The studies showed that students of all ages, from elementary school to college, tend to absorb more when they’re reading on paper than on screens, particularly when it comes to nonfiction material.

Ziming Liu at San Jose State University found that when we read on screens we spend more time browsing and scanning, performing “non-linear reading.” For an even deeper read, here’s Liu’s 2008 book on the subject. But a study in PLOS found that reading e-ink is a lot like reading on paper in terms of visual fatigue.

11 places for thrifty bookworms to download free e-books

1. Google eBookstore. The Google eBookstore offers an entire section of free e-books to download.
2. Project Gutenberg. With a collection of more than 45,000 free e-books, Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to create and share e-books online.
3. Open Library.
4. Internet Archive.
5. BookBoon.
6. ManyBooks.net.
7. Free eBooks.
8. LibriVox.

Reading On A Screen May Make Our Eyes Work Harder However, as screen resolution improves with advancing technology, reading on a screen will cause less strain. Studies have shown that when reading on a screen we tend to blink less—sometimes causing eyes to become dry and sore.

E-books help the visually impaired The study found that people with dyslexia read more effectively, and with greater ease, when using the e-reader compared with reading on paper.

However exaggerated (or ridiculous) this stereotype is, reading is indeed associated with eye strain and comes at the expense of exercise and other physical activities. Frequently related are poor diets and digestive problems, an unwelcome weight gain or loss, and generalized exhaustion.