What exactly do you call "reading a book" ?

[basschick]

exactly!

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.

although i admit that i sometimes skip sex scenes. after a hard day reviewing adult sites and writing erotica for a living, i can't tell you how disinterested i am in even more porn *lol*

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by basschick

exactly!



although i admit that i sometimes skip sex scenes. after a hard day reviewing adult sites and writing erotica for a living, i can't tell you how disinterested i am in even more porn *lol*

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Quexos

OK I decided to create this thread because I hear of people that read millions of books every week, while still sleeping at night, working at day, having a social life, going out, seeing movies from time to time, reading the paper, playing video games, traveling and so on ...
I just don't understand how that is possible.

On a moderately busy day in which I've budgeted reading time, I can comfortably read 100,000 words of fiction if it's well-formatted for my ereader.

On a day when all my reading time is on the train to & from work, I can get through about 30,000 words.

While I do sometimes give up and put a book away, I don't skip around or skim the pages; I read it all. If it's boring, I pick another book to read. (The joys of memory cards; yay.) If tomorrow it seems like it'll still be boring , I read something else tomorrow. And so on. If I've consciously skipped a book a dozen times or so, I eventually remove it from my ereader so it stops getting in the way.

[Birds]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

I swear we had a discussion around here about this before.

I think the confusion about reading speed is from folks that read the most straightforward way (like a kid learns how to read). Like they read the words and hear them in their head, word by word. I haven't read like that since before I can remember so the concept is a little foreign to me. I really have to concentrate to read plays, poems, or old English because I can't "aborb" them the same way. I have to read the words and listen to the words to make sense of it - my speed slows down about 80% for that kind of material.

I absorb the book by the paragraph or so. I don't read the words and hear the words in my head. I just absorb the story into my brain - not the words so much, but the meaning and the events. I read about 2 pg/min (hardcover). On my Nook that's more like 4-5 "pages"/min.

I know I'm reading the words because my reading is very sensitive to typos, mispellings and missing punctuation (I bookmark them on my Nook to correct later in Sigil or something...if I get the time). My comprehension (on how much I can repeat back to you) is fantastic on dialog and story details. I do good on history tests too but I find I tend to miss some of the descriptive detail from time to time (or at least, it doesn't stick in my memory for very long).

I know exactly exactly what you mean. It's like your eyes are focussed a little in front of the page and what you are seeing is pictures, only it is more immersive. Perhaps a 3D virtual environment would be a better analogy. A full-stop in the wrong place can stop the flow and tip you out of it.

I find repeated words, or words slightly out of order do not have the same effect, however...

[Thamisgith]

I read every word - including prologue and epilogue.

If there's an introduction by a guest author, it will vary whether or not I read it.

If I really don't like a book - which is quite rare, I can amuse myself reading the back of a cornflakes packet - I will abandon it rather than skim it. However, I admit that this makes me feel just a little guilty somehow.

[mayoi]

I've always been one to read every word but no more. I keep a list of books I read each year and I've started noting what parts I skip.

This past year I've read several non-fiction books that had a lot of repetition, others that should have been magazine/journal articles but were padded out to book length. Skipped a lot (for me). Fernandez-Armesto's 1492. The Year the World Began - skipped a chapter. A books on the evils of marketing - ended up skimming since the author overstated his case in.every.chapter.

Still, there's that nagging feeling that I've missed something and should go back and read it. Then I remember that life is too short. That, and my massive TBR pile.

[Kevin8or]

Originally Posted by simplyparticular

Nonfiction varies greatly. Historical books I generally read cover to cover, including footnotes, appendices, etc. Career, business or financial books I tend to skim for the main arguments - it seems that more and more of these books are padding the content with repetitiveness. Memoirs and autobiographies are a bit more like fiction - if the author can't engage me (or outright annoys me) with their OWN life story in 1/3 of the book, I'm gone.

I'll drink to that.

[Skip_intro]

Read every word, except for two cases:

1) I have yet to read chunks of The Lord Of The Rings, those pages of songs and lumps of Tom Bombadil will forever remain a mystery to me, I'm afraid, even though I have 'read' the books dozens of times.

2) Perdido Street Station is of the few books I can't get much beyond the the early chapters, never mind finish. I have bounced off it so many times I'm afraid to try just one more time, even by skim-reading.

[Kevin8or]

Originally Posted by Skip_intro

I have yet to read chunks of The Lord Of The Rings, those pages of songs and lumps of Tom Bombadil will forever remain a mystery to me, I'm afraid, even though I have 'read' the books dozens of times.

You're a member of a very large group. I do read the Tom Bombadil section, but some of Tolkien's songs are just too much.

[Anjohl]

If the book is fiction, reading is cover to cover. If it's non-fiction and a physical copy, typically I am reading it cover to cover as well. if it's non-fiction and digital however, I often read certain sections to highlight favorite lines, etc. I am not sure if I would use my Kobo Vox, or any ereader as my primary reading method, so for classics from Gutenberg (mostly non-fiction), I am reading half the time, highlighting the other half.

But all in all, reading is *not* a competition. Kobo Reading Life is great, but people shouldn't treat it like an Xbox Live Gamerscore.

[Kevin8or]

Originally Posted by Anjohl

But all in all, reading is *not* a competition. Kobo Reading Life is great, but people shouldn't treat is like an Xbox Live Gamerscore.

It's not? But... but... *gulp* ... when did you say the Xbox version will be released?


In all semi-seriousness, I agree with you.

[xg4bx]

i skip any and all poems *looking at you, fantasy authors*

[Anjohl]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i skip any and all poems *looking at you, fantasy authors*

I.

Hate.

That.

What gives these prose writers the gall to think they are Lord Byron just because they have a Bard or Elf character in their book?

[Quexos]

LOL.
Lord Byron ... good one

Originally Posted by Anjohl

I.

Hate.

That.

What gives these prose writers the gall to think they are Lord Byron just because they have a Bard or Elf character in their book?

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i skip any and all poems *looking at you, fantasy authors*

But I always find them extremely amusing