The results are in: screen reading loses out to hardcopy...if you're in a hurry. Dr. Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group reported that a group of 24 readers were clocked at measurably slower speeds when reading the same text on iPad and Kindle (6.2% and 10.7% respectively) than the printed version. This report has generated some buzz with various news sites, but I do wonder just what the fuss is about. Unless they're in an Evelyn Woods speed-reading frenzy, I can't imagine why it would matter to readers.
I was relieved to find a well considered posting on The Scholarly Kitchen, where the author observes, "Reading speed is different than productivity."
I couldn't agree more heartily. I read for many reasons, among them learning and pleasure. In both cases, I'm more inclined to savor than skim.
I took an informal poll among colleagues and friends, most of whom are unabashedly wired. The consistent thread suggests that the experience of reading varies across media (print, electronic and audio), and the availability of reading material in many forms tends to lead us to read more frequently and broadly than we did before electronic formats were widely available.
Sure, I skim headlines, surf the Web, and flip through the occasional newspaper. But when I really want to enjoy myself, you won't find me mousing my way from site to site ingesting the literary equivalent of empty calories. I want a large helping of sinfully rich reading material that sticks to my ribs, tickles my consciousness and challenges my assumptions.
And now I can get my fix in so many ways, thanks to Amazon's Kindle Reader, which resides on my laptop, netbook and Blackberry. I luxuriate in the guilty pleasure of downloading a book and reading any time, anywhere. Oh yeah, hook me up.
What are you reading...and how? Just think differently.
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