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Joined: 1/31/2012
Posts: 8
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I was just wondering if anyone else found reading a book on this site to be onerous? I find it hard to contemplate sitting at my computer and reading from this little bitty screen. Honestly it will severly limit how many critiques I give. Anyone else feel that way?
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Joined: 1/16/2012
Posts: 7
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well, yes, that is the limitation of the form, i suppose. frankly, i scan through books until i find one i'm interested in , and then put in the time to read - but i do think it is a great site for connecting writers - in theory - but of course, we're all narcissists, so the incentive to read other people's work has to be there - ha!
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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To be honest, I'm so used to reading ebooks and free novels that it doesn't really bother me. I mean yes, the pop-up 'book' isn't huge and yes, it's a pain having to use buttons that hate my mouse rather than a scroll function, but the actual reading? That's not a problem personally. It's a weird solution to a problem that wasn't really there, but I think you're missing the point.
The useful thing about this is that you have the three comment boxes next to the text at all times. This means you can use them as note recepticals as you go. It's amazing how helpful it can be to a review to just bung the odd thought into there as you're going and assemble a review at the end. In fact it's the sign of a good book when I forget to do this.
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Joined: 1/31/2012
Posts: 8
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It's always startling when I come across someone who's opinion is wrong...er...uh different than mine 
I don't know if you own an ereader, but making notes and comments is really easy and sweet. Typically, you just highlight the text and then type in the comment box that pops up. On top of that, you can read it on a train, or in the rain, or in your house, or with a mouse, or here or there or anywhere!
(with apologies to Dr. Seuss )
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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Yeah, I hate the reader with a passion. It honestly has prevented me from reviewing as much as I would like. I would love a bigger screen, a bookmark function, an actual page number, not just a percentage. An ability to download as an ebook so I can read it on the bus and come back and review later would be awesome. (even just a txt file) Also, the ability to copy and paste, so i can copy particular lines and paste them in to make suggestions/edits upon them.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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I don't have a problem with small type because I have that huge i-Mac screen. I can bump the text way up. I do dislike that the top and bottom lines are often eaten into, and you have to zoom up or down to get everything. An up/down scroll feature would be very welcome.
The biggest annoyance hindering an enjoyable reading experience, (but this is not a book country problem. It's a screen v. hard copy thing) is that I miss things on the screen that I see immediately on paper, don't ask me why. I catch typos more easily, and it's a smoother read.
Regarding Timothy's remark about the comment boxes. I do the same thing with a notepad file next to the open site.
I can jot half-baked comments to my heart's delight without worrying about making sense and revise them later. I copy and paste only when I'm completely satisfied.
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Joined: 1/23/2012
Posts: 36
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I don't mind it, but then I feel like I'm always reading on my computer. I DO wish there was a copy/paste ability, though. That is a major bummer.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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To Shannon,
The incentive to read and review is that you are (ideally) moved to decide what works for you and what does not, and to explain your views and make suggestions. This is an invaluable exercise for any writer.
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Joined: 1/31/2012
Posts: 8
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I guess, when I read, I like to lay down, stand up, sit, stand on my head - as the mood takes me. Sitting in the chair seems so formal and confining
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The problems discussed about reading and writing on small computer screens is a direct ramification of the Cybernetic Age. There are still enough of us around who fondly recall the wonderful intimacy we had with our favorite books. I volunteer one day a week in the Book Cellar, a retail store in the basement of the San Antonio Main Library. We get flooded with books from the branch libraries and private donations. The greatest reward of this job is watching young mothers bringing their children to the cellar and shopping for books. Children growing up with paper books, I sadly understand, has become a vanishing social event. But for now it is a tremendous thrill to watch the widening of tender young eyes when the children have their first tactile experience with books as we once knew them. I watch the love affair beginning anew, but in an elegiac sense because we all know the books we love and capture will soon exist only in our dreams. Or will they? Recall we had the Last Rites for the vinyl long-playing record and it has experienced a remarkable renascence. Ah, just to read Steinbeck or Cather in hardback while listening to Sinatra on my Webcor high fidelity!
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