It's cause the pages are easier to turn

[Richard Sanders]

The ABCs of
E-Reading

Book lovers have long worried that technology would lead to the demise of long-form reading. But new research shows that owners of electronic reading devices may be reading more than ever before.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703846604575448093175...

[Stacy]

I can say that I'd slowed down on my reading a lot before I got my ereader. Half the books I picked up to read I wouldn't even finish. I noticed when I started using an ereader, I was reading faster than I ever had. My complaint about reading most times is that it would take me so long to finish a book. I had to pick my time to read you know and some books I wouldn't even finish. Most of the ebooks I read, I finish in a day or two. I never thought I was the type that could read a 300-page book in a few days but since ereading, I can.

A lot of people say that ereaders speed up their reading. I can say it definitely did for me. Maybe it's the fact that you don't have to turn the pages and lug a big book around. I can just concentrate on the words. LOL.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Caroline Trippe]

A lot of people say that ereaders speed up their reading.

For those who want to read fast, that's fine. I prefer to read slowly, even when it's a thriller and I'm totally engrossed. We had to do speed reading in high school and I hated it. I could never remember what I had just read. Maybe fast reading now feels too much like homework---gotta get through 16 chapters of some dry as dust textbook on English history printed on tissue paper :( I don't like fast food either. I like Slow Food and Slow Books. :) Of course I seldom sit and read for an entire day, and I'm old enough now for it not to matter how soon I finish a book---no more tests!

[Richard Sanders]

Those who champion speed reading deserve a slow, painful death.

[I. J. Parker]

I don't understand that. Surely it's not the "labor" of turning the pages. Is it the convenience of having the device with you all day long?

[Caroline Trippe]

Surely it's not the "labor" of turning the pages

I actually like turning pages. I even like the way they feel and smell. I like bookmarks. But in the age of texting and multi-tasking, it doesn't surprise me that quantity is often more valued than quality, and zooming through a book is considered an accomplishment.

[Richard Sanders]

I think portability is a factor. I also think there might somehow be less eye strain with the screen. And the page-turning function could play a role. Freedom from the grueling strain of licking your finger, bending a knuckle and--in defiance of all known laws of gravity!--lifting a piece of paper over half with width of a book can be very liberating. Okay, I'm joking about the turn, but something's going on with e-readers. I'm never conscious of reading more or faster, but when I glance down at the %-read number, I'm always astounded by how much I've consumed.

[Stacy]

I don't know if some folks consider it an accomplishment but for me, I wasn't speaking of the speed necessarily, just how many more books I read now than before. I do enjoy being able to do that because being a writer, it was hard to get in a lot of reading and I'd slacked off so when I got my ereader I saw myself getting more reading in.

How people read is their choice. Whether some read slow or fast, I don't think there's a problem. Everyone is different. All I know is that when I was reading straight print, a lot of the books I read (maybe it was just the books) weren't holding my interest. But when I started ereading I was introduced to a world of all kinds of authors that you wouldn't even know if not for ebooks. People forget that some authors are only in ebook form and they are good writers and are writing wonderful stories too. So I found myself becoming a fan of new writers who happened to be big on the ebook circuit.

Some people seem to forget that every writer these days just isn't in print and a lot of ebook authors are happy with that.

I realize a lot of folks who hate ebooks and ereaders won't like it no matter what positive things are said and that's their choice of course. But I was only explaining my take from my experience. I can't speak for others and I can't explain why my reading has sped up.

As for folks who love the touch and feel of a book, that's great too. But I've never been like that. I read because I cared about the story and the words. I was never one of those who got a high off of smelling a book or feeling on it, LOL. Just reading them does it for me.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Caroline Trippe]

But when I started ereading I was introduced to a world of all kinds of authors that you wouldn't even know if not for ebooks.

Well, that's certainly a good reason.
I for one don't hate e books. They are not my preference now, but perhaps I'll change my mind. Who knows. And although I like the touch and feel of a real book, (and some of that is tongue in cheek you know) I definitely care more about the story and the language as well.
I am a lot older than you, and when I was a kid, we didn't have any electronics, or even imagine such things as ebooks.
So I still associate reading with a lot of sensory and sensuous pleasures. Going to the library across the street, finding my favorite books---children's books at the time---in this wonderful basement room with wood-panelled walls. It had a certain smell that I loved. Then I'd carry the books home to read on the front porch, and I savored all of it. The book, the smells of summer, just being able to sit and read like that. So some of my affection for "the book" has to do with those memories. There was this little package with a whole world inside---words, marvellous illustrations, often under a fairly shabby cover from all the handling. Of course, you could feel that way about an e-book too. Why not. (Although I don;t have the same affection for the old-fashioned telephone, I have to say). :) I quite like my mobile.
But I was born in 1946. Although I embrace much of technology--love it, in fact, for what it can do---I don't mind hanging on a bit to the "old ways."
Your generation will be the same,when you look back.
And truly I don't care how anyone reads---as long as they read! :)

[Benjamin Sobieck]

I think people read faster on e-readers because the screen is smaller than a print page. The smaller portions make it easier to digest faster. It's the same quantity, just broken up.

So I don't think e-readers encourage speed reading. The format makes it easier to read faster.