Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
When I started Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books, the friend who forced me to read them recommended them to me suggested that I let all the sailing minutiae wash over me, so to speak. It was good advice. Over time, I have a better idea of what's going on, but I didn't get bogged down in it at the beginning to the detriment of my appreciation for those wonderful books.
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Now see, I
like sailing minutiae, myself.
But I get what you mean. Just because you let portions "wash over you," (great description, by the way) doesn't mean you don't pick up bits of it here and there--enough to get by, anyway. And it certainly doesn't mean someone who skims a bit here and there is "shortchanging" the experience in any way. You don't have to savor every single word of a book in order to love it.
I'm never going to love architecture-speak. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a cool looking building when I see one. Nor that I can't love an author who tends to dwell a little too much on describing buildings. Skimming isn't skipping. I get the gist of what I skim. I just find little value in describing what a building looks like in exacting detail. Same with describing what every new character we meet is wearing in detail.