Reading: Paper versus Electronic
Published March 6th, 2006 in UncategorizedAll right, I’m being lazy again! I just got through a grueling (for me) week of school work and work work and I didn’t feel like writing over the weekend. I just hung out at home and watched the kids while trying to catch up on a few months worth of magazines I had laying around.
I wonder why I bother with the magazines. They are out of date as soon as I get them in the mail or buy them off the newsstand. I guess I’m still old-fashioned enough that I like to read physical copies. I’ve never really liked reading books and stories online nearly as much as paper ones. I don’t have any problem with news and blogs, though. Maybe it has something to do with the length…
I’d like to take more advantage of what’s out there, though, as there really is a good variety of high-quality fiction available on the web. Check out Futurismic and Strange Horizons for speculative fiction stories (and other articles). If you’re into mainstream fiction, take a look at The New Yorker Magazine. I’ll try to add more links as I come across them.
Anything even vaguely lengthy I want on paper. One problem with reading on my computer screen is that it forces me to stay in the same position too long. I want to sprawl in a chair for ten minutes, then shift position or move to the couch, or walk around a little, or go out on the deck.
Secondarily, the backlighting of a computer screen is hard on my eyes, so even a laptop that I can drag around eventually tires my eyes far more than reading ink on paper.
And you can’t take a laptop into the bathtub at all… or drop it on the floor… or…
Yep. I find that my eyes are getting worse with age and that’s also becoming a big factor for me. Can’t really enjoy reading if you’re uncomfortable.