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

[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.