Forgive Me, for I Have Skimmed
This week I committed a mortal sin among readers.
I skimmed.
As a reader, I’m either all in or all out. If I don’t like a book, I stop reading because life is too short to read bad books. If I’m uncertain about a book, I’ll hang in for an extra fifty pages, hoping to get hooked, especially if the book comes recommended by someone whose opinion I respect. However, I rarely skim. If, by the time I reach the middle of the book, I’m not enjoying the characters enough to read every word written about them, I don’t give a rat's ass what happens to them in the end.
As an English major, I was taught that every word was fraught with meaning. The fact that the author chose one word over another was significant even if the author himself wasn’t conscious of it. So pressing my Kindle’s page turn button faster and faster until the words spin by in a blur feels like cheating.
So why did I do it? Book group. I’m passionately devoted to mine. Unlike some book groups that are just camouflage for wine and gossip (don’t get me wrong—I like wine and gossip), my book group really reads and discusses every book. And if each member bailed on whatever book she didn’t love, the group would fall apart. However, since I wasn’t enjoying The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I found myself with 150 pages to go the night before the meeting. The skimming commenced. I find that a Kindle makes skimming easier. I just kept pressing the forward button until I reached a part where I felt I must’ve missed something significant. I’d read attentively until I figured out what was going on, then return to skimming. I felt bad, but I finished.
So what did I miss in Harold Fry? According to the other members of my book group, weather reports and geography updates…morose musings on life regrets…excessive detail on the condition of Harold’s feet. Nothing vital, since I was able to participate in the discussion. The author could have cut everything that I skimmed.
As a writer, I try always to follow Elmore Leonard’s advice: leave out the parts that people tend to skip over. Doing so is surprisingly difficult. Writing more is easier than writing well. The first chapter of Another Man's Treasure, which you can read here http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT..., survived many lacerating attacks of my authorial red pen. Tell me—did you skim?
I skimmed.
As a reader, I’m either all in or all out. If I don’t like a book, I stop reading because life is too short to read bad books. If I’m uncertain about a book, I’ll hang in for an extra fifty pages, hoping to get hooked, especially if the book comes recommended by someone whose opinion I respect. However, I rarely skim. If, by the time I reach the middle of the book, I’m not enjoying the characters enough to read every word written about them, I don’t give a rat's ass what happens to them in the end.
As an English major, I was taught that every word was fraught with meaning. The fact that the author chose one word over another was significant even if the author himself wasn’t conscious of it. So pressing my Kindle’s page turn button faster and faster until the words spin by in a blur feels like cheating.
So why did I do it? Book group. I’m passionately devoted to mine. Unlike some book groups that are just camouflage for wine and gossip (don’t get me wrong—I like wine and gossip), my book group really reads and discusses every book. And if each member bailed on whatever book she didn’t love, the group would fall apart. However, since I wasn’t enjoying The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I found myself with 150 pages to go the night before the meeting. The skimming commenced. I find that a Kindle makes skimming easier. I just kept pressing the forward button until I reached a part where I felt I must’ve missed something significant. I’d read attentively until I figured out what was going on, then return to skimming. I felt bad, but I finished.
So what did I miss in Harold Fry? According to the other members of my book group, weather reports and geography updates…morose musings on life regrets…excessive detail on the condition of Harold’s feet. Nothing vital, since I was able to participate in the discussion. The author could have cut everything that I skimmed.
As a writer, I try always to follow Elmore Leonard’s advice: leave out the parts that people tend to skip over. Doing so is surprisingly difficult. Writing more is easier than writing well. The first chapter of Another Man's Treasure, which you can read here http://www.swhubbard.net/AnotherMansT..., survived many lacerating attacks of my authorial red pen. Tell me—did you skim?
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Reading & Writing with S.W. Hubbard
My philosophy is that people who love to read and love to write don't have a whole lot of time for following long-winded blogs. So, this will be a decidedly short-winded blog with a few breezy bits ab
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I feel your pain with Harold Fry. I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it. So many people seemed to. Halfway through I was desperate to find a way out. I kept reading as fast as possible. At some point close to the end, I just got really annoyed and QUIT. Not something I do lightly. I had invested a certain amount of my precious reading time into this relatively long book. I felt guilty but finally just said, I DO NOT CARE about Harold Fry and his feet or his wife, or anything about his journey. I really don't get why people liked this book.
And I DID NOT SKIM YOUR BOOK!!!! If I read it fast, it was only because I was enthralled and wanted to find out where it was going.