Compulsive readers

[jbcohen]

Hi, I am JB and I am a compulsive reader. I feel compelled to read, I have to, its not a choice its something that I have to do. I feel this need to step outside my small world and walk a mile in someone elses shoes and into their world. I also feel this sense of completion when I finish one novel and move on to another, as if I have really completed something and moving on to complete another something. It's not something that I chose to do its something that I must do, I am addicted to it So much so that if it wasn't for Kindle Unlimited (KU) I would be spending approximatly $150 per month on I have always had a problem that I find a library, like my neighborhood county library and in site of a year I read everything they have (I suck them dry) and go off looking for more. No library has been able to keep up with me. Finally the KU library is the only one that can keep up with me, their are adding books to the tone of something like fourty a day, not something I can keep up with. Finally a library that can keep up with me .

Reading is not something that I do by choice is something that I am compelled to do. Is it an addiction , Mirriam and Webster defines an addiction as: an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something. So yes reading is addictive, its something that I have to do.

[HarryT]

JB, if you read so much, why is your spelling so awful? Do you not take in how to spell words correctly as you're reading them?

[bgalbrecht]

I had one friend in college who was such a bad speller that when I proofread his stuff, I found a word that was misspelled 3 times in the same page (different ways, too IIRC). He was an amazingly fast typist though. It might be a form of dyslexia.

[Sydney's Mom]

Reading never helped me out with spelling, but did teach me grammar. I would simply put a sentence into the current book I was reading, and see if it made sense. But without spell-check, I would be dead.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

I had one friend in college who was such a bad speller that when I proofread his stuff, I found a word that was misspelled 3 times in the same page (different ways, too IIRC). He was an amazingly fast typist though. It might be a form of dyslexia.

If one doesn't bother about spelling correctly, it's pretty easy to be an amazingly fast typist.

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by Catlady

If one doesn't bother about spelling correctly, it's pretty easy to be an amazingly fast typist.

True, but my friend claimed that he could not see the spelling errors when he reread his work.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

True, but my friend claimed that he could not see the spelling errors when he reread his work.

That's dyslexia. (I know, I have the same problem). Once my teacher underlined the words that had mistakes, I was able to correct most of them. Else, I don't see them. My brain reads what it expect to read.

Worse being inverted letters. I just won't see it. My brain will fix it to make a proper word. I don't read per syllabus, it's a major pain for me to do that.

[patrickt]

I had a couple of men working for me with dyslexia. I had one copy the name of the street from a street sign and he copied it wrong, and differently, three times in a row.

What amazed me was that both men graduated from high school and couldn't read or write. They both went to special classes after we discovered the problem and one found ways to compensate.

[Apache]

My wife has dyslexia and when she was in school they just thought you were stupid. Her guidance counselor told her that she would never make it at UT Austin because both of her daughters were very bright and they were having trouble.
My wife graduated from UT Austin in 1972 with a dual degree, one being in all special education.
She has different types of dyslexia. They mostly affect her when she is tired. She has the one most people are familiar with, transposing letters in words. For example sometimes she is unable to read a stop sign. She knows it is a stop sign from the shape but, she is unable to make sense of the word.
Sometimes when reading the words will actually seem to move around on the page and she has to stop reading.
She can also lose her sense of direction when tired. I have seen her get lost when driving to my parents house.
People with dyslexia have to overcome a lot and to put up with people who think they are stupid.
Apache

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Apache

People with dyslexia have to overcome a lot and to put up with people who think they are stupid.
Apache

Agreed.

To steer this conversation in a different irrelevant direction, I'm going to say that I see a big difference between a compulsion and an addiction, which to me has a chemical component, i.e., your body must have a particular substance, alcohol, nicotine, what have you. A compulsion is a behavior. An addiction may fuel compulsive behavior, but a compulsion doesn't have to be occasioned by addiction.

For me, compulsion is somewhat squishy. I acknowledge that there are OCD issues, but sometimes I think compulsion is used to justify/indirectly brag about something you just really, really like to do.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

That's dyslexia. (I know, I have the same problem). Once my teacher underlined the words that had mistakes, I was able to correct most of them. Else, I don't see them. My brain reads what it expect to read.

Worse being inverted letters. I just won't see it. My brain will fix it to make a proper word. I don't read per syllabus, it's a major pain for me to do that.

Technically it's not dyslexia (or it wasn't 30 years ago when I worked as a dyslexia tutor). Dyslexia is more associated with problems reading and comprehending what you are reading.

I've got the same issue with spelling. My brain simply recognizes what the word should be from the context and I never really notice the misspellings. The human brain is a pretty odd thing. I've noticed that some people feel perfectly justified sneering at other people's misspelling while they would never think of mocking someone who stuttered.

[Katsunami]

Regarding being a compulsive reader, I can only say that I don't know if I could be labeled as such. There are times I actually don't read a lot; only one or two books a month. There are other times I feel like reading a Lord of the Rings-sized book a week. It does depend on my mood, the available time, and the weird requirement I have to "get into the zone."

That "zone" is the most important thing for me when reading (or writing anything). If I'm not into it, I notice every page turn and the passing of every minute, and I feel like I'm not making progress, though I'm not reading slower than normal. (I've actually timed this.) If I am into it, there isn't a lot to say anymore; I just read. The weird thing is that one of the easiest places for me to get into the zone is in public transport, or when waiting for a bus or train. That's quite strange, and not always convenient, as I also have to keep watch closely, to not miss the bus, train, or the train/bus station.

Regarding "my brain doesn't notice misspellings": try to read this. You'll probably be able to read it at almost normal speed.

I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.

[Wearever]

Thanks for the demonstration Katsunami ! I could read it at normal speed. I have trouble with words that sound the same but are spelled differently. I don't know why but it has always been a problem, I'll freeze at times not knowing which one is correct, but see both clearly in my mind. My Username is intentional though. Lol.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Wearever

My Username is intentional though. Lol.

Going by your alias, are you by any chance a pen collector? (Wearever pens: link)

(I've dabbled a bit in fountain pen collecting, trying to find a nice personal 'for life' fountain pen )

[DiapDealer]

I've seen that example before. While I can figure it out, I can't read it at normal speed without occassionally stopping, backing up, re-reading several words, and/or generally feeling nauseous while doing so.