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After reading three e-books in a little over the course of a week, it occurred to me that as of late, I’ve developed a tendency of reading more quickly when I use my e-reader.
To confirm my suspicions, I did some quick math (or rather, had Excel do some quick math) and measured how many days on average it took me to complete an e-book and a print book, using the data Goodreads had from books I’ve read thus far this year.
I wasn’t surprised to find a big difference between the two.
On average, it took me 15 days to finish reading a print book. With e-books, however, my average was five days.
I knew, however, that e-books were sometimes shorter than their print counterparts, so I broke it down further to determine how many pages a day I read on average with each. Again, the difference was undeniable: 46 pages a day with print books, and 79 with e-books.
What I really found interesting, however, was that if I averaged these statistics with my reading average over the course of a year and a half (ergo, my reading stats from 2012 and this year so far), my averages were much more comparable: it took me an average of 12 days to finish a print book and nine days to complete an e-book. The difference was still there, until I factored in the pages; 59 print pages per day versus 58 pages per day with e-books.
So what happened between last year and this year?
For the longest time, I treated my e-reader with as much care as I did my print books. You see, I’m a little OCD when it comes to my beautiful books, and I’ve always been very careful to keep them clean and undamaged. I treated my e-reader much the same, until I started to realize more recently that my little e-reader is sturdier than I gave it credit for.
Most times I read with my NOOK Simple Touch, so it’s not as delicate as an iPad or tablet. This realization allowed me to start carrying my e-reader around a little more often—I’d prop it up while eating, for example—something I’d never do with a print book, God forbid I got food on it.
So I suspect that may be part of it, but I think the other part is an active attempt on my part this year to make more use of free moments to read. Combined with the ease of reading off an e-reader (sliding my finger across a screen versus flipping a page, which really shouldn’t be a big deal but it does make for easier single-handed reading), I’ve started to find that on average I breeze through e-books a lot faster than I do their print counterparts. There are exceptions, of course (i.e.: reading The Fault in Our Stars in two days, or Unravel Me in three), but overall, e-books seem to be winning the speed race.
I don’t know if this is a trend that will continue with me, as it’s something that seems to have really developed over the course of the last six months, but I found it interesting nevertheless.
And so I’m curious: do you read e-books faster than print?
Twitter-sized bites:
One writer's findings when comparing her print and e-book reading statistics. (Click to tweet)
Print versus e-books—do you read one faster than the other? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
23 comments:
I definitely read faster with my Kindle. I haven't changed my reading habits even when I use my Kindle instead of a print book, but I noticed that I read much faster, that's because I find it easier to read on the e-reader. I suppose it depends on the better readibility of the fonts used, which is not the same with many printed books, in particular mass market paperback printed with tiny characters.
I still haven't made the leap into e-reading, but I find your observations interesting. I could certainly use a way to read faster. I'd also like to read some of the self-published titles I've come across since I've started blogging and help out my fellow writers. It's just hard for me not to have an actual book in my hands.
I've definitely noticed that I read faster since getting my Kindle. You can read one-handedly pretty much everywhere - I find myself reading whilst doing other things on my laptop and take it with me on the bus and to the gym. It's definitely more convenient! :)
I hadn't even thought about the font, but you're right, it is different and very easy to read. I hadn't even thought about that, thank you Carla!
Honestly, the leap to e-readers came rather unexpectedly for me, as I randomly inherited one from a family member who upgraded hers. What started as an experimental well, I suppose I'll give this a try quickly turned into why did I think I wasn't going to like this? I still love my print books, of course, and I still buy print books, but I've found the e-reader to be an excellent addition that has boosted my reading habits.
The ease of one-handed reading is the biggest difference I've noticed between e-readers and print books, and it seems I'm not the only one whose noticed they read faster on e-readers. :)
Agreed! The one-handed reading is a pretty big bonus. :)
I must be the weird one here because I seem to read print books faster. I don't know why, but it often takes me days to get through one e-book, whereas I'll often finish a print book in a single sitting. I have to be weird. :)
Great post!
I haven't done a time and motion study, but I'd have to guess yes. And I think the reasons you described are probably why. With my Kindle Fire, all it takes is a touch at the edge of the screen to turn the page. That combined with propping up the e-reader surely makes e-reading faster.
And another thing that may help is that I open my e-reader up right to the place I left off. I can start and stop much easier. That makes me more likely to pick up a 'book' when I only have a short time to read.
Something else I like is the ease of touching the screen a highlighting lines. It makes writing reviews much easier. ;)
I don't actually read ebooks, so I don't know. I mean, I've read a couple, if they were free or whatever. But I so much prefer print media that my ebook total is literally less than 5. I do read books very quickly, though.
Wow, three books in a week. Not bad :) I think the reason it's possible to read faster with ebooks is just that the act of flipping through the pages is so instantaneous. There's some kind of drag with turning a page in a print book. Not a bad drag, but almost the I-don't-want-to drag because you want to live on that page a while longer. I'm not sure why that is. Whereas with an e-reader you're just going: tap, tap, tap, tap, SWOOSH! Lol.
I've come to adapt reading ebooks. Before I used to cringe at the thought because I spent so much time staring at a screen. But after getting a tablet it just became sort of natural and very convenient since you could get books right away. When I'd order print books I'd sometimes lose the will to read them by the time they actually arrived. But I'm still a huge fan of holding a physical book in your hand. I'm just not sure if I prefer one more over the other. Bending those pages back does get annoying at times, and it's nice to be able to adjust the screen however you like. Good thoughts, Ava!
That's really interesting! You're definitely the first person I've heard who experienced that. I wonder why that is. Huh.
P.S.: Weird isn't a bad thing. :)
You know, I actually don't really use the highlighting feature very much unless a) I'm editing (as in, one of my manuscripts that I exported as an e-book to read) or b) it's a writing craft book. I think I've probably used the highlighting feature for maybe a handful of lines otherwise, but that's about it.
Otherwise though, my experience is about the same. I didn't really think much about the ability to turn it off and on and end up in the right place, as I'm usually pretty good at bookmarking print books, but it is slightly faster. If only because it's a bookmark I never have to search for. :)
Fair enough! I don't think I've actually read too many free e-books, to be honest. Although I am a big fan of sales. :)
Thank you, Margaret! I'm pretty sure the three in a week thing is a record for me. Although I may have re-read The Hunger Games trilogy in about that in the past...but I'm relatively sure I've never done more than three in a week. It was a fun experience. :)
Before I started reading e-books, I honestly didn't think the tap/swiping method of turning pages would really make a difference, but it strangely has. For me, I'm relatively sure it's the one-handedness (totally a word) that works so well for me, and it even feels faster as you're turning the page. Strange little e-reader quirk.
I've also noticed that when I read print books, my eyes will occasionally sneak a peek at the next open page and I'll sometimes have to cover the page with my hand to avoid unintended spoilers (I'm weird, I know), but with e-readers that's obviously not a problem as you can only read one page at a time. I don't think that affects the speed of my reading...but it's an extra little change in the reading experience.
Anyways! I thought the screen thing would be an issue as well, but I've found the e-ink screen is really not that different from a page, after all. I'm starting to read a little more on my tablet, however, so we'll see how that goes...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Margaret!
I didn't use the highlight feature as much before, but now that I have a Kindle Fire, I can just touch the screen for a long pause, then swipe my finger along the line and click highlight on the little screen that pops up. It's so fast (faster than clicking all those buttons on my K. Keyboard. :)
I like doing this for reviews because I like to back up my opinions (positive or negative) with examples. I can search to see how often a word was used in the book (e.g. excessive foul language, general word overuse). I can mark grammatical errors. And I can mark note-worthy lines and passages. When I get ready to write the review, I just pull up all my marks. It helps me remember the things I wanted to comment on and allows me to substantiate my views if need be.
That was off topic, so I'll shut up now. LOL
That's actually really interesting! I tend to just base my reviews off of my general feels at the end of a book, but your method sounds much more organized. :)
I do that, too - write about my general impressions - and I don't mark things in every book I read. But when I do, it helps me remember to add that comment. ;)
Makes sense to me!
I know I read faster on my Kindle. From the minute I got it, I was amazed at how much faster I could read on it, and how much more reading I was getting done (which, for a writer, is really important). I think I read faster for two reasons: first, because it is so easy to hold the Kindle and flick through the pages, and second, as you mentioned, it is easy to have it with me and read at lunch and in odd moments. I still love good old fashioned books, but I love reading on my Kindle, too! I think anything that gets us reading more is terrific.
Haha, yes. I remember back in the Harry Potter days I'd always flip ahead to check out the chapter titles and illustrations. Plus I focus on the thickness of the book a lot, although I likewise check out how far I am on the e-reader. But I can't check how far I am through a chapter on an e-reader, which prompts me to finish the chapter before putting it down. If I see it's too long on a print version, I'm more likely to bookmark it and set it down.
That's a great point about chapter length on e-readers. I think some e-readers have a marker at the bottom that tracks how many pages are left in the chapter (at least, I think iBooks does? I'll have to check again), but I know my Nook certainly doesn't, so I also tend to finish chapters, or at least wait until I reach a break before stopping. There are exceptions, of course, but I think one more chapter syndrome is more dangerous on the e-reader where you can't really check to see just how long one more chapter will be.
I agree entirely—and judging by the responses I've gotten so far, it seems that the one-handed reading is a big factor. Regardless of what exactly causes the faster reading, not only do e-readers make reading (and reading more) easier, but if it gets others reading more, it's a win-win all around for writers. :) Thanks, Charlotte!
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