Reading Digitally

Has the title question ever struck you? What do you think? Read on for lovely highlights.

It is a subtle question. Since our childhood we have studied books in print when the digital devices for reading were nonexistent. We had no other option other than to read in print.

Now that the digital age is here, how has digital reading changed things for us? We like to read fictions or self-help eBooks or any other eBook in another niche in kindle devices, iPads, tabs, notebooks and laptops where the reading format of the eBook needs to match the particular reading device. It’s more complex now. But have all the new digital devices made things really easier for us?

In fact, yes. You choose an eBook format and its compatible reading device and get habituated to it. They are easier to concentrate and we can go on reading for hours. All the same if the body of the eBook is too concise and full of information in lengthy paragraphs, you will naturally want to skim and lose your patience.

How about books in print? We are more comfortable with print in concise form full of information. We cannot disagree with this fact. We are able to take in more information by reading in print.

On the other hand, kindle devices, tabs, iPads, notebooks and laptops all need to have their batteries recharged from time to time. Sometimes it becomes an added burden for us to recharge these devices just because we want to read something.

However, reading in print is convenient anytime. We just have to open the required books and novels when we are in a mood to read. We don’t have the additional task of recharging our digital devices. They are free open reads for us whenever we want wherever we like.

Summing up, while digital devices have the upper advantage of making digital reading more convenient for us, they do have their downsides that I have just mentioned, which reading in print doesn’t have.

All the same, this is the digital era and we cannot stay backdated. We need to familiarize ourselves with the various digital reading devices and their corresponding reading formats.

For example, ePub format is an open format designed by the Open eBook Forum and developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. Devices that can open this file include the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and the Nook from Barnes & Noble. The e-book format MOBI used by the MobiPocket Reader can be opened by Kindle for PC and Mac.

The Portable Document Format (PDF) was created by Adobe for its Acrobat products. This is a very popular e-book format since software support for this format exists for a lot of devices including notebooks, laptops and PC’s.

Once we have become accustomed to the eBook reading formats and their corresponding digital reading devices, only then we are able to cherish life fully.