Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

I just got my Kindle a few weeks ago. I’ve noticed I feel most comfortable holding it in my left had, and thus keeping my dominant hand free for things like picking up my drink, or snack, or typing on the computer/texting. I’m a big time multi-tasker.

I voted right handed/right hand, but it actually depends.

I have 3 devices I read on - iPad, iPhone, and Kindle. When I use the iPad or Kindle, I mostly hold the device in both hands, or prop it in my lap, and turn the pages with the right hand (button on Kindle, touch right side of screen on iPad). I also use the iPad when I’m at the table eating breakfast, and it sits in its little stand, and I turn the pages with my left hand, so I can eat with my right.

For the iPhone, since its small, I hold it in my right hand and touch the screen with my thumb to turn the pages.

So, I guess the Jeeves answer is actually the closest for me. ;)

I have a Kindle which allows for switching hands very easily. My Kobo is not easy to read left-handed and drives me crazy for that reason. I’m a righty who almost always reads lefty. I never really noticed this until I got my Kobo and realized that the lack of page turning buttons on the left-hand side was highly frustrating.

I use my iPhone and iPad both for reading.  I use Kindle, Nook and iBook equally.  I’m right handed but I switch back and forth between which hands I use.  If using my iPhone it doesn’t really matter because I turn pages with the thumb of the had holding the device.  With the iPad, I have to use both hands but it’s worth it for the larger type and screen.  Can’t drive a bus while reading though!

I am right handed. I hold the in either hand, depending on how I am sitting. The majority of the time I use my left.
The Kobo is bad for this, because the buttons are on the right side. I didn’t realize I would read it with my left hand, but this has become bothersome. Now that I have received a Kindle, (where both the back and forward buttons are on the left side) I am reading a ton more ebooks.

I got a Nook Color for Christmas, am right-handed and mostly hold the Nook in my left hand.  This is partly due to the fold back cover I got for it and installed as if a real book and partly due to the fact that my left hand and arm are stronger.  I find that I do fiddly things with my right hand and strength needing things with my left (pouring from a full pitcher, lifting a hot pot, etc.).  I am fairly ambidexterous in most things I do (knitting, embroidery, etc.).

I do switch hands at times while reading depending on what else is going on and what placement on the desk/table works best with that activity.

I voted right/left, but on the subway, it’s right/right.

The Wii—which is older tech than the Nook—allows you to customize your handedness for each Mii.  That the Nook—a late entrant to the mobile-reading-device market—decided that 10% of their potential market should be put at a disadvantage from the start is an example of the crack management that has made B&N the company it is today.

Or, as McGarry’sGhost commented on Twitter about Borders, “failure masquerading as vision.”

I own the nookcolor. It is NOT right-handed! (How much sense would that make?) It is actually an ambidextrous device. I use my left hand to hold it and turn the pages all the time. I am a right-handed person, but probably do use my left more on the nookcolor because you really only need one hand for reading with an ereader.

I have a Nook Color and it doesn’t seem to care which side I turn pages on - it’s more about the gesture. Sweep your finger left to right, turn the page forward. Sweep right to left, the page goes back. While it can’t be changed, it feels very authentic to me. Just missing the “lick the fingertip” part…

I’ve got a Nook (non-color) and appreciate that there are back & forward buttons on both sides.  However I find myself confusing them when I don’t actually hold the reader in my hand - but read from it on a table or stand. 

What I’ve found overall is that I really don’t like page swiping so I’m glad I didn’t choose a NookColor.

Mostly left handed, and I hold both my Sony & paperbacks in my left hand. When I read, I really, really read. ;)

I hold my kindle with both hands at all times. A bit weird I guess. I had’t really even thought about it until now. I do “turn” pages with my right thumb though.

I hold my kindle with my left, but turn pages with my right hand. It’s like a can’t get away from holding it like a book. Unless I’m on the Metro, then it’s right/right. But usually, it’s left/right. Which is kind of ridiculous, I know.

I have a brand new Kindle and I switch hands quite a bit.  I get tired, or I need to switch which hand is holding on for dear life on the subway or something.

I voted right handed left read because I often read at restaurants and it is much easier to be ambidextrous with my e book readers than my fork.

I haven’t needed to think about this as my BeBook Mini has three options for page turning. Buttons on the left and bottom of the front side, and a turning wheel on the right side (which is convenient when holding the device by the looped closing flap of the cover (or whatever it’s called)). So both hands have two positions available for one-handed holding…and I just shift position as necessary without thinking about it.

(I hope this makes sense. I’m supposed to be asleep already so I can’t be absolutely sure.)

My ebook reader is my iphone and I am left handed, but I tend to hold it in both hands and change pages with my right thumb.  I think most lefties simply adapt to the right-handed world without thinking about it anymore and live with the permanent ink/pencil staining on the left ring finger (unless they write in that upside down way that always creeps me out a little). I would be pretty surprised if an ereader came out that catered to lefties.

My husband and I are both right-handed and both hold our devices (Kindle and iPod Touch for me; nook for him) in our left hands. If I bought a NookColor and found out I could only turn the page with my right thumb, I’d have to take it back.

I have the Nook Color and I can go backwards and forwards using one hand.  Turning pages forwards and backwards is based on the motion of the sweep, not on which side of the page you sweep (swipe?) 

I hold it with my right hand and use my right index finger to turn pages.  I move my finger from the right edge towards the center to page forward.  If I want to go back, I just place that same right index finger a little towards the center of the page and sweep to the right to make it page backward.  Easy peasy.

I’m right-handed. I don’t usually hold my Kindle at all—I read with it resting on the table/desk/bed or propped on my lap, and turn pages right-handed.  Unless I’m eating, in which case I turn pages left-handed because my right hand has the fork or sandwich.

I’d never thought of it before, but when I picked up my iphone and a small paperback to test, it seemed natural to hold both in my right hand, though I’ll often check email or Twitter with the phone in my left hand while carrying things in the right.

I’ve got an SR-505. I’m right-handed and use my left, but it might be because the buttons on the right of the SR-505 are sometimes weirdly difficult to press (and much smaller).

the Nook Color, which has a touchscreen page turn (and no buttons) that cannot be customized. So the page forward is on the right side of the screen, and the page back is on the left. This cannot be changed.

NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE!  SERIOUSLY, HOW WOULD THIS MAKE SENSE?

Thank you to BethP and others for their corrections, too.

I am right handed.  I have an original Nook and I tend to hold it in my left hand.  It has buttons on either side (like the Kindle) for turning pages as well as the capability to change pages with the finger sweep across the touch screen.  I do switch hands occasionally, but I tend to hold it in my left.  When I read a paperback, I generally hold it with two hands, but hold it with my left when I need to reach for something.

I’m one of the switch hitters. I use my Palm TX mostly, but also read happily on my Android phone. So altho I hold it in either hand depending on where I am and if i am leaning one way or the other, if I were just sitting normally, I probably use my left preferentially (right handed).

I hold regular books with my non dominant hand and use my dominant hand to turn the pages. Maybe it’s the same thing for e-readers. Habit.

I have a Sony 700, and I’m a right-handed/left hold girl. But as someone above said, that’s probably due to the cover I have for it- which makes it open like a regular book. Come to think of it- I do that with “dead tree” books as well.
The place where I do most of my reading is chair with an end-table on the right hand side, so that probably has a lot to do with that as well. Since If I’m reading a hard back, I’ve got it propped on my lap, held with my left hand and handling anything else ( phone, drink, dog toy, etc.) with my right.

My daughter got a Nook Color for Christmas, and when I asked her she said she holds it with whichever hand is convenient. As I haven’t been given the chance to play with hers yet ( she guards that thing like a hawk!) I don’t know what I’d do using hers.

I got a Kindle for Christmas, and I really like it a lot. I tend to read with it in my left-hand if I’m holding it single-handed, but much of the time I hold it in both hands.

I don’t really mind that the menu stuff is all to the right-hand side, it feels more natural for it to be there, at least for me. When I’m trying to navigate menus, I typically use both hands anyway.

When holding paperbacks, I often use the one-hand page-spread with my left hand, which I think means that my left-pinkie is exceptionally strong, since it’s gotten used to holding books open.

Well… this is more thought than I typically put into statements like this…

I had to think for a moment and then had to pull out my Sony pocket reader and, like I originally thought, I hold it cupped in both hands and press the page turn with my right thumb.  If I’m doing, or should be doing, something else such as eating or working, I go the hands-free approach by propping the reader up against its cover on an available surface.  My beloved ereader has made an even greater social misfit of me.

I have the Nook Color and I use it with both hands. When I hold it in my left, I just swipe my thumb to change the page. Same with the right. I only use one hand when I read, so being able to swipe and change the page works great for me.

I have an original Nook (not color) and it’s pretty ambidextrous with forward and backward page turning buttons on both sides.  It also has a swipe function using the touch screen on the bottom of the device.  When the screen goes dark, you can use it to swipe in either direction.  The swipe function on mine is a little finicky, but when it works it’s nice to have. 
I’m right handed and I usually hold Larry (What?  They asked for a name when I registered it, so I gave it a name) in my left hand and turn pages with my right hand.  I do try to switch it up sometimes, but that’s my default setting I guess.

I am right handed but nearly always hold my Sony 650 in my left hand and also turn pages with my left hand. The same is true for books unless they are really heavy (although I turn pages in a paper book with my right hand unless I am eating…). I never thought about it until I was ready to get an ereader and started playing with them to find out which one to buy.  And then I found out that I would be REALLY unhappy with one that wouldn’t let me use it one-handedly (is that a word?) with my left. So, I was really glad that I played with them before I asked someone to buy a Kobo for me in the US as I found out that this issue is a reason for me to not buy a certain ereader.

I am in luuuuuurve with my Nook Color and I am SO right-handed, but I hold it in my left hand all the time. I just “swipe” with my thumb and the pages turn. I find it to be a pretty ambidextrous device.

It’s an interesting question, and something you’d kind of think that the designers might have asked people themselves before they got to work!!

I have an ebookwise reader, and even as unsophisticated as it is, you can flip the display so that you can rotate the device for whichever hand is comfortable for you. I am looking into getting a new reader so I’m glad you brought this up - certainly something to pay attention to and not something that had occurred to me to think about!!

I am rIght handed and hold it in my left, which I was realy aware of as I sat in bed and wrestled with a 600 page hard cover last night. My right hand is reserved for a cup of tea, wine, cookie, etc.

I have the original nook - it’s heavy (my only complaint about it), so I’m constantly switching hands.  However, since it has forward and backwards arrows on both the left and right side, it doesn’t matter which hand I have it in.  And actually, I end up using the swipe on the touch screen more often then the buttons - easily accessible with either thumb.

I’m a left-handed Kobo owner. I would like to hold my device in my left hand and turn the pages with that hand, but since the button is only on the right side, I now hold it with my right hand and turn the pages with my right thumb. I wouldn’t have thought that you would want to hold an ereader in your non-dominant hand.

Right-handed Kindle owner.  I voted switch hitter - it really depends on what I’m doing.  If I’m reading while eating/drinking, the Kindle is in my left hand.  Otherwise it’s in one, both, or the other, depending on mood, lighting (not mood lighting), and hand fatigue. :) 

This made me think, though, and I realized that when holding a paper book with one hand, it’s always in my left.

I voted for Jeeves - I mostly rest my Reader on a book cushion and do it hands free. 

Otherwise, I’m left handed but I can hold the Reader in either hand comfortably.  (I wonder if that is something more common with left handed people though?  -  Because so many things are designed for right handed people, us lefties often end up being at least a little ambidextrous - but that is probably a question for another day!) :)

I am a left-handed Nook (classic) owner and do hold it in my right hand about 90% of the time.  Interesting to think about…

Right-handed, but I don’t particularly favor either hand while using my Kindle. I love that there are directional buttons on both sides because it makes integrating it into multi-tasking types things (taking notes, frex, where I very much need to free up my dominant hand for writing,) a lot more seamless.

I voted “neither” although because I don’t have a valet (or more appropriately, a ladies’ maid) I usually prop my Kindle up on a table and press the page buttons with whichever hand is free. If I’m not sitting at a table, I’ll prop the Kindle up on a pillow in my lap.

I’m not ambidextrous but I am lazy, and I have to switch hands all the time because page turning is so much work.  Are they working on my hands free page turning? Anyway. Initially I hold the nook in my left hand and I am right handed.

Where’s the option for Jeeves to read out loud?

I swap back and forth and I think the time is split pretty evenly between hands. I’ve always done that, even with paperbacks. Once I sit down to read, I tend to be there a long time and I’ve probably gotten used to shifting positions over the years just to keep from getting stiff.

My nook is a wi-fi low end model that has identical fwd and back arrow buttons on both sides. Love it.

I am right handed, and I always hold my book (e- or paper) in my left hand.  I have occasionally tried to hold it in my right hand, and it feels unnatural to me.  Having the page-forward key only on the right side of the machine would be a deal-breaker for me.

Learned to switch hands/use both hands simultaneously after getting a very painful and swollen hand from holding the kindle for too long in the same position in my regular hand… shouldn’t have supported the weight of the whole thing with my little finger!

I am mostly right-handed, but I do a lot of things left-handed, including, at times, writing. I mouse left-handed, for example, and can pretty easily switch hit in sports.

So, the answer is, I am very very often irritated by devices designed for the right-handed. The iPhone is small enough that it doesn’t matter, and it’s not an issue with the iPad. But my Mom’s Kindle sometimes drives me nuts when I’m troubleshooting something for her.

I have a b&w nook, and I tend to hold it in both hands, at least when the cover is on (which it usually is). Oddly, I think I’m more likely to use the page-turn buttons with my non-dominant hand (right) and the touchscreen swipe with my dominant hand (left). I guess that means my non-dominant hand has the firmer grip on the device.

OK, I’m the only perv here. Talk of devices, fiddling & switch hitting is taking my brain down paths completley inappropriate to the work place.

I have my Sony 350 set so I turn the pages like I do a book, with a right-to-left brush. Seems to me that a left-to-right swipe would be like turning pages backward, no?  I’m right handed and hold it in my left hand.

I tend to hold my Kindle 2 in both hands, with my thumbs resting on the page turn buttons, so it’s just an easy click to turn pages.

right now I’ve been using the keyboard too much and my ereaders too much and my right hand and wrist are hurting, so I’m reading a paper book.

I did a little self research on myself and was surprised on the results.  I’m right-handed (although I do have leftie tendencies).  I hold my Sony eReader in my left hand the majority of the time, both hands on occasion.  I hold paperback books in my right hand the majority of the time, using my left hand to turn pages.  I hold hardbacks in both hands (possibly due to the size and/or weight).

data26 - yep, this is definitely data and I could probably think of 26 different ways to hold a book/eReader.

I am right-handed and usually hold my Sony in my left hand.  But every now and then I will use my right hand.

One of the things I love about my the 650 is the touch screen.  And you can change the swipe direction in settings.

I’m left handed and have a Kobo with the big button in the right hand lower corner. This dictates that I must hold the device in my left hand, so there is no opportunity to apply personal preference to usage.

I don’t have an e-reading device, but your general guess holds true for me anyway - I’m right-handed and I always hold my paperbacks in my left hand so that I can make notes/underline with my right, which means i also turn pages with my right hand.

I have a Sony PRS-700. And, thinking about it, I find that it depends on the position I am sitting in because I will read with either hand. Because I can easily touch the screen to turn the page, it really doesn’t make much of a difference to me which hand it’s held in.

If manufacturers were smart, they would make them all ambidextrous.  I’m left-handed, and I start out holding my nook left-handed.  But when reading in bed, I like to turn on one side until I get bored, then turn on the other side.  Thankfully, the nook has the page buttons on both sides, so it’s comfortable no matter what hand I’m holding it in.

When I read on my iPhone, I hold it in my right hand, turn pages with my left.  But again theoretically one could turn pages with either hand since you just swipe the screen.

They made a mistake making the nook color not ambidextrous…actually from what I’ve heard on this site, they made a lot of mistakes in the redesign.  I definitely won’t be upgrading anytime soon.

actually it depends, if I’m sitting and reading I hold the device in my left hand and use my right hand to press buttons or tap the screen to turn the page.  I’m right handed.  However, if I’m walking with the device and reading at the same time, then I hold it in my right hand and press the button to turn the page as well - this works really well with the Sony but the iPad is too big to carry one handed and walk and read at the same time.

I am right handed, hold the device right handed, and click the page turner with my right thumb/forefinger.  That poor neglected left hand cannot do much for me.  It is very akward.

Hmmm. Like you, I never really thought about it before. I’m ambidextrous, and I hold my ereader in either hand, and switch back and forth between the page turning controls as well. What I’ve noticed and and not necessarily thrilled with is that the nook has page controls on both sides, but I intuitively want to use the one on the left to move back and the one on the right to move forward. So because I just use whichever is handier, it’s frustrating to move forward when I meant to move back.

Verification: been39
More years than I care to admit, LOL.

Oh, and I forgot to add that I read a lot on my iPhone as well. There, I switch back & forth holding it in either hand, but I always use my right hand to swipe the pages in either direction. Go figure.

I really, REALLY wanted to choose Jeeves, but I decided not to skew the results. I chose the “both” option, which is closest to the truth for me; I actually do hold onto my Kindle with both hands most of the time.

I’m right-handed and have both a Sony Reader and a Kindle.  I almost always hold them in my left hand when I’m reading.  This is probably because I’ve always held paperback books in my left hand and turned the page with my right.  It’s so ingrained in me to do that that even when I switch off hands because my left is tired, I’ll switch back without thinking (and often without noticing), even when my arthritis is bothering me.

I voted right handed left read because I often read at restaurants and it is much easier to be ambidextrous with my e book readers than my fork.

Peggy makes quite a good point: I quite often read while eating, and have been known to cut up all my food before I start so I can eat with just a fork and hold my book in the other hand. My fork hand tends to be my left so the book is in the right; the same is true of my Kindle.

I’m left-handed, but do a lot with my right hand (sewing, using scissors, applying make-up etc) so it’s not unusual for me to hold my book in either hand. I also wonder if the Scissor Issue applies: my school only had right-handed ones, so I learned to use those; by the time they got left-handed ones they were irrelevant to me. Still can’t use ‘em. I wonder if the same is true of ebook readers?

I use my iPhone for ebook reading, and I’m right handed and usually use the phone with my right hand. Because the screen is so small, and I use a few different readers on it, I find it’s easier for me to be able to hold the book with the hand that’s gonna be touching the screen all the time!

i don’t think i’d want a jeeves only because i’m relatively blind (too much reading as a child…) and he’d have to stand within my personal zone so i could read the text - even if it was zoomed in!

anyway so i’m right-handed who keeps her books in the left. i think mainly because i use my right to do other stuff. I have the kobo and initially i thought that the lower right hand button was such that you would use it in your right hand but i actually find it comfortable in my left and can easily turn with my left thumb at the same time. I just hold it at the corner….

Just pulled it out to check - i do not hold the whole thing in my palm. Just the corner is cupped in my left hand, left thumb is free to move pages back and forth and my right hand is free to feed me biscuits, tea, other edible things, stir a pot etc.

I’m another Kobo user who’s left-handed but pretty much stuck with holding it in the right hand. The base of my right thumb is currently very unhappy—been using it a lot the last couple of days. Would be nice to make it easier to switch back and forth. (Didn’t fill out the survey on the grounds that it’s not a preference thing.)

RH but hold my Kindle LH (never thought about it until you posed the question!)

I’ve used a Rocket ebook for 10 years. It had the buttons on the left, requiring left hand use.

I bought a Kindle because of the buttons on both sides. I’m somewhat ambidextrous, and I like the idea that I’m not stuck putting the strain on one hand/thumb. I’ve only had it a bit over a week, but I’ve noticed that I switch hands often.

I’m a righty and voted as a switch-hitter because it really depends on where I’m reading.

For my iPhone, if I’m going two-handed (rare, but it happens), it’s hold on left & swipe to turn pages with right; if it’s single-handed, it’s right & right (hello trusty page-turning thumb!)

For my Kindle, it varies. I have one of those foldback cover things but can’t be bothered to actually fold it back & hold it out of the way with the elastic (since I’ll often read for short spells, like when I’m walking down the hallway or on the lift leaving my flat, and need to shove it back into my rucksack), in which case I generally hold the Kindle with both hands: my right holds the actual Kindle at the bottom right corner & turns the pages, and the left sort of keeps the cover flap from getting in the way. I use my Kindle at the gym all the time & it’s the same setup, except for when I’m reaching for my water bottle with my right hand :).

Without the cover, I’ll often hold it with my left (I guess to keep my right available for other things) and turn the pages with either hand, but I also hold it with my right. It kind of depends on where I’m sitting & where the light is coming from. If I’m reading something in the ‘landscape’ orientation, I tend to go two-handed again, holding it with the right (because I orient it such that the keyboard is on the left side, and holding it there is weird!) and turning pages with the left.

Basically, I’m a Kindle-holding/page-turning slut and will do it any way :-P So I’m glad there’s buttons all around to accommodate every possible combination :)

(on the rare occasions when I still read print books, I again tend to go two-handed [because I like keeping the spines tight!], but favour my right hand when using one hand. Unless the light is kind of crappy and on my left, in which case I’ll use my left. Wow, so basically, I’m a paperback-holding slut as well :-P)

I’m right-handed, and use my left hand when reading. I don’t own an ereader yet, but for paperback books (which is what I’m usually reading, since hardcovers are too expensive/heavy) and borrowing the Kindle from my mom I always use my left hand. As you mentioned, this leaves the right (dominant) hand free to eat, brush my teeth, attempt to put in contacts one-handed (can’t do) while reading without correction (can’t do).....

As a note, one of the things I love about using the Kindle, which I’ve borrowed extensively, is HOW EASY it is for me to do things while reading. SO much easier to get dressed while reading, or brush teeth while reading, or do anything else involving two hands, because you don’t have to try to prop the book open (I don’t care much about book spines). Also, much easier for things like reading while making the bed, since it’s easier to turn pages with one hand.

Tracy said,

They made a mistake making the nook color not ambidextrous…

Are you fucking kidding me? FOR THE LAST TIME (I hope):

THE NOOKCOLOR PAGE TURN WORKS WITH EITHER HAND. READ PEOPLE’S RESPONSES TO THE ORIGINAL POST BEFORE WEIGHING IN.

FOR EXAMPLE:
Nicole said,

I have the Nook Color and I use it with both hands. When I hold it in my left, I just swipe my thumb to change the page. Same with the right. I only use one hand when I read, so being able to swipe and change the page works great for me.

STOP THE MISINFORMATION AND CORRECT THE ORIGINAL POST. NOT TOO SMART, BITCHES.

NookColor is NOT for righties only. Neither is the Nook or Kindle.

You can use small right or left swipe gestures to the to move forward a page or backup a page on either side of the screen making the NookColor ambidexterous. Similar to a smartphone or other tablets.

Jane might have meant the frame-screen tap. It is done by a quick light tap between the frame and the screen that will forward a page or go back a page. Tap on the right side of the NookColor to advance a page, done on the left goes back a page. I use it more than the swipe. I hold it with my right hand and tap with my right thumb. Easy.

I’m a leftie. I hold ereaders in my right mostly.

Bearing in mind that I have no dog in this fight, other than being somewhat offended by this sort of carrying on in my, normally, sane corner of the internet…

STOP THE MISINFORMATION AND CORRECT THE ORIGINAL POST. NOT TOO SMART, BITCHES.

1.  Whomever was incorrect the first time doesn’t have the option of “correcting the original post”.  Unless, of course, things have changed and there’s an edit option of which I am unaware.  (If so, I’m sure someone will correct me.)

2.  Screaming is more rude and off-putting than someone being incorrect about, or unaware of, the options on her ereader.

3.  “Bitches” isn’t used as an insult here.  In fact, most people that post here don’t name-call and insult other people at all.  Now, perhaps you were intending it in the way it is used here (Smart Bitches) and not intending to use it as an insult, but it certainly reads as an insult.

4.  Being incorrect about an option on an ereader isn’t cause for having a temper tantrum.  Perhaps you need to (if you’re old enough) have a glass of wine and relax a little.  Or find something more worth all of that screaming rage, like poverty or war or certain political groups redefining the word “rape”.

(whispering, so as not to alarm you):

it wasn’t meant as an insult. so get a sense of humor, because that would be the more smart bitches thing to do.

Donna said,

Talk of devices, fiddling & switch hitting is taking my brain down paths completley inappropriate to the work place.

heehee. And also, every time someone talks about reading one-handed? :} Or is that as silly as giggling over the whole nook e-reader/“nookie reader” thing? I don’t care if it is…iheartnook.

;)

Well then, alright.

I guess my answer would be “none of the above,” most of the time.  I’m left-handed, but generally hold my Kindle with the palm of my left hand and operate the page-turn/menu buttons with my right hand.  If I absolutely am forced to do it one-handed, I’ll use my left-only, but it feels awkward.

I’m the same with paperback/hardcovers.  Am I just unusually uncoordinated?  How are you all holding books, turning pages and reading with one hand? lol

Feh - the Nook “hate”/misinformation over here and on Jane’s blog isn’t anything new. But yeah, pretty sure the Nook Color is geared more towards swiping. One could say it’s bad for them to assume readers are going to default mostly to the swipe while making their other page-turn option less ambidextrous. But, funny, I don’t think I see any other devices with multiple options for how one turns a page (IE, touch/button or swipe-motion as opposed to buttons only). Seriously, ladies. It’s a personal taste thing - not a failing on the device itself.

My eReader is an iPod Touch. I switch hands as one gets tired. When I hold it in my right (dominant) hand, I page-turn with my thumb. When I hold it in my left hand, I page-turn with my fingers. Either way, I just barely tap the right edge of the screen. I think I actually find page-turning with my left hand to be easier, because of the way I hold the Touch.

I was a bit surprised cause I voted in the poll before reading your post, SB Sarah. Who would’ve thought that a lot of righties hold their devices with their left-hand. It’s the same with paperbacks for me as well, ‘cause I use my right hand to turn the pages and hold the book with my left. :)

I’m right handed, but almost always hold my Kindle in my left hand. I either hold it on the left side of the device or I hold it like you used to hold your school books. I have my arm around the back of the device, and my fingers hooked over the right side of the kindle. Gives my wrist a bit of a break.

BUT I almost always use the Next Page with my RIGHT hand.

I’m right handed, and when I read, I usually hold paperbacks in my left hand, and that has been true to the Sony touchscreen ereader I got for Christmas too. I have experimented with switching it up and holding it in my right hand too, but I prefer holding it in my left hand. For me it is not the page turning that decides this (the touch screen swipe is easily done with whatever finger is free), it’s the fact that if I need to look up a word in the dictionary or make a note somewhere, I find it easier to do with my right hand fingers, or holding the stylus.

Well, I had to say both… However I am a leftie and hold the book or reader in my left hand until it cramps up, then I switch hands and so on until my hands are both crampy or dinner burned because I forgot about it.

I have a Kindle.  It cost £109.  I hold it with both hands ;-)  But I’m a leftie, and I use the right-hand button to go forward.  I know the big button on the left also goes forward, but in my head that’s all wrong.  Right for forward, left for back.  If I was going to hold it in just one hand, it would be my right hand.

I’m left-handed and generally prefer to hold my Kindle in my right hand, but in bed, where I do most of my reading, I can go either way (hmm, didn’t mean it like that) and I appreciate its ambidexterity.

Kindle allows you to switch the orientation of the screen. This means the keyboard could be on top or on either side. It’s handy although not entirely practical.

I’m predominantly right-handed but also have chronic RSI in my hand especially my thumbs. I would tend to hold right-handed and turn pages right-handed BUT I *need* to be able to switch between hands to prevent causing a flare-up. Secondary factor is I come from a family with is 50-50 right to left-handers. This makes me conscious of lefthanded-issues.

I’ve had a Palm and an Ipaq- both had the next button at the bottom of the screen, essentially neutral. The Foxit eSlick and the Kobo are both firmly intended for hold in right hand, turn page with right hand. Drove me nuts.
My current device is the Sony touch 650. I love it so much- finger swipe on either side of the screen moves you to the previous/next and you can also change the swipe direction- useful if you are used to right-to-left reading. It’s great for me as I can easily switch it between hands and I’m not forced in to holding it in a weird position to get to the next page aka the Kobo.

I’m a rightie, but switch, depending on where I am and what’s most comfortable. In bed, I lie on my side and hold my Kindle with my left hand, but on the couch I normally hold it with my right.  When using it on the treadmill, I press the button with my left.

I have the nook, but not the nook color (what the hell is the point? The screen for the color one isn’t e-ink) and the page turn buttons for the regular nook are on both sides and of equal size.

I would have to say, in defense of the nook Color (though again, I’m opposed to it for the lack of e-ink) if you’re reading an actual book (I mean with paper) you don’t get much of a choice in how you turn pages either - it’s from the right or nothing.

As for me, I’m right handed and I hold my device in my left hand, so I voted for that, but I turn pages with my right. Left hand is like my support, right is my page turn.

My last post stated I am a left handed and hold my NookColor with my right, true.  I also switch when fatigued.

I voted Jeeves since I prop it due to physical limitations. Need that swipe or I wouldn’t be able to read at all. That includes paper and the other ereaders.

I’m predominantly (eating and writing) left-handed, but I do certain things, like enter phone numbers and use a touch screen, with my right hand. So I have to hold the device in my left hand.

I have the cruz ereader.  It is a touchscreen.  I haven’t noticed if I can change how to turn pages.  But I am right handed.  I hold it in both hands.  But I turn pages with my right.  Hadn’t thought about it before.  Interesting to see how everyone reads.

I mostly hold my Kobo with my left hand, and I have no problem with the button placement where it is. I wrap my hand around the device so that I’m not holding it out in mid-air anyway (this is less tiring, I find), and use my fingers, rather than my thumb to hit the button.

I’m right-handed.  I got a cover with a built-in light for my Kindle so it’s mostly held in both hands or in my lap.  I do use my right hand to page forward mostly.  But I hold my Android phone in my right hand and use my right thumb to touch the right side of the screen to page forward.  If I want to page back, I’ll reach over with my right thumb or use my left hand to touch the left side of the screen.  As I previously commented, I had the hardest time when I first got my Kindle because I wanted to use the left-hand button to page back and the right-hand button to page forward.  Basically, I just think the buttons should be user-configurable so we can all do what is most comfortable for us.

now this is interesting!!  I never really thought of it…
i’m left handed and tend to hold it in my right hand.  although, sometimes I do hold it in my left.

I tried out my father’s Kindle that he got for Christmas - I guess I sort of “switch-hit,” as I held it in the left hand, but turned the pages with the right.  (I am right handed but have a strong-minded left.  Useful after my stroke, that.)

My ereader is a Sony pocket which I hold in my left hand and turn the pages either with my left thumb on the buttons or my right index finger to sweep the screen. I think I use the buttons most because I’m usually using my dominant right hand to hold my drink/food/pen but not a steering wheel (yet)
I had to think about how I hold paper books - I had to pick one up and test - I held it in my left   hand with middle finger on the spine, index finger and third finger on the left and right cover respectively, thumb on left page, little finger on right page and turn pages with my right index finger. It sounds awkward but is really comfortable.

I realized the other day that my right hand was sore.  Then I realized I had read a whole lot of books on my Kindle.  Normally I switch between Kindle and paper.  I now have a Kindle cover that I can use as a bookstand when I am reading at the table.  I also now listen to books on my Kindle so I can “read” while I do housework.  It’s much easier on my right hand!

I have a Sony 600.  Though I’m right-handed, I’m comfortable holding it in either hand.  When one hand gets tired, I switch to the other.  :)  I can touch the screen anywhere to turn the page, (and you’re right it is customizable.)

I hold with both hands while reading, but hold with my right and page flip with my left, which is sort of the opposite of what I do with paper.

I’m left-handed and hold books/my kindle in my left hand the majority of the time. Never tried the nook, might have to go in to B&N and see if there’s one I can testdrive…

Good point! Left-handed, I would hold an e-book if I had one (still resisting) in my RH so my LH is free to fiddle with knobs. It’s like using the phone - RH holds it, LH free to write notes; escalators - hang on with RH (in UK supposed to use LH side) so LH is free to grab the bloke in front if I fall over; shopping bags in RH, so LH hand free to manipulate for other things, like opening your own doors these days. Expediency, not brain thing. Great blog by the way!
Diane Paul, Bookblogforbookworms
Author of Living Left-Handed (Bloomsbury) and The Left-Hander’s Handbook (Robinswood Press).

I have an iPad, and use both hands equally (sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both).  The touchscreen is optimized for turning with the right hand—almost all reading apps are “tap right to go forward, tap left to go back”—but many also respond to swiping, so swiping right-to-left (even on the left side of the screen!) will go to the next page.  Which is rather handy, if you will forgive the pun.

I don’t think I would be happy with a device that forced me to use one particular hand/side for pageturning.

I probably favor my right hand, but I have to switch so much I hardly notice.  When you’re a obsessive compulsive kindle user, your wrists being sore in the morning has a totally different meaning.