I do a lot of my shopping at amazon.com, so I’ve been well aware of its e-reader, the Kindle. It’s the first thing we see on its home page. I found that annoying because I assumed the main claim to fame for the Kindle was the number of books you could store on it. No thanks, I thought. I’ve had to deal with chronic eyestrain all of my life and have had to devise strategies to minimize reading printed material. The only reason I got through college was because I majored in physics, where you can get by with a little reading and a lot of thinking. I used the same strategy when reading, picking books where a little reading led to a lot of thinking and integrating the ideas into my everyday life.
When audio books and personal computers became available I was in hog heaven. The selection of audio books is far from perfect, but they certainly let me “read” a lot more books than I could before. And the internet gave me access to a lot more information. Enlarging the text and reading from a greater distance is a lot easier on my eyes. So why even think of the Kindle?
However…there were a couple of books I really wanted to read. One of them, A Primate’s Memoir by Robert Sapolsky, I was lucky enough to find in large print. That worked just find so I did research on various reading aids/magnifiers. And it turned out the Kindle was one of my best options. I can expand the print, not quite as large as large-print books but enough, and expand the margins so my eyes can see a whole line in a glance, which means I don’t have to keep moving them sideways along a line…the thing that really wipes them out. And some of the books have text-to-speech enabled, which means the Kindle will read to me. I tried that idea several times in the past, but the software wasn’t good enough to be pleasant. It’s improved a lot. The Kindle occasionally mispronounces words, but on the whole it does an amazing job. I’m now experimenting with using that feature as I read and it does make things easier. Anyway, my horizons in reading material is much broader than it has been, and I’m grateful. 🙂
What about you? Do you have any handicaps that you have to work around? What tools have you found that help?
Very interesting about your history with reading & the kindle.
I now use poles when hiking to steady my balance. When I’m stronger ( I hike a couple hrs. a day), I will use them as security.
My daughter has a Kindle and just loves it. It’s wonderful that it is available to help you read; as a fellow bibliophile, I understand how nice it is to have books available in a format that is easier to read. I love audiobooks; I have a long commute to work and listening to a good book makes the time and miles fly. You know that I am listening to a really good book when I am coming home from the evening shift and driving slooowly so that I can finish a chapter.
I do have a handicap–it’s a neuromuscular problem–and I use an electric scooter to get around and a lift to get it in and out of my van. It is a marvelous help that allows me to work and shop and lead a rather normal life.
.-= Florence´s last blog ..Savings =-.
No handicaps for me (yet). I do find it easier to read large print these days. The kindle sounds excellent for enlarging text size. If only you could download library books to it and not just the ones you buy!
.-= Evan´s last blog ..Is Belief Compatible with Experience? =-.
I use a TENS unit on occasion to relieve muscle pain and tightness caused by nerves being impinged upon by bony ridges on my cervical vertebrae.
The other “handicap” is poor internet access when we are traveling. Our new phones are mobile hotspots so, hopefully, they will be “tools” that can help relieve our internet travel “handicap.” We’ll see soon. 😉
I’ve been using mine for the last three days and it seems to work nearly as well as DSL.
.-= Mike´s last blog ..Keep it short! — sometimes. =-.
bikehikebabe,
Artificial joints are great tools too! It sounds as if you’re doing great with your new hip.
Florence,
I don’t have to commute but I agree books on tape would really help. I’m glad technology lets you live a normal life. Handicaps are no fun but modern tools make them a lot easier to deal with.
Evan,
Apparently amazon listened to complaints so people can now lend their books to friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if libraries eventually lent out digital books. Our library already lends out books on self-contained mp3 players in addition to regular books, books on cassettes and books on CDs. We also have access to some books, including audio, at the NetLibrary website. I don’t find it that useful yet but I imagine that it will improve with time.
Mike,
How well does the TENS work? I’ve heard about it and have been curious.
Yes, it’s a lot easier to keep plugged in while traveling now. We have a mobile phone which my husband takes up to the mountains. It gives us peace of mind in case there’s an emergency, but we seldom use it. We would probably use one more if we traveled a lot.
For me, the unit works quite well. Several years ago I was having to go to physical therapy whenever the pain got too bad. The insurance company wouldn’t authorize a TENS Unit until it was demonstrated to be effective for me.
Apparently, they are not effective universally. In fact, there’s some studies that found ambiguous results. One study “in early 2008, showed no clinically significant benefit to TENS for the treatment of neck pain when compared to sham treatment.”
All I can say is that I’ve had the TENS since 2006 and I haven’t had to go to physical therapy since.
Of course reducing my level of stress would also help reduce the neck and shoulder pain.
Since I retired, I’ve had to use the unit less often and, even when I go back to work as a contractor, there is lower stress, and I need it less often.
I’m using it right now, but not for my neck and shoulder.
I woke up this morning with a terrible cramp in my left calf muscle and now the TENS unit is “massaging” that cramp out.
This is the first time I tried that. 😉
.-= Mike´s last blog ..Keep it short! — sometimes. =-.
Jean, I love your “… majored in physics, where you can get by with a little reading and a lot of thinking”. If only they sold the subject to today’s pupils like that we wouldn’t have a dearth of scientists (in the UK).
I read, always have, like the devil possessed. My idea of hell is having no printed matter in vicinity. How much time that leaves me “to think” I do not know. That’s where walks and housework come in handy. Feet and brain working hand in hand as it were.
I cannot imagine what it must be like to have real eyesight problems. It’s my number one fear. Cut off (one of) my ears, I’d even sacrifice my tongue but there are two things I need: My eyes and my hands.
Do I have any handicaps? No. Neither do I expect any. One of the many reasons I don’t play golf.
By way of empathy with you: I am a little shortsighted. Which my parents kept telling me came from reading under the bedcovers after lights out, only leaving me with a torch. What a cock and bull story that turned out to be – scientifically speaking.
What you wrote is an illuminating glimpse into your ‘workings’. May your kindle give you much pleasure,
U
Congratulations on your Kindle. I am very happy for you and am impressed with the background that you have given for chosing it.
Yes, I have the handicap of a live in son and a dependent parent! Cramps my style somewhat don’t you think? I am yet to find a way to work around that. 🙂
.-= Rummuser´s last blog ..The Latest On Pakistan. =-.
Mike,
I’m glad the TENS is working for you. I’m not surprised that your muscle pain and tightness was related to stress. I don’t get tense very often, but when I do I use my Stress Eraser.
My husband used to have trouble with muscle cramps but we read magnesium can help. He hasn’t had any more problems since he started taking it regularly.
Ursula,
Ah, yes. Old wives’ tales about eyestrain. My eye doctor and my mother had me convinced I would go blind if I kept reading. Given the aching eyeballs, fierce headaches and dizziness it wasn’t hard to believe them…I was convinced I would be blind by the age of 21. I didn’t stop reading, of course, I just chose my material more judiciously. I had a solid foundation in the humanities by the time I got to college. I tend to agree with Randy Pausch,
That’s the way it worked for me.
Rummuser,
It’s clear what you need to do…run away from home. I liked the idea of your moving to that gated retirement community. They can’t get at you there unless you want them to. 🙂
Thanks for the Kindle review. I have been pondering this kind of a transition and was over at the Apple Store on Sunday testing an iPad for its book reading capability.
As for iStrain, I have been staring at computer monitors daily since 1976 before there was any notion of radiation hazard. The result is that my eyes glow in the dark, but I have only needed reading glasses in the last two years.
Can you use the Kindle to take notes on what you read? I am still trying to imagine myself curling up in front of the fire with a Kindle instead of a real book. Does it keep a bookmark for you when you are reading multiple books? Can you underline things and doodle in the margins?
.-= Looney´s last blog .. =-.
Looney,
I’m not sure about underlining, and you can’t doodle in the margins. That said, you can take notes and it does bookmark your place even if you’re reading multiple books…I love that feature. I have no problem curling up with it. As I said, I love books and had no interest in the Kindle until I realized it would let me read more with less pain. I read reviews about e-readers before buying and apparently the Kindle is easiest on the eyes. Apparently it isn’t good about letting you organize books when you accumulate a large library, but it will be quite a while before I get there.
Another feature I love is I can read a sample of a book before I buy it. That’s worth a lot to me.
PS I haven’t tried it myself, but they let you download free apps so you can read Kindle books on Macs, PCs, iPhones and Blackberries. They say the free samples still apply, so that might be one way to check out some of the features before buying the Kindle itself.
I’ve now set my Mac up to read text I select. Again, it’s not perfect but it does help at times.
The temptation to run away and become a beach-combing or mountain residing hippy is something that I have to constantly resist. There is a blog post in that observation somewhere and you can expect one to pop up sometime in the future.
.-= Rummuser´s last blog ..Chance Meeting And Memories. =-.
That was a very interesting read. I’m particularly imressed by the practical way you’ve gone about solving your problem!
gaelikaa,
Thank you!
Hi Jean! Award for you over at mine-
http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/2010/06/present-for-your-blog-not-for-you.html
gaelikaa,
Thank you!
i should be using my ‘speaking to the computer’ software but I have been off-edge with it this year! I have no idea why I stopped using it because with the bluetooth dongle it’s a doodle to use 🙂
i suppose i have just got used to back space – to rid myself of badly typed words. I suspect if I wasn’t a touch typist I would use it more 🙂
I am supposed to be trialling some new aides for the kitchen/eating dept but because of Uni revision that is on hold
i’m going to buy a keep cup as well…there is a distibuter here in Auckland but that too is on hold until sometime next week…
exams, I have reader/writer for all of them which is quite useful as well – one day Uni will allow computers!!
Cathy,
Thank you for the further details. 🙂