Quote:
Originally Posted by Atunah
I think at least for me sometimes I get a wee bit defensive. This isn't against the OP here, but I have gotten comments from folks about how I must not have anything to do, no work, no friends, nobody since I read so much. Maybe part of that is because I read a lot of romance and it tends to get such comments online or even in person. You know, sitting around all day surrounded by cats eating bon bons while reading romance.
to do its thing.
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Probably those comments are from people who wish they could sit around reading and eating bonbons!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DNSB
....One recent book I read mentioned a building was a Cape Cod style. That, for me, was enough to draw a picture. I did not need 10 more paragraphs describing the colours of the house, roof and door, the stain used on the shutters, the condition of the lawn, etc.
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Yes - there can be such a thing as too much detail whether it be about houses, clothing, scenery, whatever.
When a character is first introduced, being told whether he dresses impeccably in the latest expensive designer fashions or wears mismatched worn-out old clothes is enough information for me - if the author starts listing designer names I will skim over those. After I've met a character once I don't need a detailed description of their clothing next time they appear unless there is some significance to it (for example, a usually tidy person turns up messy due to having been in an accident).
The good thing about reading fiction purely for your own enjoyment is you can choose for yourself what type of book to read and whether to savor every word or skim over passages that don't interest you. I typically read mysteries that focus more on actions and motivations and so I skim (not skip) over the often pedestrian descriptions of people and their surroundings in these books. On the other hand, it sounds like BookCat derives great satisfaction from pondering over an evocative description and probably tends to choose thought-provoking literature. Therefore, comparison of our reading speeds would be meaningless.