Reading in the Dark

Wintry days and nights make for perfect reading weather. Nothing quite like curling up under a blanket or in front of a fireplace to escape into a good book. Fewer hours of daylight, though, can make it quite challenging to read, especially for those of us with older eyes.

And so I asked if you have a favored format to help you read in the darker hours.

I’ll agree I prefer a physical book, but reading that way requires a bright room. I’ll freely admit that my nighttime reading is almost exclusively by the e-reader, not only because I can adjust the brightness but also because the font can be enlarged. These old eyes need the help.

Most interesting to me was how few of you reported audiobooks. That may be partially because I don’t produce my novels as audiobooks yet (they are crazy expensive to produce and the royalties from retailers are small), so maybe it’s just natural that fewer audiobook readers are part of my audience.

Anyway, let’s move on to the always entertaining comments:

Physical book with good reading light

I love curling up with a physical book over an e-reader. Although I do have a lot of books on my Kindle, I have returned to buying books in the last few years.

Real book with paper pages and interesting bookmark, accompanied by beverage of choice, cocoa, tea, coffee, water (taking meds, so no wine), on comfy sofa with fleece blanket handy!

At home I have a reading light right beside my couch and another right over my bed. They are both within reaching distance so I can read a physical book and then reach over and turn out the light. When I’m at my parents’ house, I do not have lamps within reaching distance, so I usually use my e-reader.

I love an actual book and the coziness of snuggling up with a good book, good light and the really cold, days a blanket.

E-reader

Never thought I would give up an actual book, but my IPad not only is easy to read, I can put my finger on an unfamiliar word and get an instant definition!

E-readers have an even more important feature, namely adjustable font size. I can even read when my eyes are dilated and everything is a blurry mess after an eye exam! Woo hoo!

I use an e-reader but I miss touching the pages. It’s just so easy to always have my book with me since the app is on my phone.

Large Print

I finally gave in. Aging is not my favorite thing to be doing, but as my 90th birthday looms, I am having to accept my limitations. Reading is one of my daily joys. I learned to read at age 4 and have had a book in hand with my eyes glued on it since then. When I lived alone, I had a book-in-progress in each room. Now it is just one at a time and usually it is Large Print and a mystery of some sort. Losing my eyesight and hearing at an increasing rate is becoming intolerable. But I am fighting it every day . My motto is becoming – To read is to live. Let there be lots of light!

I also read large print books when available.

Yes, I need to add Large Print editions to my novels. We’re working on it.

Other / Something Else

All of the above. At night, I like the physical book with a reading light. Since I crossed 45 years old, large print, all of the time. E-readers for anytime I am away from home. Audiobooks when I am walking/running.

Not all of us are in winter (a nod to my Australian readers)

We’re heading towards summer here and on daylight saving already, so sometimes I need to be under a fan. Good light essential due to older eyes and having to close blinds to keep the heat out of the house.

Don’t forget to take this month’s survey by going here.