I remember getting my first PC. It was a 486. Kids today don't know what that means. lol I play videos games now, I watch TV and I still read books. I am reading The One Tree by Steven R. Donaldson. One of the Unbeliever series of books.
I have to say PC gaming has helped me to read more. I have a pretty big library of physical books but they take space and cost so much more than kindle editions and I would never have gotten into digital editions if not for gaming which lead me to computers.
Seems like we are bored here on mmorpg.com as I have been seeing a few wacky theories like this lately.
@Sal1 ; have you read his Gap Cycle series? I quite liked it.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
<snip> there is a richness to reading that you do not get from watching or playing. <snip>
It's known as imagination...
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Well, I have a library with about 7000 books in my home. I read them all. But now I read mostly online. To be honest I read less books now. But the reason is not the games, or even the internet, just there are less books that worth reading.
And if you are impressed - do not. I read fast. A book like "A Storm of Swords" - the best of the series, took me few hours. And obviously I read it deeper than D&D. In fact I read a lot, but it is part of my job, so it does not count.
Gaming takes away from my reading in a sense. If i am in a gaming hiatus, then I read a lot more. Usually, I read before bed anyway. I average reading about a book a month.
If I didn't game, I'd probably spend most of my time reading.
I wanted to build a library for my kid so he/she would be interested in books but once I heard about the kindle and the fact that books weigh a ton, I decided to go with a kindle. Now I just read off my cell phone using the kindle app. I lay down in bed and read to fall asleep.
The best thing about it, is that I can download a sample of the book and read it. If I like it, I buy it, if not, I don't continue. You basically get to try any book for free.
Catch me streaming at twitch.tv/cryomatrix You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
I use to have a wall of books. Got rid of them as I seldom read them. With the internet I shifted to digital and audio books. A lot easier to carry and have access to them all.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I switched to audiobooks and when I'm out walking or doing housework I can read by listening and I have not slowed down my reading at all.
I'm curious, what medium do you listen to audiobooks on? My vision is a box of DVD's or CD's which you load into a player...are they all digital and available on the cell phone these days?
How about the cost, back in the day due to the medium audiobooks ranged from $29.99 to $49.99 ......
Finally, what about selection? I don't read books because of the medium rather my tastes are largly confined to Sci Fi, Fantasy and an occasional horror novel.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I switched to audiobooks and when I'm out walking or doing housework I can read by listening and I have not slowed down my reading at all.
I'm curious, what medium do you listen to audiobooks on? My vision is a box of DVD's or CD's which you load into a player...are they all digital and available on the cell phone these days?
How about the cost, back in the day due to the medium audiobooks ranged from $29.99 to $49.99 ......
Finally, what about selection? I don't read books because of the medium rather my tastes are largly confined to Sci Fi, Fantasy and an occasional horror novel.
I just use my cellphone. Cellphone is used basically for everything for me there days.
If they had a gamepad factor phone and gaming non P2W platform I would likely drop console.
You can sign up with Audible(Amazon)and get a free book during trial period. You can cancel and keep the book. You can sub and get access to books and a free book a month.
I noticed a hadn't read a book in several years when I used to read almost every night. Recently I've been trying to get back into the habit, but I have trouble staying focused after spending so much time multitasking. It just feels as if it's too calm and unengaging compared to listening to a podcast while reading the news or playing a game.
The Game Of Thrones series finale helped resuscitate the book industry
/thread
I question that. I only made it through the first 2 seasons because the show deviated so far from the books, in my mind. Heck, Mr. Martin hasn't even written the last one yet, so the whole last season was totally made up. Or maybe he'll just copy what the HBO writers did
I can just picture some people buying the books because of the show and getting upset that they are so different.
PS: and here's a little ditty about Mr. Martin's writing speed by Paul & Storm
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Hmph , i just Read 3 pages in this gaming forum about how gaming as killed reading .......... the irony
Are you sure you read it? What was being discussed is how I personally read much less with gaming being a significant cause considering I spend most of my very limited free time on it. (and my smart phone)
Appears some are like me, while others find the time to still read, or use alternate mediums such as audiobooks, which really isn't reading in my book, more like television in that the content is being narrated at you.....
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Hmph , i just Read 3 pages in this gaming forum about how gaming as killed reading .......... the irony
Are you sure you read it? What was being discussed is how I personally read much less with gaming being a significant cause considering I spend most of my very limited free time on it. (and my smart phone)
Appears some are like me, while others find the time to still read, or use alternate mediums such as audiobooks, which really isn't reading in my book, more like television in that the content is being narrated at you.....
So if a dad is reading a story to a child, it doesn't count as book reading?
Hmph , i just Read 3 pages in this gaming forum about how gaming as killed reading .......... the irony
Are you sure you read it? What was being discussed is how I personally read much less with gaming being a significant cause considering I spend most of my very limited free time on it. (and my smart phone)
Appears some are like me, while others find the time to still read, or use alternate mediums such as audiobooks, which really isn't reading in my book, more like television in that the content is being narrated at you.....
So if a dad is reading a story to a child, it doesn't count as book reading?
For who? The parent or the child? Especially for children, part of the positives of actually reading it themselves is encountering words or phrases they've never heard and how those items are spelled or punctuated. Maybe less so for adults, but I have to agree with Kyleran that listening =/= reading.
Otherwise documentaries are just encyclopedias that are more entertaining to "read."
I switched to audiobooks and when I'm out walking or doing housework I can read by listening and I have not slowed down my reading at all.
I'm curious, what medium do you listen to audiobooks on? My vision is a box of DVD's or CD's which you load into a player...are they all digital and available on the cell phone these days?
How about the cost, back in the day due to the medium audiobooks ranged from $29.99 to $49.99 ......
Finally, what about selection? I don't read books because of the medium rather my tastes are largly confined to Sci Fi, Fantasy and an occasional horror novel.
No, phone too big to carry while I go out walking so I use a small Ipod Shuffle that has bookmarking function. The only Apple product I own because of it's stellar bookmarking. Bookmarking is extremely important for audiobooks. You can have many books that you're reading simultaneously but you cannot manage reading three books if you can only stop at one point in the book for one book only and if you open another audiobook only the current position of that book is saved. When you come back you'll have to go through hours of audio to get to the point you left off. Some of the books I read are 40+ hours long so imagine the horror of stopping at the 37th hour and losing your place.
There were other products like the sandisk Sansa and so on but they have all stopped production including the ipod shuffle so I bought several backups from ebay but the nano and touch also work both being far less cumbersome than a phone since they too have bookmarking. I also prefer the m4b format over the mp3 one. m4b allows for further compression over the larger mp3 files while increasing the quality and optimized for voice. I use a convertor to convert from mp3 to m4b it's called Chapter and Verse and it requires an older version of iTunes to work well. Of course you can use mp3 and you do not have to convert at all if that is too daunting but I do it so I can pack a lot of books on the 2gb Ipod shuffle.
If you ever decide to try an audiobook for god's sake pick a reader who voice doesn't drive you nuts because it will totally turn you off a book. I personally love Stephen Fry and when I read Reality Dysfunction John Lee's narration was what made the book come alive. Some readers do amazing voices that when you hear the voice you already know who is talking like in the Foreigner books by C.J. Cherryh read by Daniel Thomas May. He has a wonderful repertoire of voices he uses.
I also love Sci Fi and Fantasy. Which reminds me of the wonderful Murderbot books which unfortunately didn't have that good a reader but nowadays I can get through any narrator as long as it's not an Ivona or any other digital one. Those grate on me. The weirdest thing is that if you ask me which books I have read on paper and which on the audiobook I'm totally unable to tell you because the experience has become processed in my brain as the one and the same. Of course I do miss the tactile aspect of reading but audiobooks are so much more convenient when you're pottering around the house or out walking in the park.
One last thing before this gets too long. Graphic Audio does not faithfully transfer every line from a book as descriptions like thunder, rain, footsteps, gunshots and so on are not described but the actual sounds are produced so the books have music and sounds that help identify what's going on and as a result the books are also much shorter. They are also far more expensive.
Audible is a great source and if you own the book you can convert it easily to mp3 format for the reader of your choice. They have a subscription that offers you a free book each month I think. You can also listen to a sample to see if you can possibly tolerate the reader.
I am sure all this is Greek to you @Kyleran but if an old lady like me can figure these things out I'm sure you'll muddle through.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'm reading the Mueller Report (448 pages), it's like Game of Thrones + House of Cards + Billions and once again the book is 1000x better than the TV adaptations.
I wish there was an audio book with sound effects
"As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*"
I'm reading the Mueller Report (448 pages), it's like Game of Thrones + House of Cards + Billions and once again the book is 1000x better than the TV adaptations.
I wish there was an audio book with sound effects
"I'm fucked" would've been a gem of a line to hear from someone who can mimic the voice.
Comments
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
If I didn't game, I'd probably spend most of my time reading.
I wanted to build a library for my kid so he/she would be interested in books but once I heard about the kindle and the fact that books weigh a ton, I decided to go with a kindle. Now I just read off my cell phone using the kindle app. I lay down in bed and read to fall asleep.
The best thing about it, is that I can download a sample of the book and read it. If I like it, I buy it, if not, I don't continue. You basically get to try any book for free.
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
If they had a gamepad factor phone and gaming non P2W platform I would likely drop console.
You can sign up with Audible(Amazon)and get a free book during trial period. You can cancel and keep the book. You can sub and get access to books and a free book a month.
/thread
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's called TV ragequitting, and I think it's awesome.
I can just picture some people buying the books because of the show and getting upset that they are so different.
PS: and here's a little ditty about Mr. Martin's writing speed by Paul & Storm
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Appears some are like me, while others find the time to still read, or use alternate mediums such as audiobooks, which really isn't reading in my book,
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Otherwise documentaries are just encyclopedias that are more entertaining to "read."
There were other products like the sandisk Sansa and so on but they have all stopped production including the ipod shuffle so I bought several backups from ebay but the nano and touch also work both being far less cumbersome than a phone since they too have bookmarking. I also prefer the m4b format over the mp3 one. m4b allows for further compression over the larger mp3 files while increasing the quality and optimized for voice. I use a convertor to convert from mp3 to m4b it's called Chapter and Verse and it requires an older version of iTunes to work well. Of course you can use mp3 and you do not have to convert at all if that is too daunting but I do it so I can pack a lot of books on the 2gb Ipod shuffle.
If you ever decide to try an audiobook for god's sake pick a reader who voice doesn't drive you nuts because it will totally turn you off a book. I personally love Stephen Fry and when I read Reality Dysfunction John Lee's narration was what made the book come alive. Some readers do amazing voices that when you hear the voice you already know who is talking like in the Foreigner books by C.J. Cherryh read by Daniel Thomas May. He has a wonderful repertoire of voices he uses.
I also love Sci Fi and Fantasy. Which reminds me of the wonderful Murderbot books which unfortunately didn't have that good a reader but nowadays I can get through any narrator as long as it's not an Ivona or any other digital one. Those grate on me. The weirdest thing is that if you ask me which books I have read on paper and which on the audiobook I'm totally unable to tell you because the experience has become processed in my brain as the one and the same. Of course I do miss the tactile aspect of reading but audiobooks are so much more convenient when you're pottering around the house or out walking in the park.
One last thing before this gets too long. Graphic Audio does not faithfully transfer every line from a book as descriptions like thunder, rain, footsteps, gunshots and so on are not described but the actual sounds are produced so the books have music and sounds that help identify what's going on and as a result the books are also much shorter. They are also far more expensive.
Audible is a great source and if you own the book you can convert it easily to mp3 format for the reader of your choice. They have a subscription that offers you a free book each month I think. You can also listen to a sample to see if you can possibly tolerate the reader.
I am sure all this is Greek to you @Kyleran but if an old lady like me can figure these things out I'm sure you'll muddle through.
Come on your old codger put that old valve radio away and get with it dude!
But no, I carry a smart phone for all of my music and internet needs whether walking, running or sitting in the loo.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
I wish there was an audio book with sound effects
¯\_(ツ)_/¯