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:59:38 +0000

Oh, that is so interesting! I know I definitely pace TV shows and films by how much time is left and I am quite certain that I subconsciously do it with books. I might run the risk of developing a thumb injury by trying to reads books one-handed on the train but I think I’m going to stick to paper for now.

By: MelanieB

MelanieB — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:29:13 +0000

To present the other side of the argument… My husband says that not knowing how many pages are left is something that he actually prefers. He likes the increased suspense, not being able to guess how things are going to tie together. He’s one of those guys who it’s sometimes annoying to watch movies and shows with because he always figures out who did it really early on and ruins my feeling of suspense. So in some ways the lack of clues can be to a canny reader’s advantage because it makes it harder to guess how a plot is going to resolve.

By: Melissa Wiley

Melissa Wiley — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:58:09 +0000

“There are troubling implications there, I believe: is my ability to really sustain focus on a text slowly atrophying? I fear it may be.”

Ginny, I was really struggling with this myself last year. (If you look at my 2008 TBR list you’ll see it’s much shorter than 2009’s first half alone.) I was complaining about it to Scott, even, mildly worried I’d somehow lost the ability to focus & immerse the way I used to…and then right around the time of my complaints, an article went round the blogosphere, from the Atlantic I think?, about that exact topic. Is Google Atrophying Our Brains or something like that. Addressed the skimming issue, the bite-size bits of info…and I realized (with relief) it wasn’t just me. So I made an effort to redevelop the habit of reading books. Seems like once I got over the hump (in late 2008—I think it was December when my reading really picked up) I was fine. I’m so happy to be back on the bookwagon.

By: Ginny

Ginny — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:40:02 +0000

VERY fascinating article. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the differences between reading something on a screen vs. reading something on paper.

The following thought isn’t about Kindle, per se (which I have not used myself), but I do honestly feel like the Internet has changed the way I read. I now SKIM so much more than I actually, well, read. There are troubling implications there, I believe: is my ability to really sustain focus on a text slowly atrophying? I fear it may be.

I much prefer reading the old-fashioned way (this in spite of the fact that I blog myself, and avidly read others’ blogs). It’s because I love the weight and texture of the paper, the feel of something tangible, etc. — plus the fact that I am better at focusing on the words when I am holding something in my hands vs. looking at it on a screen.

Incidentally: I teach high school English, and have for the past twelve years. Recently, some of my colleagues and I were talking about how students in recent years seem [overall] less able to buckle down with and really digest a long and difficult text than students of old. The Luddite in me fears that technology is making them so used to brief, bite-sized bits of information that they don’t have the tools to stick with something longer.

Anyhow. Great post. Made me think.

By: Melissa Wiley

Melissa Wiley — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:38:23 +0000

Oh gosh, don’t apologize, Jen. I’m glad to have read it, even if I had problems with it (and I do wish I knew to what degree my problems were caused by the shock of being done without warning). I do think this is a case of a book that suffers somewhat from its own narrative voice; I wanted deeper reflection than Kyra seemed able to give—probably because events were whirling along at such a fast pace that she, the character, had little TIME to pause and reflect, and so, as narrator, she whisked the reader along too. I wish the author had gone with a third-person narrative voice.

I also felt like the book suffered a bit from (forgive me) weak editing. Very often, Kyra’s reactions run along the same pattern: something happens, she looks at someone, then she mentions a scent. It’s an easy sort of rhythm to fall into when you’re writing, and a sharp editor will call you on it. And then some regrettable turns of phrase, as when we’re told Uncle Hyram’s “tone was that of ice.” You know what the author meant, and it’s an easy kind of mistake that happens when you’re caught up in your narrative, and your editor catches it and marks it with a wry comment in the margin.