Ebook fans who read slowly - Page 2

Ervserver · 03-15-2009, 12:46 PM

The Mrs reads 50+ books a year, nearly all of them "crap" fiction. Vampire, fantasy, and romance books. I can see why she goes through books so fast as they mostly have the same themes, you could close your eyes and guess what the book is about

dmaul1114 · 03-15-2009, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Russell

So am I a strange creature when it comes to reading? Is there anyone else out there who really loves to read, but who reads for pleasure in a more leisurely fashion, finishing only a handful of books each year? Tell me I'm not alone in the snail's pace!

I'm the same. I don't read slow, but I only get through maybe 5-10 books a year. Getting a Kindle will probably increase that some as I hated buying books I'd read once or dealing with the library and the homeless around it all the time etc.

I love reading, but I have to read a lot for work (academic) so I get burned out on it. So it's down on my hobby list below anything social (particularly involving good beer!), movies, TV/sports, music, video games etc., as I need a change of pace after reading a lot for work.

So my reading is usually limited to Newsweek here and there and some reading before bed a few nights a week.

AnemicOak · 03-15-2009, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renaldo

She will read a book and be able to talk about it for a day, then that's that. It's completely left her memory it seems.

Huh, I've read some books I wish I could forget like that.

Phogg · 03-15-2009, 01:52 PM

I would like to recommend the Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading course.

JSWolf · 03-15-2009, 02:06 PM

How fast I read depends up how much free time I have and the book. The other thing I am trying to do is to finish all the books I have started and then see if I can manage just one book at a time.

ficbot · 03-15-2009, 02:21 PM

I'm a speed reader---never 'learned' it but just seem to read fast naturally. I could read a book a day if I wanted to and had the time, and I will recall it later. I am a little fuzzy on series books though. I am reading the new JD Robb right now and it makes references to a case they solved in a previous book, and I can't recall this at all. But the book I am reading now is number 31 in a series so I guess I can be forgiven for mixing up what happened in which book

If I read a stand-alone novel though, I will recall it.

cerement · 03-15-2009, 02:26 PM

Another one here who has two reading speeds. Non-fiction and badly written histories just drag along. With fiction, I pretty much enter a fugue state and lose track of the world around me. I'm one of those people who's got his nose buried in a book while walking down the street. And I get seriously annoyed at anyone who interrupts me while I'm reading ...

As for getting to that point, I think it's something kids absorb from their parents. It was never shoved onto me, but both my parents were readers, so I grew up seeing that as the norm, not the exception. And make sure there's something interesting available (my first "real" book (no pictures) was Edgar Rice Burroughs!)

tompe · 03-15-2009, 02:34 PM

I have noticed that if we talk about actually reading the book and not skimming then my friends that read very fast also remember the book much better than people that read slower. So reading speed seems to depend a lot on how good your memory is and how fast the input to the memory works.

Also reading a book over an extended time period is for me a very different experience then reading it in a couple days or faster.

TallMomof2 · 03-15-2009, 02:50 PM

Another two speed reader. When it's for learning my speed is far slower but for pleasure it depends. I read a lot of light fiction which I can whip through but reading more difficult fiction definitely takes me longer.

joobies · 03-15-2009, 04:00 PM

I truly appreciate those who can read quickly and absorb totally. I am not among them. I read and relish each word. Since I no longer work, I have time to put into this wonderful hobby.

Moejoe · 03-15-2009, 04:06 PM

I'm a bedtime reader, maybe an hour or so before I fall asleep. I usually get most books done in about a week or less, but when I was younger I could read two paperbacks in a day. Oh to be young again...and also a robot!

Sparrow · 03-15-2009, 04:09 PM

I'm a slow reader (every word, never skim).

What puzzles me about speed readers is how they can go through all the emotional ups and downs a reader experiences when reading a book - isn't it like being on a rollercoaster if it's all over in 4 hours?

Curly · 03-15-2009, 04:44 PM

I am also a fast reader especially I am reading fiction. I become totally engrossed in the book I am reading and I am oblivious to what is going on around me. When I read, I have an image of the story running in my mind's eye, like a film. Sometimes I am not really even aware of reading the words on the page.

yvanleterrible · 03-15-2009, 04:50 PM

You miss things if you read fast. Comprehending everything is at the foremost of reading. You must come back to clarify.
Next comes the beauty of the writing.

For me, imaging the words is essential, that's where I lose track of the words to see the action, to such an extent that I also lose the sense of where I am. It's a state that foregoes rationality and time. The peak of reading!

Elsi · 03-15-2009, 05:25 PM

When I read for content, as opposed to reading for pleasure, I read much more slowly.

Because I have gotten into the habit of reading fast, reading for the plot, and gobbling books, I only read fiction for pleasure. I won't say that all my reads are trivial books, but at least 50% of them probably fall into that category. I keep up with each book as I read it, so I know how many books I read each year: on average, 2.5 books per week. For the most part, when I'm reading for pleasure, I'm not really *attending* to what I'm reading.

After completing a novel, I'll remember whether or not I enjoyed it and I'll remember the essence of the plot, but I do not remember details. My daughter and I read many of the same books and I'm really surprised how much more she retains of what she has read.

Like many others, there's a lot of reading at work, but that falls into reading e-mails, researching, etc. It's not "reading" in the sense of starting at the beginning of a work and reading forward to the end.

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03-15-2009, 12:46 PM	#16
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	The Mrs reads 50+ books a year, nearly all of them "crap" fiction. Vampire, fantasy, and romance books. I can see why she goes through books so fast as they mostly have the same themes, you could close your eyes and guess what the book is about

03-15-2009, 01:52 PM	#19
Phogg PHD in Horribleness Posts: 2,320 Karma: 23599604 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: In the ironbound section, near avenue L Device: Just a whole bunch. I guess I am a collector now.	I would like to recommend the Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading course.

03-15-2009, 02:06 PM	#20
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,796 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	How fast I read depends up how much free time I have and the book. The other thing I am trying to do is to finish all the books I have started and then see if I can manage just one book at a time.

03-15-2009, 02:21 PM	#21
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	I'm a speed reader---never 'learned' it but just seem to read fast naturally. I could read a book a day if I wanted to and had the time, and I will recall it later. I am a little fuzzy on series books though. I am reading the new JD Robb right now and it makes references to a case they solved in a previous book, and I can't recall this at all. But the book I am reading now is number 31 in a series so I guess I can be forgiven for mixing up what happened in which book If I read a stand-alone novel though, I will recall it.

03-15-2009, 02:26 PM	#22
cerement Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 2000 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: San José, CA Device: Amazon Kindle 1, Sony PRS-300, Amazon Kindle 3	Another one here who has two reading speeds. Non-fiction and badly written histories just drag along. With fiction, I pretty much enter a fugue state and lose track of the world around me. I'm one of those people who's got his nose buried in a book while walking down the street. And I get seriously annoyed at anyone who interrupts me while I'm reading ... As for getting to that point, I think it's something kids absorb from their parents. It was never shoved onto me, but both my parents were readers, so I grew up seeing that as the norm, not the exception. And make sure there's something interesting available (my first "real" book (no pictures) was Edgar Rice Burroughs!)

03-15-2009, 02:34 PM	#23
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	I have noticed that if we talk about actually reading the book and not skimming then my friends that read very fast also remember the book much better than people that read slower. So reading speed seems to depend a lot on how good your memory is and how fast the input to the memory works. Also reading a book over an extended time period is for me a very different experience then reading it in a couple days or faster.

03-15-2009, 02:50 PM	#24
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	Another two speed reader. When it's for learning my speed is far slower but for pleasure it depends. I read a lot of light fiction which I can whip through but reading more difficult fiction definitely takes me longer.

03-15-2009, 04:00 PM	#25
joobies Addict Posts: 234 Karma: 1856 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Midwest USA Device: Kindle 1, Sony PRS-505	I truly appreciate those who can read quickly and absorb totally. I am not among them. I read and relish each word. Since I no longer work, I have time to put into this wonderful hobby.

03-15-2009, 04:06 PM	#26
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	I'm a bedtime reader, maybe an hour or so before I fall asleep. I usually get most books done in about a week or less, but when I was younger I could read two paperbacks in a day. Oh to be young again...and also a robot!

03-15-2009, 04:09 PM	#27
Sparrow Wizard Posts: 4,395 Karma: 1358132 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: Palm TX, CyBook Gen3	I'm a slow reader (every word, never skim). What puzzles me about speed readers is how they can go through all the emotional ups and downs a reader experiences when reading a book - isn't it like being on a rollercoaster if it's all over in 4 hours?

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03-15-2009, 04:44 PM	#28
Curly I need a holiday! Posts: 1,227 Karma: 4622 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Scotland Device: PRS-505, ipod touch	I am also a fast reader especially I am reading fiction. I become totally engrossed in the book I am reading and I am oblivious to what is going on around me. When I read, I have an image of the story running in my mind's eye, like a film. Sometimes I am not really even aware of reading the words on the page.

03-15-2009, 04:50 PM	#29
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	You miss things if you read fast. Comprehending everything is at the foremost of reading. You must come back to clarify. Next comes the beauty of the writing. For me, imaging the words is essential, that's where I lose track of the words to see the action, to such an extent that I also lose the sense of where I am. It's a state that foregoes rationality and time. The peak of reading!

03-15-2009, 05:25 PM	#30
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	When I read for content, as opposed to reading for pleasure, I read much more slowly. Because I have gotten into the habit of reading fast, reading for the plot, and gobbling books, I only read fiction for pleasure. I won't say that all my reads are trivial books, but at least 50% of them probably fall into that category. I keep up with each book as I read it, so I know how many books I read each year: on average, 2.5 books per week. For the most part, when I'm reading for pleasure, I'm not really attending to what I'm reading. After completing a novel, I'll remember whether or not I enjoyed it and I'll remember the essence of the plot, but I do not remember details. My daughter and I read many of the same books and I'm really surprised how much more she retains of what she has read. Like many others, there's a lot of reading at work, but that falls into reading e-mails, researching, etc. It's not "reading" in the sense of starting at the beginning of a work and reading forward to the end.