Favorite Books and Current Reads

[NessySchu]

Lol try one or more a day, when I have time. Which I haven't lately. :'(

[zamisk]

We both read abnormally fast and well. But i suck at everything else, while she does not. :Z

[Maxine MagicFox]

[zamisk]

[scy]

Probably not as "thrilled" as you were but, yes, I typically enjoy them quite well. I read at a relatively fast pace (~45s/page), faster if I was trying to breeze through it (yay [s]reading[/s]skimming for classes! So glad I done did get graduated so I'm done with that). Mind you, I haven't read much high fantasy (so far, two whole books, though I now have a ridiculous backlog to slog through all of a sudden) but they didn't take too long to read (~a week of on-and-off reading each) and, yes, I quite well enjoy what I read. I don't find that one has to read each word through slowly to be able to "get" what's going on.

Typically, if I want to reflect on what I read ... I just put the book down. I don't need to spend hours agonizing over the pages to digest what's going on, just a short break.

Edit: Though, I also very much read to get to the end, which may be why I'm having such great issue reading through The Once and Future King, which seems to be written more for enjoying the adventure and living vicariously through the characters.

[spoiler]Personally, I just think it's written terribly and it's hard to slog through terribly written narration when you know how things will no doubt end because EVERYONE KNOWS THE STORY OF KING ARTHUR.[/spoiler]

[zamisk]

That's the book Magneto reads in the X-Men movies

[noodles]

[Kinokokao]

I'm a book devourer. I'm notorious for reading entire books in one day/one sitting. I'll get hooked and just GOGOGO until I reach the end.

Depends on the density of writing and font/page size, that sort of thing, but my rough average is 80 pages per hour for fiction. Something like a history book I go much slower, generally because I need to focus more on the words. Fiction I barely register the writing; the story just starts unfolding like a movie in my mind. I have vivid memories of iconic scenes from books that are like snapshots in my mind; the actual text I couldn't tell you. This is why high-literature and I don't get along. I don't care too much about how something's written, it's more for me about the story.

Anyway. I read stupid fast. I keep telling myself I need to read more, but, oh look, the internet is so distracting...

Although I have been crunching through a lot of manga lately. Not that I should feel proud of that fact...

[negzee]

For stories and other fiction/leisure reading I think my average reading spead is roughly 1/3 my normal speaking speed. I find I compulsively reread passages for no real reason and I think I'm probably a bit dyslexic too in how I skip and swap words and confuse myself if I try to read much faster than I can read aloud.

And for material of practical substance such as technical papers and manuals etc. where I actually care very much about every bit of punctuation, it's gets much slower.


(Edited for vocab)

[Sampson]

I'm like you, negzee. Only I'll continue reading ahead while my mind doesn't bother comprehending what I just read, which makes me reread, which causes me to lose focus and refuse to stop rereading.

But books read me more than I read books.

[Kinokokao]

[NessySchu]

[zamisk]

I don't miss stuff. But no matter how fast I read, the characters I picture in my head have nothing to do with how they are described. Usually even I just replace them in my head with someone witg a similar name, however uncreative that may be. If it really doesn't work, a random person I know worms its way into my head and stays.

[Maxine MagicFox]

^_^ I'm like Kino in a way.

I can't always do the full out theater in my mind. For some reason my mind is more attracted to the characters and the actions.

Most of the time I see the characters and they are just kinda "there" - it's only during impactful scenes that I'm salivating over that my mind takes the time to draw out the surroundings. In a way it's like the movie is full-on close up and then it suddenly pans outward.

There are times, though, that my mind cannot fathom anything - reading some of Piers Anthony's books does this to me. I just can't always grasp the concept he is trying to convey in which case I don't even bother trying to imagine it but I'm not really missing out. The view just cuts out those parts ^_^

I see only words for about the first two minutes of me reading - ten minutes later if I'm still seeing only words, I put the book down because the magic is just not happening.

Also, how about your guys' focus? Is your concentration when you read easily broken? When I get into a book NOTHING breaks me out of unless I'm touched or something gets in the way of me and the words. My old school friends had a lot of fun with me, apparently, and enjoyed poking fun at me (they once stole my bookbag!) But it also lead to a huge fight between me and one friend who was convinced I had been ignoring her because she just couldn't believe I was THAT out of it. -_- And of course, sitting on the bleachers that one year the kids enjoyed getting to throw a random ball at me. Nothing like reading and then suddenly getting your face rammed by a surprise rubber ball that you KNOW was intentional and looking up seeing everyone laughing at you.

Worst part is, I always remembered those parts in the story and when I return to them to re-read them at any time I remember "oh... this is the part where I was when that ball hit me..." Fucking bastards.

:3 The first time though that I looked up and four hours had flown by was an intersting experience! I look up and I'm like o_o "why didn't mom call me down for dinner?" I kinda snuck down afraid I was in trouble, but, no, apparently they had went to my room and called out to me and everything, but when they saw how happy and absorbed I was with my book they just figured "meh, she'll come down when she gets hungry."

I do not, by the way, register hunger when I'm reading. Thirst if it's really bad. Bathroom breaks, however, will pull me out of my book.

[Maxine MagicFox]