Digital Book Readers*

[muninnhuginn]

[ooh! a post and not just accumulated tweetings ;-) ]

I rather fancy a Kindle or the Sony whatsit. Just 'cos. I'm an unashamed, unrepentant gadget junkie.

I'm also a long-time wearer of tinted specs, because that way the words don't squirm on the too-white, too-reflective, page leaving irritating ghosts of themselves to make reading hard. (If you can't picture this, then remember what transmissions of overseas** test matches used to look like--pre-digital.)

I'm not the only one. Looby Loo has just acquired specs, with the barest minimum of tint. Her sight reading of piano music has improved overnight.

So, e-readers? Any good? Do they flicker? Can one change contrast? Is e-paper easier to read that a backlit screen? (Note neither I nor LL is bothered by the current generation of monitors: she uses an LCD screen quite happily; I read e-books without hesitation on my crappy old laptop.) Are they migraine-inducing?

And, maybe most important of all, can you change the background colour of the display? (Old books are more comfortable to read than new: cream/pale brown is less harsh than shiny white.) We're happy with black text on something, but would prefer the something not to be shiny white.

All knowledge being contained &c. I'd love to get some opinions.***

*They need a good name. Or is Kindle or something going to be the new Hoover?

** Cricket, that is.

*** Yup. I missed the panel at Eastercon: I was busy negotiating what time I was to be allowed to return to my hotel room. LL wants privacy these days.