How do you read?

[Imzadi]

My wife, on the other hand, is dyslexic, and she prefers audiobooks.

I have an app on my phone that contains a font that is designed to make it easier for dyslexic people to read it. You might be able to find it on other apps or to download onto your computer to use for other stuff.

 

[kaytieeldr]

IMO, audiobooks aren't reading. Reading is a physical activity performed with one's eyes. Now, if the question had been something like, "how do you access reading material"... But somebody reading into a recording device and me listening to it isn't me reading.

 

[disneychrista]

You're still reading....I would be able to talk about the book the same way as someone who read using their eyes.

I did not say there is no benefit to listening to an audio book. I have listened to a few books when (for whatever reason) that was the only media available for that title at our library.

We will have to agree to disagree on the reading vs listening part though. Because listen to a book is not the same (not saying there is any less value to it) than reading.

 

[Imzadi]

IMO, audiobooks aren't reading. Reading is a physical activity performed with one's eyes. Now, if the question had been something like, "how do you access reading material"... But somebody reading into a recording device and me listening to it isn't me reading.

I get what you mean. But listening to audiobooks requires the same amount of active attention as reading. I listen to various nonfiction books. When I catch myself mentally drifting, I have to rewind and go back to the place where my attention started to wander. It's similar to reading several pages then realizing that one hasn't really been paying attention to what one was reading.

 

[SaintsManiac]

How about we use the word absorbing when it comes to audiobooks?

 

[tcufrog]

My kids and I do all three. We used to live 30 minutes from the kids' school and my DH's work. Audiobooks were a lifesaver then because I hated listening to the kids argue when I was dealing with bad traffic. We also listen to them on roadtrips. Several years ago I got my DH a membership to Audible for Father's Day to make his commute more pleasant. He didn't think he'd use it but it turns out that he loves it. At my sister's suggestion, I bought the kids and I Kindles before we went on a month-long road trip through England and the UK. We weren't going to allow them to take their Kindle Fires to play games or their 3Ds so they needed something to entertain themselves. They read lots of books on that trip and I still download books that I wish to read only once to my Kindle. We still use them on vacations.

We all still love to read print books though. Both kids have big bookshelves in their bedrooms for their books and my husband has books overflowing from the built-in shelves in his office. Our formal living room has built-in shelving so I turned the room into my library and filled the shelves. I have a very comfy couch and reading chairs in there so it's a popular family spot for curling up with a good book.

 

[pookybean]

I am a book lover, I love the feel of them, the smell! I love picking up my holds from the library and I love wandering the stacks to find something new to me when I have some spare time to myself. The last night our library was open before shutting down for Covid, I took out 7 books. I figured that would last me the two weeks. Then it kept going. I hardly keep books in the house because I read so fast so I had a few chicken soup books that I liked and a couple of others I got from the free little book cabinets. Then nothing!

I read on a kindle fire before and I hated it, but there was a deal on a refurbished paperwhite on Amazon and I had some rewards points that discounted it further.... so i went for it and i LOVE the paperwhite! I do miss my real books, but I was able to read a trilogy, IN ORDER! One right after another... lol.

I think there are enough books that are not available on overdrive via my library that I will still go back to real books when they reopen (plus I love our librarians and miss them!) but it will be nice to have the kindle for vacation. Not packing three books will save a lot of space and weight!

 

[wildride]

If I'm going to "read a book", I want a book in hand.

That would be frowned on while I’m driving

I do Audible. I have an hour long commute and hate commercial radio. My work is always in the news so audible works great

 

[cobright]

I have a tablet. I've tried all kinds of ways but it probably boils down to the fact that I should get a real pair of glasses and not just cheaters And probably update my technology. Maybe, subconsciously don't want to use E-Readers so I psychosomatically think my eyes hurt I just love a good solid book

If you get an e-reader with an e-ink display there is no difference to the eyes between it and a paper page. I was a long time hold-out but the quality of reading on an e-ink display is great.

IMO, audiobooks aren't reading. Reading is a physical activity performed with one's eyes. Now, if the question had been something like, "how do you access reading material"... But somebody reading into a recording device and me listening to it isn't me reading.

Anytime you take in data you are reading it. If the act is to take in the words written by the author, you are reading it. This is different than say listening to an audio dramatization of the work.

Reading the written word with one's eyes is just a small subset of the meaning of the term. Or are the blind not reading braille? Hard drives read data with magnetic heads; DVDs are read with lasers. Like playing with walkie talkies, "Do you read me?", "I read you loud and clear". It simply means to gain an understanding of something. "What's your read on the situation in the middle East?".

Limiting your concept of reading to only apply to printed words read with the eyes is an act of will.

 

[disneychrista]

Anytime you take in data you are reading it.

I take in data when watching TV but I am certainly not "reading."

 

[PrincessShmoo]

That would be frowned on while I’m driving

I do Audible. I have an hour long commute and hate commercial radio. My work is always in the news so audible works great

Yeah, I don't like commercial radio, either, but listening to a book while driving would split my concentration. I have SiriusXM and listen mostly to 60s music.

 

[cobright]

I take in data when watching TV but I am certainly not "reading."

In a sense you are. When it comes to information transfer, 'reading' is one half of a binary, the information is either 'read' or it is 'written'.

It is a much broader sense of the word than customary, but still apt. In the same way that a blind person reads bumps on a page. By getting more specific, like saying, "reading only applies when done like..." we are making a less rather than more accurate statement.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Anytime you take in data you are reading it. If the act is to take in the words written by the author, you are reading it. This is different than say listening to an audio dramatization of the work.

Reading the written word with one's eyes is just a small subset of the meaning of the term. Or are the blind not reading braille?

1. I prefaced my statement with IMO
2. I agree with the poster who suggested the term absorb
3. Most important, Braille is absolutely reading. Listening is not.

 

[disneychrista]

In a sense you are. When it comes to information transfer, 'reading' is one half of a binary, the information is either 'read' or it is 'written'.

When I read I have a written words that I am using my eyes & brain to decipher the letters into words and the words into sentences.

There are lots of ways of getting information - reading, listening only (radio, audio books) and watching & listening (tv/movies). But reading is still reading, listening is still listening and watching/listening is still watching/listening. I am not saying one is superior to the other. I do all three in different times. Heck, when I took a class once I got both the paper book & audio book from the library and did both at the same time.

 

[cobright]

Reading is a physical activity performed with one's eyes.

Most important, Braille is absolutely reading.

How can taking the written word, rendered as texture to be experienced with the fingertips "absolutely" be reading, when those same written words, rendered as sounds to be experienced with the ears is not?Neither is, "a physical activity performed with one's eyes" yet all three of those methods do the same thing, get the author's written words into the understanding of the 'reader'.

It seems a very arbitrary point of distinction. A Braille book gets read but an audiobook doesn't? Don't they both contain the same words?

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I bought the first Kindle when it was released in 2007 and upgraded twice, currently using Oasis. The only books I have read in paper copy in 13 years are trip planning books. Mainly because I don’t read them like traditional books and I like the color photos and being able to put sticky notes in pages.

 

[kaytieeldr]

An audiobook* is "an audiocassette or CD recording of a reading of a book, typically a novel." Granted, this definition should also refer to digital, but it's not my definition.

Anyway, somebody else reading and recording a book is not ME reading the book. They read the book; me listening to it is passive. Someone whose fingers are their eyes are, like me, actively engaged in a way audiobook users aren't.

*Amazon - which owns Audible - wanted me to spellcheck the word, but did not make the same suggestion when using the two individual words.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/audiobook

 

[Silvermist999]

I am normally exclusive to reading print books and magazines, love the feel of a brand new book in hand, not cheap though. After everything shut down, I discovered books and magazines on cloudLibrary, lots of new titles, and no germs. I think I will continue this until the pandemic is over.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I voted combo of print and e-book, but I’m still weighted more toward print, and I have occasionally listed to books on CD as well, it’s just not typical for me.

What I love about about print:
the feel, and the smell
I can flip back to a passage, mark pages with those little sticky flags, etc.
passing them on to someone when I’m done, or giving gifts with inscriptions
browsing libraries, bookstores, and second-hand shops

What I love about e-books:
able to get them safely during this strange time
light and easy to carry
they're always with me!!!

What I love about this thread:
that so many people enjoy books!
(Let’s please stop arguing over semantics, and relish in that.)

 

[PollyannaMom]

I do LOVE the feel and smell of books and old libraries, like in Boston...

Then when things get back to normal, I highly recommend the Brattle Book Shop - on West Street, near the Common. It’s one of my favorites!