|
Reading speed is an interesting topic. I have been reading at around 100 pages per hour since I was around 8 years old. At the time, I spent all of my pocket money on used paperbacks from a local bookshop, and probably read 2-3 books a night. These days, I have competing interests, and don't find as much time for reading, so my throughput is down, probably 1-2 books a week at the moment; but my reading speed is still about the same.
I do read every word; and my recall and comprehension is excellent in terms of plot and character, at least; however, I often optimise away the names of minor characters. One thing I have noticed; 'arty' books where the emphasis is more on the writing than the plot or characters slow me down; and books which have been translated from a foreign language slow me to a crawl. Foucault's Pendulum, for example, took me around 20 hours to read.
Do I always read a book to the end? I used to. I think the first book I didn't finish was Heliconia Spring by Brian Aldiss. I got most of the way to the end before I gave up. These days, I'm more discerning, probably because I haven't enough time to read everything; and am willing to abandon a book if it's dull, unpleasant, badly formatted, overly wordy; or just looks at me in a funny way.
|