Reading more into it

   I couldn’t relate more when Rebecca Constantino states “Many reported fatigue from reading on a tablet.  They want to hold the book, flip the pages.”

   I feel the same way, and it makes sense to me when she goes on to  say, “Adults and children skim more and comprehend less when they read on a tablet.”  These statements are from an Op-Ed piece in the Los Angeles Times  a couple days ago in which Ms.  Constantino, the founder and executive director of Access Books,  advocates that money should be spent on school libraries rather than on iPads for students.  The $1 billion project to provide iPads to everyone in the Los Angeles Unified School District has been horribly botched, leading to considerable controversy and drama. 

   I have always loved reading actual books and newspapers, turning the pages in my hand, and I don’t really like reading stuff online.  I’m very old-school that way.  So it is really, really weird that I now practically can’t live without my Kindle.  I need it so much that I’m now on my fourth one – they last about 5 months – and very thankful I got an extended warranty. 

   The thing is that, as much as I like holding a book or a periodical and flipping the pages, it can be difficult to do so, all the more if it’s breezy or if I don’t have a table – a problem especially when I (often) want to read outside.  Also, although I find online reading to be tiring and irritating, I don’t feel this with the Kindle, probably because swiping from page to page with my finger is easier than always scrolling with a mouse and clicking.  For me,  the Kindle is much more than a cool gadget; it has literally made my life easier. 

   This really hit me the last time I had to have my Kindle replaced, when I had to get my fourth one.  Why am I going through so many Kindles?  Do others have the same problem?  Is it a bad product?  No, I don’t think it’s a bad product.  I just think I use it much, much more than other people do.  It is not just a neat little gadget that I sometimes use.