The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a study of e-reader owners.
People who buy e-readers tend to spend more time than ever with their nose in a book, preliminary research shows.
A study of 1,200 e-reader owners by Marketing and Research Resources Inc. found that 40% said they now read more than they did with print books. Of those surveyed, 58% said they read about the same as before while 2% said they read less than before. And 55% of the respondents in the May study, paid for by e-reader maker Sony Corp., thought they’d use the device to read even more books in the future. The study looked at owners of three devices: Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle, Apple Inc.’s iPad and the Sony Reader.
… People report they’re reading more and at times when a book isn’t normally an option: on a smartphone in the doctor’s waiting room; through a Ziploc-bag-clad Kindle in a hot tub, or on a treadmill with a Sony Reader’s fonts set to jumbo.
So those who believe that e-books are detrimental to reading may need to take another look. You don’t have to read print or electronic exclusively. You can choose to read in print or on an e-reader, whichever is most convenient at the moment.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of reading on an e-reader. I’ve had several through the years, and now read on the original Kindle. I’m looking for an excuse to buy the Kindle 3. Maybe I can drop my Kindle and break it? It still works great—I’d just like to add the new features in the latest version of the device.