How do you read?

[Marzipan]

Do you skim through the story? Or do you focus and taste every word and every syllable of it? I am just curious...

 

Just a few starting thoughts from me...

 

I do the both. Sometimes I enjoy the easy reads that just flow through my eye lids and sometimes I get stuck with something odd in the text that makes me stop and think, go back to reading and then return to the spot that stopped me originally. Sometimes the later one causes me extreme pleasure. Also, some authors seem to have such a strong signature style that needs to be learned like a new language before the reading flows. Hmm.

 

If you have examples or want examples from me about your reading experiences, I am curious to hear and share.

 

Of course if you want to tell what in position you read, where you read, when you read, from what format you read... go right ahead. Just please explain how it affects your reading experience.

 

M

[TrevorTime]

If it's a story from one of my favorite authors (and I am reading it for the first time), then I read it slowly. I want to capture the entire essence of the story. But if it's something I have read before, then I almost always skim through it.

[Lugh]

with my eyes.

[Cia]

Well I read a few different ways. If I'm reading for enjoyment it's almost always unconscious reading on my part. By that I mean that I don't usually see the words, I see the image the writer portrays instead. That is why I'm so keen on proper visualizations, I think, because a good story plays like a movie in my head. If it's poorly written or edited I usually can't do that though and the reading is slower and more deliberate. Often when I beta a story I will read it through for visualizations and then read it through for spelling/grammar edits. I focus differently for each type of beta work I do and that's different from how I read for pleasure.

[K.C.]

If it's a new story and I'm not sure if I'm going to like it then I'll skim a little, once I'm interested, I'll go back and read every word. There are a few stories and books that I love so much that I'll re-read it again every few years.

[Cyhort]

I read every bit of dialogue and story details but I usually skim descriptions, especially if they're detailed. I'd rather have a basic picture and fill in the blanks in my head than try to imagine a detailed room where 90% of the detail is just stuff laying around.

[Dark]

I honestly don't know how to answer this. I just read.

[Ramon]

It depends on how quickly you catch my attention. If I like the story after the first few paragraphs, I'll be focused throughout and I can stay up to 3 or 4 am just reading. I make theories on how things play out. If the characters have some sort of argument that is interesting, I replay it in my mind and try to but in. If nothing catches my attention after the first few paragraphs, I'll usually read on for a few chapters but at a much slower pace and the probability of me going off to play online chess or Japanese mahjong is pretty high.

[Abersloth]

You may find this useful, assuming you can read my reply:

 

Hooked on Phonics

 

Okay, snarkiness aside, it depends on how good the writing is. A really interesting scene, or a particularly sensual section (read: sensual, not erotic. Of or arousing gratification of the senses), generally warrants a slow, careful reading process. If the vernacular is colorful, and the rhythm of the script is pleasurable, further care is desirable. Boring subject areas, plain writing, plot dumps, and useless dialog often get skimmed.

 

Now, another layer of complexity is given by the environment in which I'm reading. On my computer, I tend to read fast, but if I'm very comfortable and have absolutely nothing to do, I find myself relaxing and reading at a leisurely pace.

[Kavrik]

I read every word. There doesn't seem to be much point to reading if you skim. In my opinion "skimming" just means you don't want to be reading and should put the book down and go do something else.

[BSBooks]

I'm a serious reader. Skimming isn't my thing. I start reading from the first page (I never read the last page first as some people do) and if the first few paragraphs are interesting I'll generally read all the way through. I know nearly straight away if I'm going to read the entire book. And I read everywhere: on the sofa, in bed, in the bath, on the bus. I prefer fiction to factual books. I love a good story with well rounded characters. I've read a few books lately that always seem to show up on those lists. You know the ones... "The 100 best books of all time." Stuff like Crime and Punishment, War and Peace, The Grapes of Wrath, Catcher in the Rye. I read through them all, struggling but determined to read every word but honestly I was utterly perplexed as to what was so great about any of them. I'd rather read Stephen King or Terry Pratchett any day. Much more interesting.

[Nate OBrien]

I normally read very thoroughly.

[comicfan]

A lot depends on what I am reading and for what purpose. For pleasure I really do read every word, however there are authors, Stephen King for example, who have a tendency to get extremely detail oriented. Don't get me wrong I am one of those readers who like to be able to picture things in my head from a great description. However I don't need every bloody detail down to the stain on the rug from ten years ago when Aunt Mabel spilled her red wine glass, especially if it has nothing to do with the present story. If the story also loses interest for me, look out, I'll skim to the end.

[J_C_Lawrence]

I'm a sight reader. I've probably been used to reading as fast as possible in college due to research papers and empirical studies. But I've found out that for myself that when I am befudled with a part of a story that needs more emphasis on my brain, I reread it.

[thephoenix]

I agree that the first few paragraphs are very important because it sets the foundation for the story.

 

I also agree with Cia that a good story plays out like a movie. If I can't get a visualization, I sometimes go onto Google images to find some pictures to visualize and plug it into the story.

[EvaShandor]

I'm a sight reader. I've probably been used to reading as fast as possible in college due to research papers and empirical studies. But I've found out that for myself that when I am befudled with a part of a story that needs more emphasis on my brain, I reread it.

 

I'm a bit like this - if I like a book, I tend to read through it quickly and then go back to check things I'm unsure of. If I'm not enjoying a book, then I can struggle to get through the first chapter in an hour and tend to give up pretty quickly. Some 'difficult' books that have either been recommended to me as a 'must read' or I'm interested in but am struggling with writer style or parts of content, I'll try to struggle on, but it will take me ages to get through it.

[Hamen Cheese]

I tend to devour stories which is sometimes I miss subtle details that hinted at what would eventually happen in the end. If I like the story enough, I'm likely to re-read it (soon after) and pick up details I might have missed the first time around. I tend to appreciate it more that way.

[MarkSen]

If I read the beginning of a story and it's really interesting, I print out the rest of the story (or put it on my iPad, if I wasn't browsing from it), turn off the computer (and other distractions), sit on my bed and just read the story until I'm tired. Of course, I only do this when I don't have anything else to do and all the chores are done. Sometimes I put some classical music on while I'm reading.

[TurtleBoy]

The only time I'll skim-read is when I'm doing research for a project. If I'm reading a story, and find myself constantly wanting to jump paragraphs, I'll stop reading it. The words in a story should be there for a reason, and if I can't see that reason then I'm not going to force my brain to try.

[intune]

I always skim the first chapter to see if I'm into the writing, but once I do that if I like the piece I'll usually just read the whole thing if I can.

[Guest AvidReader101]

I normal taste every word. But sometimes depending on the story, I skim through.

[Naptowngirl]

I read every word, expecially if It's a story I really like. I feel If I skim I miss so much. To me details make the story. Details make the character sometimes too...

[bookjunky18]

I do both sometimes. If it's a story that I'm really into, then I'll read every word of it. If it's a story that I partially like, I might skim through the parts I think are not that important. Like some stories the beginning chapter doesn't say much, so I'll just skim it and go to the next.

Stories where there's more inward thinking and long explanations I usually end up skimming through. I much prefer when there's a lot of dialogue. i also can't get into a story if the paragraphs are too large, I prefer if there spaced.

[DragonMando]

I'm like Cia. I don't really see the words, rather the images they words create--at least if it's well written. If it's not, or the visualizations aren't that in-depth, I usually won't even bother because feeling like I'm consciously reading isn't a good feeling.

[sorgbarn]

I would say it depends - on what I´m reading, why I´m reading and also in what language I´m reading. Naturally I´ll reader faster, not quite skim but close to it, when I read in my native language, when I read in English I need to concentrate more and the pace is slower, skimming while reading in English often means I have to go back and re-read, therefore I try not to do it.

 

I´m a lot like Cia when my reading is for enjoyment (and that´s the main reason for me at the moment) - I´ll see the pictures the words are building not the words themselves, but I think all reading is like that for me, even non-fiction. If I can´t picture it I´ll stop reading.

 

Special focus, and tasting, not every word, but every sentence is what I do when I discover a book with an (in my opinion) out standing use of language or very special tone of voice - it happens every now and then. In those cases it doesn´t matter much what the subject of the book is, I can read it and enjoy it for the language alone. This happens more often when I´m reading in my own language. But I have two examples in english:

 

At swim, two boys by Jamie O´Neill, a novel I started reading last autumn, and I managed 150 pages before I gave up (it´s 600+ pages). My reasons: to little knowledge of some of the novels subjects (there are several) and a pretty difficult language. All the dialogue is written in Irish dialect, and the novel is told from five (I think) POV´s, each with it´s very own personal voice. And the author has a habit of starting a new POV without telling the reader who it is. So I gave up and had the book by my bed for a couple of months before I started again, willing to give it a second chance (I´ve read good about it). The second time around I not only managed to finish i, I enjoyed a lot and one thing I like about it in particular is it´s language, the way it´s written - and i really got in to the Irish. But the book demanded a slow and careful read.

 

My second example is Tom Spanbauer´s Now is The Hour. I really enjoyed the style in which it is written. Important words and phrases are repeated throughout the novel, the first person POV gives the reader images and flashes of images of his memories and his feelings and actions that I find captivating. My positive experience with that style is the reason I´m now reading The man who fell in love with the moon - and again I´m reading for the style, the words and the language used.

 

So it depends on whether I read for the story itself or if I read for how it´s written!