Regaining a favorite past time

[ddonahue]

One thing I desperately missed since my dry eye problems started two years ago was the joy of reading. I missed my books! I think I actually grieved having to give this past time up, which is why I wanted to post this in this particular category. A few months ago I bought a Kindle, an electronic reading device from Amazon.com. While it is not the perfect solution I feel like I have the gift of reading for pleasure back. On a Kindle you can adjust the size of the print (it can get pretty large) and also the amount of words shown on each page so my eyes have to do less tracking, which helps. When my eyes get too tired, there is a feature of text to speech so I can shut my eyes and listen to the book. I also utilize audiobooks. It has been a blessing to be able to read again and get back something I enjoyed and thought my dry eyes had robbed from me forever!

[Súil Eile]

I was thinking of getting one of these. The fact that the Kindle is not backlit is the reason I'm drawn to it, along with the text-to-speech function. How are you finding listening to the computerised voice? Do you find it genuinely easier to read than a computer screen?

[Cindy]

I really appreciate comments like these. I wouldn't have thought to ask about it on D'Eye. My husband gave me a Nook for Christmas which I never took to. I don't know why he buys me stuff like that. He's Mr. Techno, I am not. It went straight into what I call my 'Drawer of Technology' never to be touched again. Lo and behold, my son (visually impaired, very low vision) really likes it because he can enlarge the font and read. He's been downloading books like crazy.

I had no idea Kindle had a text-to-speech function. Maybe my (now my son's) Nook does too. I will have to check. I hope so cuz it's a great idea.

Thanks.

[ddonahue]

More Kindle

The computerized voice can be annoying, not as nice as listening to an audiobook, but it works okay. The best feature is you can make the print pretty large and have few words on a page so you can read with very little tracking with your eyes thus reducing the fatigue factor. I feel it is easier on the eyes to look at compared to a computer screen. The Kindle's screen is not backlit which not only makes it easier to look at, it also means you can read it in the sunlight like on a beach or in your backyard. No glare at all.It has been a happy solution for me, though not perfect.