What exactly do you call "reading a book" ?

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

It's never occurred to me to skim a book. If it sucks, I'll just quit reading and move on to something else.

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

Even when a books sucks I sometimes read way more than I should in the hope it'll get better, because I hate leaving books unfinished - they haunt me

^This & This! Very rarely, actually, do I put down a book unfinished. I can count maybe 5 I've left unread in my entire lifetime. I try to tough it out to the end ...This situation just came up recently with The Island of Dr. Moreau.

That being said, I have been known to skip prefaces and an introduction here or there. Now that I think about it, however, I never skip a prologue.

Edit: Your poll/post reminded me of the Do You Read the Preface? thread I started months ago.

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by Loosheesh

Even when a books sucks I sometimes read way more than I should in the hope it'll get better, because I hate leaving books unfinished - they haunt me

Me too, I've had a few books that I really like that I almost put down. And that still scares me

[FizzyWater]

I chose the second option, although for most books, it's more true for the first. But if I'm reading a romance with way too many sex scenes, I do start skipping over those.

I do a periodic re-read of the JD Robb "Eve Dallas" series, and I regularly skip the Eve-and-Roarke sex scenes in those.

[dreams]

What exactly do you call "reading a book" ?

It depends. If a someone asks if I have read something, I will say yes (if I read the pbook or ebook), but I will say I have listened to it (if I have listened to the audio version).

If I am counting how many books I have read, then I will count both the audio and the book as books read.

I don't count either version as read, if I did not complete it. There have been very few that I have not completed. Like others, I just can't stand not finishing a book. I keep thinking it just has to get better.

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I chose the second option, although for most books, it's more true for the first. But if I'm reading a romance with way too many sex scenes, I do start skipping over those.

I do a periodic re-read of the JD Robb "Eve Dallas" series, and I regularly skip the Eve-and-Roarke sex scenes in those.

Me too! I look for dialogue in those scenes and just want to get back to the story, especially in the "Death" series.

[Ryvyan]

Originally Posted by emellaich

I don't skim, but I do. I read every word, but I don't always pay attention to every word. I usually do, but sometimes I don't. I'm more interested in the progression of the plot than in the endless details.

I'm one of these people as well. I'd read a fiction book from cover to cover but once I get caught up in the story, the individual words and phrases no longer matter to me. I don't think it's necessary to throw in big words within a story to make it more polished.

It's always the plot and the style of storytelling that captivates me. That, to me, is a good story. Sometimes I miss details because of the skimming, but it just makes each re-read an experience because hey! I just discovered something "new".

It's a lazy way of reading but personally effective, because I suddenly possess the attention span of a 3-year old if I'm to read every single word.

--

p/s: An example of extreme skimming is the Lord of the Rings books. The premise of the tale is good, but the amount of details distracts me constantly, which in turn makes the storytelling aspect of the books suck (no offense, Tolkien & fans). I'm a bigger fan of the Hobbit; more concise.

That said, I like that details are in the appendices. I'd rather all the crazy amount of details be stuck in the appendices where I can later pick up and peruse instead of reading an interlude stuck in the middle of an otherwise exciting tale.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Ryvyan

I'm one of these people as well. I'd read a fiction book from cover to cover but once I get caught up in the story, the individual words and phrases no longer matter to me. I don't think it's necessary to throw in big words within a story to make it more polished.

It's always the plot and the style of storytelling that captivates me. That, to me, is a good story. Sometimes I miss details because of the skimming, but it just makes each re-read an experience because hey! I just discovered something "new".

It's a lazy way of reading but personally effective, because I suddenly possess the attention span of a 3-year old if I'm to read every single word.

--

p/s: An example of extreme skimming is the Lord of the Rings books. The premise of the tale is good, but the amount of details distracts me constantly, which in turn makes the storytelling aspect of the books suck (no offense, Tolkien & fans). I'm a bigger fan of the Hobbit; more concise.

That said, I like that details are in the appendices. I'd rather all the crazy amount of details be stuck in the appendices where I can later pick up and peruse instead of reading an interlude stuck in the middle of an otherwise exciting tale.

I agree with you on The Hobbit being a "cleaner" more precise (and in some ways more enjoyable) read than The Lord of the Rings, but I did read every word of all of the books. I didn't want to miss any of the details, even though I admit that it was a bit distracting at times.

As for appendices...I don't think I've read through one yet.

[Ryvyan]

Just saw mentions of audio-books. By "virtue" of my laziness, I'm unable to finish an audio-book because it moves along too slowly for me (and I don't drive, so it's not like I can't read on public transport). I get through books faster.

It's also why I do not like my local national museum; the use of audio-guides is exclusive and there are no written/typed words on each display. So the last time I went, I simply moved around without wanting to fiddle around with the audio-guide for further explanation.

To expand on that thought, it's not like I dislike audio-guides. It's just that I'd like a bit of written information FIRST, and if it's interesting enough, I'd use the audio-guide to get more information. Like the system in British museums.

[maianhvk]

I don't read the analysis, or the page which tells us who published the book and their address, "All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced... etc."

Seriously, I usually skip the descriptive passages, especially if they're about nature's beauties. That's super boring. I jump to dialogs, action scenes... generally, passages which clarify the critical points.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Ryvyan

Just saw mentions of audio-books. By "virtue" of my laziness, I'm unable to finish an audio-book because it moves along too slowly for me (and I don't drive, so it's not like I can't read on public transport). I get through books faster.

It's also why I do not like my local national museum; the use of audio-guides is exclusive and there are no written/typed words on each display. So the last time I went, I simply moved around without wanting to fiddle around with the audio-guide for further explanation.

To expand on that thought, it's not like I dislike audio-guides. It's just that I'd like a bit of written information FIRST, and if it's interesting enough, I'd use the audio-guide to get more information. Like the system in British museums.

I tried listening to an audio book..once. Actually it was a podcast for a book. I stopped it after about 5 minutes. It just felt wrong. I can listen to music and singing all day long, but I can not do the same with someone talking. I get impatient and then after a while they start to sound like the adults in the Peanuts/Charlie Brown movies "Wha Wha Wha Wha...".

[Blossom]

I read every word. If I find my mind wandering I will go back and re-read it. I do not skim pages at all. If I find a story moving slow I just stop and take a break and read something else till I am ready to pick it up again.

I have been known to lay a novel down and finish it six months later. I do have few DNF books but I try to finish the ones I think are worth reading.

[GA Russell]

I'm a slow reader.

I read it all - the text, the copyright page, the dedication, the appendices, everything.

Reading is a bit of an effort for me. If I think that a book is OK to skip through, I think that it is not worth the effort to do even that.

There are many books I have started that I put aside for something else and haven't gotten back to yet. It's not that I have made a decision to never finish them. I've just got something better to do now.

[Joy736]

I've been wondering the same thing as the OP.
I've seen lots of people around here who claim to at least read 1 book a day.
Can one of those people please explain how?

I personaly read every book cover to cover and that means I read 1 book a week.

[Kevin8or]

It sounds as if everyone's talking about fiction, yes?

Surely not all of you read every word of every non-fiction tome? For example, I see book called "That Used to Be Us," by Thomas Friedman, on the NYT bestseller list. Its subtitle is: "How America fell behind in the world it invented, and how it can come back." My guess is that you can glean most of what this book has to offer without reading it cover to cover. (If you have the desire to read any of it, that is. )

[HappyMartin]

For the next poll we need to ask how many people consider themselves to be obsessive compulsives here on MR.

Seriously folks, life is too short to always read every word of every book no matter how tedious it becomes. Sometimes it feels like the author wasn't even paying attention all the time. See no reason why I should.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Joy736

I've been wondering the same thing as the OP.
I've seen lots of people around here who claim to at least read 1 book a day.
Can one of those people please explain how?

I personaly read every book cover to cover and that means I read 1 book a week.

I'm about the same, however that wasn't always the case.

I've only read a book in one day a few times in my adult life, but before I was volunteering at school full time I could finish an average 300+pg novel in 3 days. It usually required taking the book with me everywhere I went and stealing time when/where I could.

When I worked full time it would be during my break and/or lunch times. Since a lot of my time was spent at a desk I could also read during slow work times. As a mom, there was nap time, waiting in the car after school time, etc.

Now that my kids are a little older, there is no nap time, and I leave school when they leave school.