Do most people read faster on an e-reader?
I've discovered that I can borrow books from our library for my Kindle, and this past Saturday I signed out The Hobbit. That we have two physical copies on our shelves is beside the point: Kindle books are the most comfortable way to read in bed—at least under our present lighting setup—and that's what I wanted it for. As a tried-and-true introvert, my brain is always spinning rapidly, and if I don't get sufficient, effective processing time during the day—and sometimes even if I do—trying to fall asleep is like putting in the clutch while opening the throttle: high rpms with no actual progress made. Reading a few chapters of a good book engages the engine and throttles back to where sleep can take over.
For physical books, our library's default loan period is three weeks. The default loan period for e-books is one week.
The downside of so much exposure to Facebook and other modern communication is that I am tempted at this point to write, "WTF?" Instead, I will try to remember what we all said before that offensive term became so common as to jump immediately even to my own mind, and simply say, "Huh?" I find reading a book a week to be an ambitious goal.
I don't think I read any faster (or slower) on the Kindle than with the printed page. Do you?
Have you ever asked your local librarian why the difference exists? Maybe there are restrictions on lending digital books that encourage a shorter lending period. If certain publishers require libraries to re-purchase a digital book after a fixed number of rentals, maybe others specify a fixed total rental period, perhaps?
You may be right; I'm sure there are reasons. But for my purposes it makes the e-book library pretty much useless except as a teaser -- or maybe a way to investigate a book before deciding whether or not to buy it. Or to get started before I manage to get to the physical library. We'll see. In the case of The Hobbit, I'm now halfway through, and the book will disappear today. In theory e-books can be renewed, but not, as in this case, when someone else is waiting for it.
I have, however, found another source of e-books, which I hope to write about soon.
