Reading problems

Finished reading La carte et le mémoire  (Michel Houellebecq) and Cosmicomics (Italo Calvino) - around 600 pages over 3 weeks, in office shuttle, cafés. Had sore eyes as a result. This month was exceptionally hectic even at work with a huge volume of translations and tight deadlines.


I find I move between reading and non-reading phases all the time. As continuous reading always results in sore eyes and/or discomfort, i really avoid reading. And then when it has been too long (say a month or two), I pick up again a book and try to finish it.

I'm still not used to text-to-speech. It sounds too odd and kills any pleasure whatsoever of reading. Audio books are alright, but the experience is completely different. Perhaps reading is irreplaceable. Text-to-speech fails with fiction and complex non-fiction books.

As a possible solution, I'm thinking of buying a compatible refreshable braille display. My reading speed is better with braille and it would not involve any reading stress. But braille displays are very expensive currently, between $2500 - $8000. Several projects for developing an affordable refreshable Braille display are going on. Once in the market, the retail price will be around $300 for these displays (For e.g., Quixote, by Bristol Braille). These new displays are expected to be available by the end of 2012. I will wait for few months.

Do you use a refreshable Braille display for reading? Any suggestions?