Saturday, April 14, 2012

I don't know what page I'm on

When I read a paperback book, I like knowing how many pages I've read and how many I have left. I thought that one of the things about ebooks that would bother me is the lack of page numbers, but that isn't the case.

I've been reading a lot on my Kindle lately, and none of the short stories, non-fiction books, or novels I've read have page numbers that correspond to their physical counterparts. I don't think locations are useful, so the only thing I pay attention to is percent complete, that little number in the bottom right hand corner. I know that I'm 43% done with Neverwhere, and that suits me fine.

I realize this is a lot like using a bookmark to keep my place and then looking at how the bookmark separates what I've read from what I have left to read. I can see if I'm about a quarter of the way, half way in, or more. Percentage does the same thing, just more specifically.

I don't have to cite pages or discuss passages with other people, so not having page numbers isn't an issue. I'm surprised, though, that I don't miss page numbers that much. This would be a bigger deal if I was reading as an assignment.

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