Offline Reading - Alive in my book

August 3rd, 2008 | Odd Ends

Are you still reading magazines and newspapers? What are reasons for still enjoying print over pixels on occasion?
Reading print is faster than reading online.
This reason alone might be enough for some. I find that I read faster with print once I’ve established a pace. It’s also faster when all of the print is on one page.

Printed media allows you to write in the margins.
Though not something I do often, it is especially common for technical journal reading. This feature is offered in part online by browser adds-ins, though hardly standardized.

Printed resolution for pictures is often better than online.
This could be a debatable fact, but is often true. When not true, you’re often expected to jump out of the article to another site or page to view the image in it’s best resolution.

Reliability for reading is another strong point.
A page in hand is worth a thousand pages waiting to load.

Portability of media is a big plus as well.
Printed media can be taken just about anywhere with little inconvenience. Printed media doesn’t require batteries or outlets, nor a place to work from. Devices like the Kindle though are making inroads.

Printed media is standardized and requires no instructions to use.
Printed media not only requires no special tools, no specific browser, nor optimized display, it is just plain simple to use. You open and read. If you can read, you can use a paper, book or magazine. My mother can use a magazine. My granddaughters can read books.

Several other reasons might be offered as to why someone might enjoy a good magazine read over reading online. In the end though, each individual finds they have their own likes and dislikes, and in my experience, will choose a mix of both media types.

How about you? What are you reasons for still picking up a magazine or paper? What are your reasons for going totally electronic? Do share.

Viewing 14 Comments

philbaumann 5 months ago 3 points
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Since getting sucked into my reader, most of my reading is online anymore. Still there's a sensual quality to reading a book or piece of paper that escapes the online version.

I think the brain processes pixels differently; perhaps ink on paper is closer to our natural state, but who knows (perhaps neurobiologists do).

My vision for reading is an electronic book or magazine that looks, feels and weighs just like the real thing but Kindled (Kindleized?). You could write notes on the pages, do everything you do with the real deal but the content could be changed however you like. It would require new materials to be developed, but I say if we're going to make technology, do it with great imagination.

BTW your list is in sync with my reasons. My other one to add is that there's something embryonic about curling up with a book. When you read printed material, you tend to curl in a semi-fetal position. Just realized that writing this comment. Wondering if that's part of the appeal of printed material.

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tojosan 4 months ago 1 point
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Thanks Phil. You hit on some great points about what an electronic reader should be like. I'm wondering if that's next generation for the Kindle.

Do stop by and contribute your thoughts anytime.

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isabella mori 5 months ago 2 points
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and there is a certain feel and look to print that will take a long time to be equalled by online.

portability is HUGE for me. i read everywhere.

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http://moritherapy.org

tojosan 4 months ago 1 point
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Portability rocks. Nothing like stuffing a book in the back pocket or tucked in my bag. They take tumbles well too. :)

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kim 5 months ago 2 points
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Books books books. I'll buy magazines and the occasional newspaper on occasion but for long term reading books. I think it's easier on the eyes for one thing. I also love the smell of books (is that weird?). And I can just grab a book and toss it in my bag.

I go back and forth on the Sony eReaders/Amazon Kindle. On the one hand, it would be nice to load up a bunch of books for a trip and just go - I always have such issues with books while traveling. On the other hand, batteries and lighting and whatever make it unappealing. I can just see it crashing badly and leaving me with nothing.

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http://archphoenix.wordpress.com

tojosan 4 months ago 1 point
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Oh I love magazines and shorter articles, but books are for sure the most satisfying. :)

The smell of books is magic. I still sniff new books. My son thinks I'm a dork for that. Ha.

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Mark Dykeman 5 months ago 2 points
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Amen. I'm with you on this. I'm getting better at doing more reading online, but I prefer paper any day, especially for editing.

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tojosan 4 months ago 1 point
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Mark,
Sorry for being so long getting back to you. Thanks for dropping by and commenting on the blog.

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KyNam 5 months ago 2 points
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Hey there, have you heard of webnotes? You can highlight and put stickies onto a webpage and then "publish" it.

I like paper because I can flip around and quickly take stock of a handful of pages. Now if I had a touchscreen...

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tojosan 5 months ago 1 point
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Great feed back you've all given. I'm glad to hear this resonates with each of you and someone out there in the digital world still reads a magazine or paper once in a while.

Thanks for stopping by.

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mousewords 5 months ago 1 point
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Somehow, I find I read faster and access more info when I read online--that's odd. :-) And I can enjoy a story online, too.

But since I use the computer/internet in my work all day, I find it hard to shift into downtime when I read for pleasure. So you can find me curled up with a cuppa tea and a favorite novel or magazine. :-)

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tojosan 4 months ago 1 point
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When I'm at full steam, I read lots faster offline than on I'd say. Online though I can get through much more information in a short period though. That has mostly to info being in small bites vs large, and click to move.

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tojosan 5 months ago 1 point
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Mousewords,

Yes, making the shift can be difficult some days. I don't read print as often as I should because of that. However, I have three fresh books arriving today or tomorrow from Amazon, and can't wait to dig in.

Thanks for dropping by,
Todd

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tojosan 5 months ago 1 point
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KyNam,
Thanks for the heads up about webnotes. I'll check it out. Might come in handy for research gathering.

Yes, the way a magazine or newspaper is organized and has a fixed format is very nice compared to links that often seem to have no rhyme or reason.

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