difficulty in reading and annotating electronic books

Are there other people having difficulties reading and annotating electronic books but are, due to circumstances, forced to do so. If so, what do you do to deal with the said difficulty? I have been having a hard time reading electronic books due to my habit of directly annotating and highlighting physical books with a pencil. I've yet to find something resembling this in an electronic format. For the meantime, I've been writing whole passages in a notebook beside me but I find this method quite clumsy and inefficient.

>>3499 You can highlight things and do notes with some E-readers and viewers

>>3499 I have a Kobo and it highlights wonderfully with a swipe of the finger

>>3499 Annotating? Maybe just a little bit. Does it bother me? Not in particular. But reading? Definitely. I just cannot to concentrate the same way I do while reading physical books. I'll get back to you once I figure out a way to deal with this issue.

>>3500 The only reader that I've seen that can do what I want to do is Foxit but I wouldn't fancy installing that laggy program just so I can annotate things. I know it's not an excuse, but an alternative would be better. >>3503 I've been looking on these, or some variant of, for quite some time now. A little bit expensive on my end but would probably consider once I get some free cash for it. >>3504 I was reading this particular ebook a few nights ago, and I just realized how clunky reading ebooks are. I'm used to jump pages in a book when I try to remember a particular passage that I've already read; this is easy on a physical book but is quite hard on an electronic one as I would need to remember the exact page, accounting for the preface and the like, or set a bookmark prior.

>>3505 >I was reading this particular ebook a few nights ago, and I just realized how clunky reading ebooks are >I would need to remember the exact page, accounting for the preface and the like, or set a bookmark prior. Exactly. What makes it especially frustrating for me is when I get those "wait, what was that thing s/he talked about somewhere earlier?" moments, and I have to scroll and scroll without the slightest awareness how many pages past I *could* have read about that thing, while on physical books finding the part I'm looking for comes almost effortlessly. In overall the ebook reading experience isn't so bad while reading fiction (assuming your touch-screen works smoothly), but reading highly technical non-fiction is just excruciating.

>>3507 Yes, same thoughts. I'm almost tempted to just buy a used copy of the book or just flat out print sections of the book as I am reading it.

I've had to annotate sections of books for an english class that I only had as ebooks before, and after a series of attempts at converting to pdf and opening in GIMP or Krita I found that the best way I could manage it was to shrink the text down to the smallest size I could where it was still readable, screenshot it, and pull it into myPaint as an image since that program gives you an if not infinite workspace then a very large one. I could ten export that as an image if I needed to reference it again. That's really only a good solution for a specific, assigned passage that you've already read and know the context for, and only works if you've got a drawing tablet or stylus but it's the best I can offer. I tried using foxit, but the lack of controls over the size of the annotation and lack of ability to increase margin space made it not a suitable solution. If I remember correctly, there were some e-readers made that had wacom digitizers so that you could draw and annotate on the books directly, but I can't tell you models or anything. I think there was a thread here in /lit/ that was about e-reader suggestions a while back that you might want to look at if you're interested in pursuing that method.

Wow. I just can't read physical books anymore. I created the habit of annotating everything interesting in a notepad as I read. So I keep it open while I read the PDF. With physical books, I have a hard time trying to keep the book open to type in the keyboard while I read. Maybe if you do this pdf+notepad thing, it'll be easier to you.

>>3507 While reading technical documents I always annotate them in org-noter. It's an emacs package that lets you "sync" notes in org-mode and pdfs. This way even if I want to skim something I create a headline of the subject and then can easily return to it whenever required. I think I can only enjoy fiction or philosophy/social books on my tablet. For anything technical I need to use my keyboard.

i had the same trouble and developed a few techniques: >screenshooting the passages >copypasting them into a txt >extracting all pages as images and reading them on an image viewer that allows editing. im used to it now and sometimes it is even better and easier to find specific passages than it is in physical books.

I'm on an old kindle, so I don't know, but isn't that the whole reason they keep pushing the touch screen meme? so you can highlight stuff and quickly look up words and soykaf? I don't have a habit of taking notes, so it doesn't bother me, but a quick dictionary would be neat(mine doesn't have touch). Anyway the screen is great, I don't mind reading on it at all. One of these unlit e-ink things. And I don't see what you're complaining about navigating them for, sure, hopping pages takes a tad more effort, but I always find myself sorely missing ctrl+f when using physical media.

>>3897 >isn't that the whole reason they keep pushing the touch screen meme? meh I have one with touch and it's so unresponsible and impractical that you're better off writing in a notepad kindles are very comfortable for reading novels but for annotations or quick lookup they're terrible. You're better off using the browser reader for that.

>>3897 >but I always find myself sorely missing ctrl+f when using physical media. Big same. To answer OP I use Moon reader, quite comfortable, let's you highlight and search for the highlights later

>>3897 Touch screens with current state of e-ink technology are a huge gimmick on e-reader devices, barely even few conventional lcd tablets reach naturally expected response latencies for touch and pen input; but also it's simply cheaper to make long-lasting device with touch input than to add quality physical buttons, notably for page flips instead of physically unresponsive "swipe" or "tap". And all the original promises of diminished energy consumption and paper-likeness as in lack of back-light for original e-ink displays has vanished with introduction of front-light illumination and LCD-like refresh rates nullifying all the original attractiveness of the medium. What makes any computer screen reading even worse in perception is lack of perceptible physical pagination when pagination skeumorph concept is used: "you are on page 110 out of 200", where is that exactly and what page was I ten minutes ago? You could feel that with thickness of a book, but not now unless you remember numbers. There is no second side page present (which can be achieved on wide desktop computer screen, but not on any of e-ink devices), and neither the ability to jump forward or back as fast as on physical paper making short-term memory references painfully slow in human perception. Scrolling (a more archaic concept in fact, as humanity switched from scrolls to paginated books in early Middle Ages) is more perceptible on computer screen since you have a visual indicator, the scroll bar, but is impossible on e-ink with current state of technology (ink cells can update only a limited number of times before losing contrast due to pigments mixing to be followed by a hard-refresh that looks like blackening of whole screen), and also without losing the aforementioned energy-consumption benefits of still page due to higher screen refresh rates. A good article documenting modern computer software+hardware input latencies: https://danluu.com/input-lag/ First techies told us paper was a prison and computer screen would liberate us, but with modern state of technology, paper is a sanatorium with large swimming pool and park, and computer (screen) with it's complex locked proprietary software begins representing a high-security panopticon prison.

I just want to encourage everyone here to take notes. Structuring information is a good deed.

>>3996 How and where do you suggest we take notes, anon? Is there a certain structure we should follow to it? Retarded question I know, but if there's a book or anything on that that'd be amazing

>>3499 >my habit of directly annotating and highlighting physical books with a pencil. So you're the devil who does this, I hate buying used books and discovering pages that resemble the Talmud more than a novel.

>>4546 Agreed. What the fuarrrk, OP. I don't even open my books in an 180° angle to avoid stretching them. >>4545 Not the lain you responded to, but it doesn't matter much how you write it as long as you actually write it in a way that cements the idea in your brain. Hell, it could even be a couple of bullet points. You likely won't need to read those notes again and writing an organized essay will just waste your time and make the activity more taxing, thus reducing the likelyhood of you doing it again in the future. https://www.medicaldaily.com/why-using-pen-and-paper-not-laptops-boosts-memory-writing-notes-helps-recall-concepts-ability-268770 Not the best source for posting this kind of thing but, you know how it is, I woke up less than an hour ago.

>>4546 Then buy new books and stop whining. What kind of problem is this? I love finding margin notes and having the joy of glimpsing such an intimate view into the inner life and mind of a stranger. It reflects so much of not just that person, but the time that it was written. I have books from the seventies with margin notes in old faded pencil, and it's some of the most interesting reading I've ever encountered. You should strive to interpret it as serendipity instead of having this anal-retentive perfectionism, of demanding your books be pristine and untouched. That's so silly. They're books. They aren't sacred as physical artifacts; they are sacred for the thoughts they contain, and you're complaining of one having a wealth of bonus thoughts that are totally unique in the world. That sounds insane to me. I've got so many books I inherited from my mother before she died, and I treasure that I have such a record of her voice immortalized in matter. But margin notes from strange people are honestly even better. A loveworn book with a broken spine and a cover that has long since been torn off and discarded has more soul than a new one from amazon or whatever. Soul matters. Certainly more than an e-book, though I do recognize the utility and ease of duplicating and sharing e-books. They have their own unique value and place in the world. But in my mind it's almost a separate medium from print. I don't think the medium of print can ever die, at least as long as humans live. It's too intertwined with what it is to be human. >>4547 I think you're being too precious with books as I've already stated, but I really like your second paragraph. I forgot who originated the quote, but "I don't write it down to remember it later, I write it down to remember it now" is what comes to mind. Writing is incredibly good for your mind, memory, mood, and motivation. So grateful I learned to write and kept it a habit. Possibly one of the best blessings in my little life.

Stop ruining your books.

Write all over your books if that's what you want. They are your property. Don't mind the judgement from others. They probably don't read or write at all, and have books for vanity's sake. I've never met an interesting reader who didn't occasionally dog-ear, take notes in empty spaces, or love a book so much it falls apart. I distrust those who have shelves full of crisp, unstained pages. Screw 'em.

>>4550 >They probably don't read or write at all, and have books for vanity's sake Very wild assumption you got there. I wonder what makes you think that. >I've never met an interesting reader who didn't occasionally dog-ear, take notes in empty spaces, or love a book so much it falls apart It's not a sacrifice (for me) to not write observations on a notepad instead of on the book. Having my notes on the book would just serve as a bias for when I reread it. When I am rereading a book, I want to see if I can get a new interpretation, not reaffirm my first impressions. I assume most people are like that. >I distrust those who have shelves full of crisp, unstained pages. Another wild assumption. I too disdain those, but for different reasons. I usually donate the books I don't intend to revisit often (so most of them). Books should be free and widespread. I want the receiving end to have a book good as new, so they can be as excited to read it as I was. Taking care of a book makes it last longer so other people can read it in the future. Not that I'm not interested in other people's thoughts on a book I'm having fun with. That would be silly. >>4548 >So grateful I learned to write and kept it a habit. Possibly one of the best blessings in my little life. May you be blessed and a long life to you. We need more readers, more thinkers, and more writers in this world. Do not die without passing on your precious subjectivity, as your experiences have the power to resonate a lot with another, even if they are anonymous and on the other side of the globe.

>>4551 >Very wild assumption you got there That is fair, you're right. In my own experience, people with shelves of well-taken-care-of tomes don't actually read. I recognize my experience is limited and this might be unfair to some. I shouldn't broadcast it to random anons who don't necessarily deserve that judgement, I apologize. >Write in a notepad instead of the book That's your method, and that's perfectly fine. I don't think we should shame others who have their own perfectly valid method, though. For what it's worth, I think it's nice that we can find and enjoy margin notes from previous readers in used bookstores, whereas your notebook isn't likely to reach an audience. Not meant as a slight; I myself have my own notebooks, and nobody reads them. Usually not even myself. It's a bad habit of mine. >I usually donate the books I don't intend to revisit often This I agree with, thank you. People shouldn't hoard, hence the assumption I had earlier that those with shelves of once- or never-read books are vain. But when I donate, I don't mind if they're a bit worse for wear. Or if I leave some of myself in them. All is transitory; there is nothing that lasts long. In my humblest opinion, we shouldn't be striving to preserve these things at the expense of our own enjoyment or style of experiencing the world. Everyone is welcome to preserve things in an obsessive way if they so choose; admittedly, at risk of contradicting myself, the world benefits from those purists and historians. This I can concede. But for the majority: enjoy your own life and accept that all of this decays sooner than you'd like. Savor the present in whatever possible way you can find. >Not that I'm not interested in other people's thoughts, that would be silly Absolutely, I can never look down on somebody who has this outlook. Life is so short, the mind is riddled with bias and blindness, the universe is so vast—our perspective is inevitably narrow and limited. Without hyperbole, the fact that we are able to experience other viewpoints is a miracle. I'll take any opportunity I can to see through the eyes of someone else, and I am fortunate to live as a creature possessing such curiosity by nature. I could have been born a June bug, banging my head into a porch light until I shortly die. Experiencing nothing. It's incredible to witness anything, and sublime to be able to read and eventually understand the thoughts of those wiser than I am. It's more precious than gold. >Do not die without passing on your precious subjectivity You as well! I like what you write. I'm constantly straining to gather together some poems and short stories of mine, much less a novel. But I'm only in my thirties; there is still time. It goes faster and faster each year, but I'm not going to be discouraged. In the meantime I leave writings on the internet when I have the hubris to do so. One day I'll have a piece of my soul crystallized into paper and ink, naked for anybody to see. Or maybe scribbled on a bar bathroom stall. We'll see. Best of luck to us both.

>>3499 I have been working on a tool to be able to annotate pdfs, among other things. Still need to finish a few more thing but if you want me to post when I am done just say so and I will.

>>3499 if retaining information is your objective, annotating is useless. instead just read for 30 minutes, think about what you read (maybe write it down somewhere), then read it again if u must, or move on. annotating is self-deceptive

>>4646 This is not borne out by the research. Active reading including taking notes and self-quizzing, are the most effective means of retention. Simply "reading and thinking about it" is one of the lowest retention strategies.

I had a friend who would print chapters from PDFs she needed to study from, and then she would scribble on them. I don't know if it's too expensive but you should consider it.

>>4647 thats probably bc youre not really thinking. people need to be told solid things like "take notes" and "self quizz" because you can actually do that mindlessly, and fall back on the fact that you "did" something.