So, Manchester Public Libraries now offer ebooks and audiobooks for download. How excited am I? Well, I read two in the first 48 hours, and have been on the site pretty much every night since, so yeah, I’m pretty gosh-durn happy 🙂
The problem? (you know there has to be a problem, or this would be a short & pointless blog post.) The problem is that the books are in Adobe EPUB format and, as I’ve said before, they will give you a headache. More than a headache: I read a lot of ebooks, and am used to reading on screen for 4-5 hours at a time; with EPUB it’s more like an hour before my eyes feel like they’re bleeding.
So why are EPUB so bad? Well, it’s not just EPUB. Basically, not all ebook readers are created equal. (I should point out here that I’m talking about ebook readers for the PC – not standalone devices.) Some will allow you to do much more with the appearance and format of your document that others, and in this case, the more flexibility the better. EPUB happens to be one of the ones that allows you to do, well, little.
I have 6 ebook readers installed on my PC: Mobipocket reader and Mobipocket reader pc; Microsoft Reader; Adobe digital editions; Amazon Kindle for pc; and Sony reader. Which do I prefer? Frankly, none of them.
Wherever I can, I read ebooks in microsoft word, which is – obviously – brilliantly customisable. You can change everything about the text, get the size and the colours just right for your eyes. Full-screen reading mode with the black/silver office theme is very easy on the eye. I have my background black, my text sans-serif, at least 20 point, and very light gray. When I can’t use word? Mobipocket reader is the next best, as you can easily change background and text colours and text size.
Unfortunately, with most DRMd ebooks, you won’t have that choice – you have to read in whatever format the book has been published. So what can you do to make your reading experience as easy on your eyes as possible?
- Download different readers, and try them out. All of the readers I have are free to download, and they usually come with at least one free classic text, so you can try out a few pages and see how the reader works for you.
- Try different setting within the reader – what you’re aiming for is as little light/glare coming off the screen as possible. If you can’t adjust the colour or brightness within the reader, alter your computer/monitor settings
- Have big text. When you open most ebooks, the text will be set at ‘medium’. Turn it up – you need much bigger text on screen that in a book (partly because you’re further away). This will mean less text on each page and more page turning, so…
- Figure out the various ways you can turn pages within the program. Does it have to be mouse wheel down? A click? A click in a specific part of the screen? Arrow keys? Most programs will have at least a couple of options. I use arrow keys if I’m leaning forward, mouse wheel if I’m sitting back. General rule: the less movement you have to make, the better, as you’ll be doing it a lot!
- Don’t be tempted into full-screen mode, either. Yes, it looks very impressive, and no, you won’t have to turn the page as often, but it’s very hard on the eye. What works best – unsurprisingly! – is a line length approximately the same to that in a printed book. It’s a length your eyes are used to, and they won’t get lost part-way along. Again, try out slightly different window sizes/shapes until you find a good fit for you.
- Take breaks! Yes, I know we’re all fully aware that we should take screen breaks, but somehow it is that much harder when you’re trying to find out whodunnit than when you’re collating stats or writing a report. Even looking to the other end of the room for 30 seconds at the end of each chapter will really help to rest your eyes.
This is fairly basic advice, and probably just seems like common sense if you’re used to reading ebooks. But what if you’re not? Many of your users may never have read an ebook before they borrow one from the library – why not give them some advice about getting the best reading experience from their ebook? Tailor it to the formats you have available, and show your users that you don’t have to squint at a bright screen filled with tiny black writing. As well as saving some eye strain, it might even increase takeup of ebooks. While much of this information will be available on the software websites, we should be delivering it to them, rather than making them go out and find it for themselves.
I’ve seen library sites that explain that you *can* change font size etc, but not saying *why* you should. Is anyone doing this? I’d love to know!
18 comments
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August 9, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Jo Alcock
This is really interesting, do you read ebooks on a normal PC then? I keep trying with my iPhone but always go back to the old paperback. I’d definitely like to try with an e-reader and also want to try with an iPad, but I can’t imagine wanting to read a full book on the PC – maybe I should give it a go.
I think one of the issues for me is portability (as I spend a fair bit of time travelling), but also I like to have an excuse to get away from the PC and reading is one of those opportunities. I tend to print lengthy journal articles rather than reading on the screen. I think I may be a bit of a laggard in this sense!
August 9, 2010 at 2:20 pm
bethan
Yes, I read them on my PC at home. I do read on my phone (android), but that tends to be a short-term, 20 mins on a bus etc, rather than full-blown sit down and read a whole novel.
I think iPad would probably be much easier than iPhone – the size of the screen makes phone reading awkward, no matter how nice your reader is.
But yes, you have a very good point – sometimes you do need to get away from the computer! It’s easier to get distracted while reading ebooks, as your email/twitter/rss are just a click away – certainly less immersive than a pbook 🙂
August 9, 2010 at 12:24 pm
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August 9, 2010 at 1:54 pm
SimonXIX
Even on an e-reader, EPUBs are dull and difficult. I only use them because they get along well with my Sony Reader (as opposed to PDFs and other formats which usually have compatability issues).
It’s interesting that you read full ebooks off a PC. It makes sense but I’ve never known anyone who could commit to looking at a screen that intently for that long.
August 9, 2010 at 2:24 pm
bethan
Ahh, I’ll do just about anything for a good book! even nearly blind myself… and once you’ve got your colour and brightness right, screen reading can actually be quite comfortable!
Interesting to hear that EPUBs don’t work well on a dedicated reader either – how versatile is your sony reader? I’m guessing that you can do a bit more with sony format books on the sony reader than you can on the PC reader – but I might be wrong!
August 9, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Simon Barron
EPUBs are OK on the Reader. The dedicated Sony format LRF is rubbish. In my experience RTFs offer the most functionality and readability.
If you take the time to adjust the screen settings, maybe reading on a PC isn’t so bad. Just takes some dedication!
August 9, 2010 at 5:13 pm
By the book, the e-book « Virtual Training Suite Blog
[…] However, the rise of the e-book has caused some to question the role of libraries, despite the fact that a growing number of e-books are being downloaded from libraries, although you may still be in need of some tips for a better e-book reading experience. […]
August 11, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Sue Lawson
This is a really useful article and you make a good point about letting users know about different formats so they can tailor their reading experience. I’m going to get some tips/hints/guides added to the library website and of course I’ll add them on Facebook and link people to your post from our blog.
Thanks!
ps I’m currently reading ‘Player of Games’ on my iphone with a white on black setting!
August 12, 2010 at 10:51 am
bethan
Thanks Sue! Delighted that you find it useful – and I hope Manchester libraries users find the tips you produce useful too 🙂
ps good font settings for a good book! love Iain M Banks 🙂
August 11, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Simon Greenwood
As an avid reader but a slow adopter of this kind of technology I found your blog interesting and informative.
I look at a screen all day at work but when I have tried to read a book on my laptop at home I have found it difficult.
I do not have the patience to try different formats, I do need someone to inform me of the best software / settings etc.
August 12, 2010 at 10:55 am
bethan
Hi Simon, very pleased that you found this interesting. I agree that it can be difficult to read on screen – espcially after a long day of looking at one!
I’d certainly recommend mobipocket reader as a good choice, with a dark background and light text. I hope that these tips help you to be able to enjoy ebooks 🙂
August 14, 2010 at 6:59 am
6 Reasons To Switch From Traditional Books To Ebooks « shiyan
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August 21, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Merlyn
Thank you very much my friend, you are very kind in sharing this useful information with? others….
The details were such a blessing, thanks.
September 11, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Chris
I’m not understanding why EPUBs are a problem. The file format allows the reader to reflow the text as needed to fit the screen in use. I’ve read a number of books in EPUB format as well as PDFs that I’ve converted to EPUB format and I’ve not run into any issues on a reader that supports the format and allows the user to adjust the text size, justification, etc.
I’m currently on the fence between dealing with reading on my iPhone or computer versus going out and buying an eInk-based reader. It seems my eyes get fatigued from staring at the backlit screen. (Or maybe it’s psychological since every told me it would happen.)
Good post though, thanks.
September 12, 2010 at 7:06 pm
bethan
Hi Chris, thanks for the comment 🙂
It’s the glare/backlighting that gets me with EPUBs. You can’t soften the background at all (without adjusting monitor brightness), and that really does hurt my eyes! I’ve found much better reading experiences with other ereader programs. That doesn’t mean it’s definitively a bad format – and it is certainly much better than native PDF! – just that it doesn’t suit me. You might like to try something like mobipocket reader, and see how you like having more customisation options.
I’ve been thinking about an e-ink reader too. Currently I’m holding out for the Notion Ink Adam with pixel qi screen – you can switch from tablet to e-ink display. It’ll be interesting to see how that changes my ebook habits 🙂
October 20, 2011 at 9:31 pm
» Ebooks – 6 tips for a better reading experience Library Central
[…] blogs about her experience reading ebooks from a PC. Interesting that someone actually does that. But the article also stresses the importance of […]
November 21, 2011 at 9:03 am
Shivam
I totally agree on Microsoft word… It’s full screen mode is even better than the Adobe reader’s mode plus when you try to zoom in Adobe the page is literally zoomed. but in case of microsoft word , the page size remains the same while the number of words per line are reduced which in turn automatically increases ythe number of pages… cool..
November 23, 2011 at 3:53 pm
bethan
Thanks for the comment! I’ve rather abandoned word since I got a kindle (not being backlit really is much easier on the eyes), but it’s definitely be my program of choice if I do need to read on screen. I think the reading interface is much underrated 🙂