Hello everyone.

I want to get back into healthy habits. This includes reading books before bed and no screen before bed.

The thing is that (for now) my partner and our child all sleep in the same bedroom. I tend to get to bed after they are already asleep and don’t want to disturb them.

What’s the best option to read in the dark that doesn’t involve blue light screen (smartphone) or high luminosity?

Are there e-readers with very very dim light that still allow comfortable reading?

Thanks for your input.

  • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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    10 months ago

    I’ve had kindle devices for over a decade, and my latest (kindle paperwhite) is perfect to read in bed at night while my wife is sleeping, adjust the brightness down to 2-3 and it’s easy on the eyes to read in the dark, and dim enough that you can’t even use it to find your way to the bathroom.

    • Palewon@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I second this. It also has a dark mode setting with white text and black background. One of the best purchases I’ve made. I use it every night and the charge lasts weeks.

      • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        My ads right now are all for shit I bought my wife for Christmas, so maybe this would be an improvement.

  • DeadNinja@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Are there e-readers with very very dim light that still allow comfortable reading?

    I have not used any myself, but I have heard that both Kindle e-reader and Kobo support this.

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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      10 months ago

      Seconding Kobo! I have the Clara and it is very comfortable in the dark. Plus, it’s very easy to load books from many sources onto a Kobo, unlike Amazon’s walled garden approach with Kindle.

  • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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    10 months ago

    Any e-ink display eReader will work for you, but I personally recommend Kobo. They have a more open approach to loading files compared to Kindle, and they tend to be very affordable for a high quality device.

    • DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone
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      10 months ago

      Upvote for Kobo - I have a kobo Clara. The backlight can change colour with time of day and brightness can be changed.

      Or what about listening to audiobooks or podcasts?

  • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Yes, the Kindle Paperwhite and Oasis have good low level backlights. I’ve had both and currently use and recommend the latter for clarity, touch sensitivity and size.

      • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        You might be right, I just auto-typed backlight. I guess the Oasis is backlit judging from how mine appears.

        • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          I think they’re almost all front lit. It doesn’t necessarily look like it, but I think there’s three layers in the screen with e-ink being the bottom one and the one the lights light up is on top, so the e-ink part is being front lit even though it looks like the light might be coming behind the screen.

    • june@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I really want to upgrade to an oasis but I haven’t been able to justify the cost. My paper white works so well but the touch swipe is finicky fairly frequently which makes me miss page turn buttons a lot.

      • ABCDE@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I got mine secondhand for around £90, so keep your eyes peeled perhaps. The touchscreen is definitely better than the Paperwhite.

  • Acamon@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Ereaders like kobo / kindle have gentle backlight, just make sure you get one with adjustable warm /cool white backlight, so you can make it warm and not blue. I also use a little clip on booklight with adjustable brightness and color. If it’s dim and red/orange you’re not disturbing anyone but it illuminates the page perfectly.

    • fievel@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      I read every night with a kobo e-reader (next to my partner who generally sleep before me). I use night mode and a very dim brightness (2-3 %, the max I use is 4 %). It’s sufficient in my opinion.

  • DontTreadOnBigfoot@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I have a Kobo, and it allows for a very dim backlight and warm backlight temperature. I find it super comfortable for reading in the dark

  • CaptainBlagbird@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Use a headlamp with red light 🔦🔴. They are specifically made for not waking other people up while camping. The red light also is not a problem before sleep, unlike blue light.

    • Critical_Insight@feddit.uk
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      10 months ago

      That’s not why the light is red lol

      Red light doesn’t mess up your night vision. With a red light you can turn it off and still see as long as there’s some ambient light such as moonlight. With white light you need to wait for 10 to 15 minutes for your eyes to get accustomed to the darkness.

      • CaptainBlagbird@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        With white light you need to wait for 10 to 15 minutes for your eyes to get accustomed to the darkness.

        Not when using the eyepatch method though 😉🏴‍☠️

        But in all seriousness, mine stated the above on the package. Maybe they didn’t know any better or it was a translation error. There are multiple benefits of having red light instead of bright white. Not irritating your eyes is basically the same as not irritating someone else’s eyes.

  • DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca
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    10 months ago

    I have a Kobo Clara 2E for pretty much this reason. The lit screen has multiple levels of luminosity and adjustable yellow tone. I keep mine at a cool stone white but it can go really yellow if that’s what you want. On top of that, Kobo is much more user friendly for loading ebooks, it’s compatible with a whole range of ebook formats unlike Kindle.

    • cfi@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Seconding the Kobo Clara for its dim, warm light.

      Also want to mention using the KOReader software instead of the stock software for it’s fantastic feature set

      • StijnVVL@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I’m also Kobo Clara for a couple of years now and very happy with it.

        Could you maybe elaborate on your experience with KOReader? It’s the first I hear about this. Maybe the only downside to Kobo is its unresponsive software. It’s just so slow. Does this KOReader improve on that?

        • cfi@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Its much more responsive in my experience. It supports a wide range of options, has gestures for controlling certain settings (i.e. brightness and warmness) allows position syncing with other KOReader devices (Another reader,Android App for example), browsing and downloading from OPDS catalogs and Calibre instances, Downloading saved articles from Wallabag instances.

          Honestly the only thing I use the stock Kobo software for is to launch KOReader. It does everything the stock software does but better.

          I should mention, you install KOReader and its dependencies on top of the regular firmware, not over it. You can use them side by side

  • nutsack@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I use a fucking goddamn clampy lamp that clamps onto the fucking goddamn headboard of the bed and holy shit it’s fucked

    • cheesymoonshadow@lemmings.world
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      10 months ago

      I used something similar but no purchase necessary.

      I used my phone as a light to read a physical book in bed. I would open Google Keep to a blank yellow sticky note, and my screen was so dim that it was really a dark amber light, and I’d rest my phone on my chest facing up so it lit up the pages.

  • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    10 months ago

    I use a $15 book light with adjustable brightness. It has a flexible arm so it only shines light on the page, versus an electronic device which shines light on your face.

  • the16bitgamer@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Most kindles and kobos with color temp front lights are your best friend.

    Kobo Clara 2e or the Kindle 11th Gen should work.