What Do You Skip, What Do You Read?

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."  So wrote Elmore Leonard, and I have seen that line quoted many times. On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. Like most soundbites, though, it means less the more we reconsider. I mean no disrespect to Leonard. He's a prolific writer, his novels are great fun, and his advice for writers is generally useful. Even this phrase is useful if it helps