Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Reading Outside

I saw this the other day on one of my favorite sites, Shelf Awareness: Daily Enlightenment for the Book Trade --

It's summer. Go outside and read! Noting that two neuroscientists recently advised books should be read outdoors in order to protect against nearsightedness, the New Yorker's Book Bench blog reported that the "need for tablets that can be read in direct sunlight becomes more pressing.
"If you are an iPad devotee, a solution might be near: last month, Apple applied for a patent on a 'Display that Emits Circularly-Polarized Light,' which would make the iPad more viewable in direct sunlight to viewers wearing polarized sunglasses."
Of course, another solution would be to simply pick up one of those quaint, old-fashioned "paper books." Added bonus: no need to move the hammock closer to an electrical outlet for recharging."




Just after I read this, I went to the Farmer's Market in downtown Portland. The sun was shining and, under a tree, a young woman was actually reading. I was tempted to go over and tell her that she was winning the fight against myopia!

Perhaps this is why Summer Reading is all the rage. What do you plan to read al fresco this summer?

8 comments:

  1. I can read just fine outside on my Kindle, but I pretty much never do. I hate the sun and it hates me back. I love the idea of reading outside, but I find it's never as much fun to actually do it. Maybe that's why my vision is deteriorating. Or that might just be age.

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  2. I agree with Sarah. I can't read outside - well, I mean, I can, I don't suddenly forget how to - but I just don't enjoy reading in bright light.

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  3. I'm long sighted. Maybe it's because I've spent a lifetime reading outdoors when I could!

    Oh - and my Sony eReader is easy to read in sunlight.

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  4. I read at the pool while the kids swim ... like once every few years.

    Is that you outside? Reading a pink book? Or a stock photo?

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  5. I love reading outside on a loungechair with a glass of lemonade! Bliss!

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  6. oh the mighty feel of paper in my hands
    I agree...read outside while you can-
    become one with the elements
    it becomes a sensory experience that I think the brain loves...opening wide to take it all in....
    right now..I'm reading- Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet...
    great title I think

    but the writing brain is darn tired
    overload of Fitzgerald

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  7. My son, daughter, and I are reading the Narnia Chronicles (re-reading for me, but still a good read!) We are on book four out of seven, but I am in search of a new read just for me...

    I love reading on our deck out back but this must be the year of the gnats because they've been pretty pesky lately.

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  8. My outdoor reading is usually done on my front porch swing. Of course it is shaded there, so no help for myopia. :)

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