# A thinkerâ€™s question. How do you read?



## The Backward OX (Sep 3, 2010)

*A thinker’s question. How do you read?*

By this, I mean, do you plough through a novel without pause, or are you in the habit of stopping, going back a paragraph or two, and re-reading it? And if the latter, do you do it constantly? And why do you (think you) do it? Is it because you don’t grasp meaning quickly?

The reason for my question is a further question, about what ‘that type of reading’ might signify, in terms of one’s writing skills.



Edit: Okay, maybe it's more of a question for a psychology site than a writing site, but have your say anyway.  Maybe there'll be some laughs come out of it.


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## funnygirl (Sep 3, 2010)

I’m a ravenous devourer of books. I rip through them as fast as possible. It’s not intentional though, and not an ideal way to read, I know.


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## Like a Fox (Sep 4, 2010)

On a first read of anything, the 'What happens' is the most important thing for me, I think. I read books quickly, not leaving much room to savour anything.

If I really like something, or need to study it for school, I will read it a second time. 
When I'm not wondering what'll happen within the plot I am much more likely to notice the subtler things.


Edit - I guess that might relate to my approach to writing too. The first draft is about getting out what happens, and the revisions are to manipulate and improve the finer points.


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## caelum (Sep 4, 2010)

I generally go straight on through.  If there's a particularly wordy sentence, I may reread it to be sure that it sank in properly.  Though sometimes, when there's a lot on my mind, I'll read half a page only to realize that I didn't absorb any of it, and have to backtrack.  This hasn't happened for quite a while, though.  Another thing about the way I read is, if the writing sucks, I'll catch myself skipping ahead.  Like, if someone's going on this huge rant about something and it just keeps going on and on, I'll skip to the next paragraph or to some dialogue.  Rarely do this.


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## malvo4 (Sep 4, 2010)

It depends on the genre, light fiction typically I read through really quickly in large chunks, scientific I read at the same rate but in smaller bits, really dense literature I will re-read passages over again to make sure that I understand it as best I can and how good it is depends on how much of it I read at a time.


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## Eluixa (Sep 4, 2010)

It depends on the book. I fly into outer space a lot, and some sentence can pull me right up out of the book on occasion, then I have to find my place again when I get back. If it's dense or complicated I might read passages again and again, especially if it is science of some kind as I don't want to miss out on it or a tricky concept of some sort. If it's a really good writer I move along pretty quickly, unless, like I said, something sets me to thinking about it.
Since I began writing though, I often would rather play with words myself than read, but I have read avidly for years and read a lot on forums as well. And also since writing, I will stop and wonder at the brilliance of certain perfect passages, or find faults in logic, or other such in paying attention to how the writer is writing. That can definately slow me up a bit at times, but good books suck me back in without much difficulty too. Still, some part of me is paying attention and will slow, pause and study when I see the writer in their best form, reading their zen.

edited to say I know I'm tired when I start rambling and repeating myself. Off to bed with me.


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## Waste. (Sep 4, 2010)

I read through a book once without pause, if I like it enough I'll read it again at a later date and find things that I didn't realise before. Some of the books that I won are rather tatty where I have re read them so many times. So I don't really pause and re read I tend to tear through once then at a later date I'll tear through it again  and discover new things. Sometimes if I find a bit I really like I'll stop and re read that. Or once I've finished a book I'll go back and read just one chapter. 

I love a well rounded 3D character, if I find a book that has one I tend to re read that more than others. I notice more about the characters in a book than I do location or anything else. 

I write in pretty much the same way. Although without completing the whole piece. I'll write a section then go back and notice things about my characters that I didn't put in before. Always developing and stretching them out.


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## Mike (Sep 4, 2010)

I read two or three books at the same time. For example, I'll read a few chapters from one book, and then switch to something else the next day - or maybe i'll read nothing at all. I'll come back to the first book in a few days, maybe a week later. I haven't forgotten it. I just like the adventure to last. Very rarely do I read one book all at once, in one go. Very rarely have I had the impulse to read on, faster and faster, until the end is suddenly there.

Most times, I tend to read dialogue and skip all the "...," he said, he replied, he responded tags. I like description, but not in huge chunks. If the story is not moving at an even keel, I tend to read the first and last couple of sentences in a chubby paragraph. It's probably unfair to the author. I should read every word. But the author can be unfair to the reader, as well.


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 4, 2010)

The things Caelum said all sound familiar, sometimes I use a card on the page and don't allow myself to go back, it makes me concentrate and get it in one and speeds up my reading.


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## garza (Sep 4, 2010)

I never make any effort to read anything fast. I constantly back and fill; go back and reread a sentence or paragraph when I see something clever the writer has done, or when I see something that is clumsy and in need of straightening out. Often I will make notes.  

Much of the non-fiction I read requires more study than straight reading. Reports from government ministries, agencies such as UNDP, FAO, IMF, and various NGOs are written in a specialised language that cannot be skipped through lightly. Probably the habits I've picked up from reading and writing this kind of material has influenced the way I read fiction.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 4, 2010)

Good point garza; I spent years unravelling legal documents, which I enjoyed immensely, and possibly, just as it has with you, the habit's carried over into reading fiction.


On an associated note, if one were to attempt an analysis of Bolero, could one be said to be unravelling Ravel?


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## The Backward OX (Sep 4, 2010)

double post


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 4, 2010)

> Often I will make notes.



When I come across words I don't know I write them in pencil inside the front cover with the page number so I can look them up, then rub them out later.


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## S1E9A8N5 (Sep 4, 2010)

I like to visualize everything so I tend to read at a steady pace.


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## garza (Sep 5, 2010)

Ox - As regards Bolero, I suggest you go with Dave Clark and 'Take Five'.


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## thewordsmith (Sep 6, 2010)

Combination of ingredients. It depends a lot on the quality of the writing in the book. (If it is historical (fiction or non-fiction) the historical references had better be spot on or I will literally throw the book in a corner.) If the writing is engrossing and well-constructed, I have been known to sit up all night reading until I finish. And yet, there have been times when I might be reading two or three books at once and read this one while I'm downstairs in the tv room, that one in bed, and another one may be laying in wait beside the sofa in the living room. But, again, if it's not well written or does not have an engrossing plot or good writing (yes, that is a purely subjective thing) or something to engage my imagination, I won't finish reading it. 

An odd quirk of mine. I hate buying books (particularly hard backs) if I don't know I will enjoy them so I usually will get them at the library and, if I really enjoy the read, I will buy a copy for my personal library.




> garza: As regards Bolero, I suggest you go with Dave Clark and 'Take Five'.


 
_When it comes to that, garza, I think I'll stick with Dave Brubeck._


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## ThePinkBookworm (Sep 6, 2010)

I try to read pretty fast because I have a lot to read, but I will try and pay attention to the book as I read in order to enjoy it thoroughly.  I read several books at once, but I do not have a problem going between them.  If a plot pulls me in, then I will focus on only that book until it is done, then move on to the others.  I am listening to a lecture series on the Art of Reading and it has some interesting points about the authors themselves and the narration used.  I look forward to applying it as I read novels and certain nonfiction.

Great question!

Li Li


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## Ilasir Maroa (Sep 6, 2010)

I read pretty fast, both because I am a fast reader, and because I like to know what happens.  I've never found this inhibits my enjoyment of a book.  I tend not to read things twice nowadays, since I have so much to do, but when I did, there was only a very tiny percentage that I missed the first time.


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## funnygirl (Sep 6, 2010)

A readers question. How do you think?


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## Taskryr (Sep 6, 2010)

I read much like Mike. Very rarely am I just reading one book. Currently, I have a four or five books in the works . . . one that I started four years ago. A page here, a page there. I tend to write the same way though. I'll start a number of stories and may not finish them for a while, though usually not four years. Well, there is the one that I just can't seem to figure out how to finish. . .


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## LadyT (Sep 7, 2010)

I read cover to cover, going back only if I didn't catch something the first time or if a passage is particularly note-worthy.
Reasons I might go back: prose was confusing.  I forgot who a particular named character is (I have a problem with names).  I suspect I've found an inconsistency. I want to see how the writer set-up/foreshadowed something.  Etc.

As a former psych-major: have you identified any links between reading style and writing "skill"?

(also, you might want to change "writing skill" to "writing style" to avoid sounding pejorative.  just a thought.)


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## JosephB (Sep 7, 2010)

I have some reading issues, and although I've mostly overcome them, it's slow going. I have to backtrack and reread fairly often. Plus, I'm easily distracted. If it's late and the kids are in bed, the wife is otherwise occupied, the phone has stopped ringing and the emails aren't coming, I can get in a few chapters. If there's a gap between reading sessions, I have to backtrack and refresh my memory. All that considered, it takes me forever to read a novel. Sometimes weeks.



garza said:


> Ox - As regards Bolero, I suggest you go with Dave Clark and 'Take Five'.



That's Dave Brubeck. That's an easy mistake to make by word association, though. There's a band called The Dave Clark Five, a "British Invasion" group.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 7, 2010)

LadyT said:


> As a former psych-major: have you identified any links between reading style and writing "skill"?
> 
> (also, you might want to change "writing skill" to "writing style" to avoid sounding pejorative. just a thought.)


 
If you're addressing me, that isn't the precise wording of my post. You've twisted the meaning.


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## Loulou (Sep 7, 2010)

I read fast but carefully.  I don't miss anything.  I'll underline parts I love just so I can find them again or share them with someone.  A really absorbing book I can read in a few days.  I take three on holiday, at least.


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## LadyT (Sep 7, 2010)

The precise wording was: "The reason  for my question is a further question, about what ‘that type of reading’  might signify, in terms of one’s writing skills."

To question someone's "writing skills" suggested you are questioning their skill.  To question their "writing style" is something completely different.

I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just pointing out that it can be construed in a way other than you may have intended it.


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## The Backward OX (Sep 7, 2010)

Would it be easier to understand what I meant if I said the post was inward- rather than outward-looking?


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## LadyT (Sep 7, 2010)

Not necessarily - I have a general idea of what you're getting at.  But perhaps if you expound on what you mean by skill - i.e. "I'm wondering if people who read cover-to-cover write in x fashion whereas those who read and re-read write in y fashion..." Otherwise if you leave it at "skill" it MIGHT be construed as if you are wondering if people who read in one fashion are less skilled as writers than those who read in a different fashion.

At any rate, I am genuinely interested in your hypothesis, and your results!


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## The Backward OX (Sep 7, 2010)

The "otherwise", as it refers to this little black duck, is exactly what I meant.


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## chimchimski (Sep 7, 2010)

If the book has a lot of dialog along with a good amount of action, I might have to go back and reread a paragraph or two. I wouldn't say that I do it all the time, mostly I read straight through.  However, that might be why I have to go back and reread something I missed, realizing it later I'll say, "Okay, why did this happen".


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## Bruno Spatola (Sep 7, 2010)

I read quickly, but I also think and speak quickly. I don't think before I speak, I literally just speak. When someone says something to me, I can immediately form a response, and I think that has a lot to do with how I read. It depends on your imagination, and the writer. For example, I cannot read a Terry Pratchett book quickly. I'm always going back, sometimes hundreds of pages and re-reading lines. In general I read quickly, but some authors break that.

Sometimes when I'm reading, something that happens in the book can trigger off a memory and cause me to stop reading altogether. So say a new character is introduced and their name is the same as my best friend, I'll suddenly start thinking about them and have to re-read the whole page after my little thought has ceased. Sometimes I read, and nothing is sinking in. I don't realize it, but it can last for two pages and really ruin the mood. 

Outside noise has no effect on my reading, but smell does. If there is a word I don't know, I may look in the dictionary before continuing but that is simply lack of experience. I'm keen to see if it has an effect on writing. 

Good luck, hope you plan on exploring it further.


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## Kat (Sep 7, 2010)

I generally have several books going at the same time. If the book is absorbing I will finish it really quickly, for a paperback maybe 2-3 hours. I don't know if it's a talent or not but I will become so absorbed in a book that I completely zone out everything else going on. 

If I like the book I will read it again. 

And all the above applies to fiction. I read a lot of non-fiction. With that I will take notes, underline, re-read passages.


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