Reading methods/tricks

[Emez Vatsetek]

Here is my topic: I'm curious "how" people read: word for word, line by line, or what. ie. casual speed-reading for pleasure tips.

 

(I'm posting this here because it applies to all books, not just WoT, and I want to avoid spoilers (Rand's twins, really? Maybe that thread was erroneous). So logicalIy some books do require different levels of attention, however I'm mostly talking about fantasy fiction in general. Although I know it's not just me in regards to WoT because I've read other posts like "oh man I just couldn't keep on reading it," or whatever.)

 

Anyway I got discouraged years ago and stopped after the Shadow Rising - I honestly don't remember why, but I've decided to read through the series again

and I'm now on Fires of Heaven. ...yet I'm finding myself getting discouraged already, at book 5, with so much description (do I really need to know about Nynaeve brushing her teeth?) and irrelevant chapters, and not much has happened in the book so far. I like the story though and I want to keep going so I want to stay motivated, but also continue enjoying the series.

 

I found myself "speed-reading" but I was really just glossing over the words, not getting that much out of it, but the endless descriptions are sort of tedious to read closely if I take it slower. New characters or scenes who make you need to pay much more attention. I had to reread the whole Rhuidean clan chief sequence in Shadow Rising, for example. And I really can't remember when Aviendha was introduced.

 

(Maybe it's because I'm reading a hardcover nowvthat it seems different to read, or maybe I notice more that I keep having to re-read. On the other hand, I might just need to take my time instead of trying to go fast, I guess. However, what's the point of taking myself through it slow, when the story itself is moving slowly?)

 

It kind of worries me that book 5 got pretty good Amazon reviews, before the plummet of reviews I've seen on later books...so I hope I can get through it if the others are more of the same. Hopefully there's more awesomeness in the narrative like the Great Hunt.

 

So what I'm really asking is: what methods work best for you, reading each individual word and taking your time, speed reading through and paying more attention to the important parts, or something else entirely?

 

 

[Onis OLeia]

What I do is read in two different levels. One is very focused reading, where I take it all in, and the other is a lighter focus where I don't store it all in my brain. The first is used when there is dialogue and happenings going on, the other when there are long parts with descriptions.

[Emez Vatsetek]

Ah, yes. Thanks for replying. It is definitely a matter of focus. I finished the Fires of Heaven tonight, and the end had a bit more momentum than the beginning, as they always do. I guess a week for the length of the book isn't bad. I still feel like I kind of slog through it at times though. Anyways I'll be keeping on. Cheers.

[TruorTupnm]

The first time, I speed-read the whole thing.  I can't always be sure that I'm remembering some character's name, I definitely don't remember little details like what country they're in or which foods Rand ate last, but I find it easier to get swept up in the story when I'm not over-examining every little thing.  That is for the subsequent readings, if it's a book that I am a large fan of.  Some people get swept up in little descriptions. "The city was really grand, yo.  Walls and towers and such.  Pretty colors.  Good smells.  Bustling." The first time, I get that they're going through a city.  What happens next?  The subsequent times, I want to know everything about this city.  Yay for useless trivia?  Boo for letting it bore you, if you just want to see what happens at the end.

[Emez Vatsetek]

I can understand that to an extent. What happens though when I realize it's irrelevant is I'll start reading over it without comprehending and by the time I've realized something is going on, I've already missed something more important. Occasionally I'm like, "oh so she was wearing a nice dress, bla bla bla," though and I just move on.