Reading in the dark

[sraun]

Yeah, I know - it's a silly subject. But it's a serious question.

I recently got a Kindle. I've been trying to decide if I want the Amazon Deluxe Case with Built-In LED Light, or something cheaper. And I've been thinking about my reading habits. I haven't read by anything other than ambient light since I was in elementary school, reading by flashlight under the covers when I was supposed to be sleeping.

My options:
1) Get the fancy Amazon cover - pros: all in one, only one thing to carry; cons: all in one, more expensive, heavier
2) Get a plainer cover and an external light - pros: possibly cheaper, possibly lighter; cons: adds another thing to my 'carry around' pile
3) Get a plainer cover: pros: probably cheaper, probably lighter, only one thing to carry, can upgrade to option 2 at my convenience; cons: can't read in the dark

So, here's the question: if you own an eInk-based ereader - Kindle, non-color Nook, some Sony devices - how often do you read on it using a booklight or other light source that just illuminates the device? Is this more or less frequently than you read dead tree books by booklight or similar illumination?

If you have an opinion - regardless of whether or not you own a relevant ereader - which of my options would you go for, and why?

ETA: FYI, part of what's going on here is I'm trying to convince myself that I'd actually find the light useful. So I'm likely to be poking fairly hard at some of the 'yes' entries, to try to figure out if they really apply to me.

Comments

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

Frankly I've never read in light not good enough that the Kindle's screen wasn't visible. But then I don't do a lot of reading in bed.

[ann-mcn.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering about that too. Now that I am older, ambient light isn't always sufficient for me. I go to a lot of theatres, and the house lights are usually dim, and it's difficult to read a paperback now. I had a PalmTx a couple of years ago, and I loved being able to read easily during intermissions.

The PalmTx is no good now; I am on Windows 7 and they won't speak to each other to update. I am very interested in the opinions on ereaders.

[sraun]

I've read e-books on a Palm III, a Handspring Visor (PalmOS), a Nokia N770 and N810 (Maemo), and various Windows boxes. I do not off-hand recall a time when the fact that all the non-PC devices were backlit would have made a difference in me reading vs. not reading.

The Kindle 3 with the cover Amazon pushes looks like a really nice solution, if you're a person who would use it.

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

I thought ebook readers had a good enough backlight that you could read on them in the dark?

[sraun]

Most eInk ereaders have no backlight - all of the Kindles at least.

If one of the talking points is "you can read this in direct sunlight", it probably doesn't have a backlight.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

For me, one of the advantages of the Kindle over Palm Pilots etc. I've looked at things on is that the lack of backlighting makes them easier on my eyes; it is more the effect of time with a book than time with a monitor or TV. One of the unexpected corollaries of this was that when I was struggling with a headache, going to bed with the Kindle and its light was easier on the said headache than going to bed in a normally lit room with a book (or, of course, a monitor or TV; that part does not bear considering in this circumstance).

The other time I will want the light is when reading in a hotel room with another person who has not yet awakened. Other congoers might find this relevant also, particularly those who are morning people like me.

[queenortart.livejournal.com]

I really really like the Amazon cover and reading with the light seems to work very well. It also feels very protected in my bag, and it folds out nicely to feel like you are reading a book.

[sraun]

Which matches what I've learned elsewhere.

The question is - how much do you actually use the light? Did getting the light lead to a behavior change, or did you read in circumstances where you would have to use a booklight for your dead-tree books before getting your Kindle?

[queenortart.livejournal.com]

I only inherited it recently so I've only used the light in anger twice, and it worked very well, but I'm doing two overnight flights in the next week so expect to use it then.

[sraun]

In the past, I've been very happy with the light level and location that the plane provided for the individual lights.

FYI, part of what's going on here is I'm trying to convince myself that I'd actually find it useful. So I'm likely to be poking fairly hard at some of the 'yes' entries, to try to figure out if they really apply to me.

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

I've had my Kindle for almost two years, never had a booklight on it, and only wished I had a booklight a couple of times--airline with miss-aimed reading light, hotel with lamp on wrong side of bed, that sort of thing. At home, never wanted/needed, but we keep the house well-lit.

[maureenans.livejournal.com]

I have the non-colour nook and I don't have a light, nor have I needed one. I read mostly in the bath, while eating or while commuting to school on the train or while traveling in general (plane, road trip, etc). When I do read in bed, I turn on the lamp and it's fine.

I would get a cover you like and wait and see if you need the light or not.

[gingerwood.livejournal.com]

I've had my Kindle 1 for almost 3 years now. I use a clip-on light when I read in bed, but that's the only time I need it. If the light is a little dim for comfort, it's much easier to increase the font size of the book I'm reading.

[jimtbari.livejournal.com]

I've had a Kindle DX for about a year and a half and don't use a light with it. But I don't travel much. And when I rarely do want to read in the dark, I'll read on my plugged-in-with-a-nice-long-cord phone instead, which may not be an option for you.

Knowing me, I would probably buy the deluxe case and never use the light. :-)

More seriously (and I think you may have said this), the questions I personally would ask are about the weight and price differences between this case and the case that you'd otherwise get. I do not in fact ever take my Kindle out of its bought-from-Amazon-for-$50 case. Except when I got a (free-due-to-warranty) replacement Kindle because I cracked the plastic from trying too many times to open the back of the leather case. (I see the new case is designed to prevent that.)

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I can think of one circumstance when I might want a light for my Kindle - when sharing a hotel room with someone who wants to go to sleep when I want to read in bed before sleeping.

My Kindle came in a Pategonia case which is lightweight and sturdy but lacking fancy features. The Kindle has to be taken out of it to be used. So far that suits me fine but if I really used it a lot I think I'd want a cover that could stay on while I read.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

I've got a little booklight that I bought from CompUSA years ago. In fact it was such a good deal that I bought about a dozen of them. I think they were $3.50. They're tiny cold cathode fluorescent tubes about 3 inches long (about 1/8" in diameter) and they run approximately forever on one AA cell. Actually I don't know how long but more than 10 hours for sure, I wouldn't be surprised by 20 or 30 hours or even more. I feed them half-dead batteries out of the junk drawer and they run for hours.

My Sony came with a cover and this thing clips on it quite nicely and is useful as a "find the porta-potty at the campground" light too.

EDIT: I use mine during power failures and when reading while riding in cars at night.

I have a Nook and a little booklight

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I looked at cases with built-in booklights, and just didn't like them as much as other cases. Now I have three cases that I use for different purposes, none of them lighted.

I bought a tiny, separate booklight with a clip and a bendable neck, and it works well enough when I need one. Most of the time, I just use my bedside lamp when I need a light. I generally only use the booklight if I'm reading in the dead of night and don't want to disturb moosl.

I do find, by the way, that I need less illumination for the Nook than I do for dead tree books. The e-ink is easier on my eyes.

[azurelunatic]

teshiron has an e-reader of some description whose cover has an integrated booklight. One of the points that he mentioned was that its power was set up so that just putting it on the charger would take care of both reader and light. And from what I saw, you can just pull the light out of the cover and there it is, without wrestling with funny clips and things that throw your reader off-balance, it's just there. Though modern tech may have changed things from the last time I wrestled with a book-light.

[sraun]

The cover Amazon pushes for the Kindle 3 fits this description. It has a retractable LED booklight that automatically turns on when you pull it out, and is actually powered by the Kindle battery. So charging the Kindle also charges the booklight.

I've seen that cover. I've handled it. It's really neat. But the question I'm trying to answer is is it worth an extra $30 (used - like new) or $45 (new) to me? Right now, I'm tending to "no" - the cover I'm currently preferring is this one - it has a built-in bookstand feature, which I think I'd use a lot more.

[archangelbeth]

How much of the Kindle battery does the light eat? It might be worth knowing, depending on how often you expect to be able to get to a recharger when you're using the light.

[sraun]

Interesting question. Since the light source is some LEDs, I'd bet it doesn't pull much power. At a guess, 1-5 hours of shortened charge life per hour of usage. The Kindle has one of the neatest power bricks I've seen - it's about the size of the plastic molding around the plug of an outdoor-rated extension cord, only two-prong instead of three - and it can also be charged from just about any USB plug, that shouldn't be a significant issue.

[verana1111.livejournal.com]

I'm on my second Sony reader, and bought an outboard reading light that I never used even once. I eventually moved it to the Rummikub game box, where we use it to help tell the blue & black pieces apart when we play.

On covers, I am completely addicted to Oberon design covers. They are lovely, very protective, and comfortable to hold with the cover folded to the back for reading. It's worth looking at them even if you're not going to buy--they're beautiful. www.oberondesign.com

[verana1111.livejournal.com]

Added: I agree with the upstream comment: generally if the light is low, I simply increase the font size.

[sraun]

Thanks for the input.

Re: the Oberon covers - a work colleague pointed me at them. Thanks for review - the web-site shows very pretty pictures of all the outsides, but gives no that I could find of what the inside was like, or how they folded over - if they did at all! I'm thinking about seeing if they have a feedback link on their site to tell them that.

[whl.livejournal.com]

One thing to think about with the Kindle lighted cover: it's a neat design, but evidently it can fail with wear.

This (http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/12/21/is-your-cover-crashing-your-kindle-3/) report mentions that if the paint on the "hooks" chips, it can short and crash the Kindle.

[guppiecat]

I read in bed with a dimmable halogen lamp. Everywhere else, I read in natural or slightly directed light (example: airplanes).

I find that my Kindle is just reflective enough that a point light makes an annoying glare. Try your kindle with a flashlight and see if you like it before you plan on a clip-on light.