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Reading too fast
L.Y. wrote: "I got two books for Christmas, The Singing and The Warlock, and I've finished them already. I get new books, devour them in a matter of days, and then spend weeks in search of something else. xPD..."
This is why I can't read at night any more!!! It'll be 3.30am and I'll be thinking: just one more chapter!!! I NEED to know what happens next!!! Lol!
I read books quite quickly too so I always make sure i have at least 10 books for me to read, except because of me doing this i now have 172 books so I don't have to worry hehe:p
I have always read books slowly, and carefuly. Trying to make as accurate a picture in my mind of what is being described. Especially with history books. But with fantasy books as well. Often I will reread paragraphs, to create a more detailed picture in my mind of what the author is trying to convey.
L.Y. wrote: "I got two books for Christmas, The Singing and The Warlock, and I've finished them already. I get new books, devour them in a matter of days, and then spend weeks in search of something else. xPD..."
I envy you all. I wish I could read as fast as you. My daughter is a very quick reader. She managed to read the whole of the Twighlight Saga in 4 days! I think this is remarkable personally.
I find I can't read that fast anymore though my problem stems from the toddler under my feet! It'll be nice to get back to 2 books a week :)
I used to read really fast...I could do a book a day sometimes. Having kids now, though, I don't get to read as much as I would like. Though there were a few (Memoirs of a Geisha,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) I just could not put down and got through them in a weekend. My suggestion if you WANT to slow down would be to do as was stated above, read it carefully...get the mental picture really going in your head. If the problem is more about not having anything else to read, maybe expand to other genres more (if you find you read 1 or 2 genres only) or just try to always make sure you have a couple of books waiting for you :)
I wish I could read faster. I've always been a rather slow reader. I think it took me two weeks to get through the Twilight Saga, and that was reading every chance I got. Right now I have about 50 books on my TBR list and I'm lucky if I have time to read a couple of books a month.
Zara wrote: "L.Y. wrote: "I got two books for Christmas, The Singing and The Warlock, and I've finished them already. I get new books, devour them in a matter of days, and then spend weeks in search of somethin..."Yes, this is a remarkable feat for a young reader however, for adults, reading something like the Twilight saga is completely different than reading something more in depth and complex such as Henry James or Philip Roth.
In response to the original question, I would suggest reading more complex books that challenge your comprehension, vocabulary, etc. I don't know what you are currently reading but whatever it is, it is probably too "light" for you. Try a different language if you must.
QueenAmidala28 wrote: "Zara wrote: "L.Y. wrote: "I got two books for Christmas, The Singing and The Warlock, and I've finished them already. I get new books, devour them in a matter of days, and then spend weeks in searc..."Thanks for the recommendations of these two authors. I have marked a number of Henry James's books as ones I want to read and marked a few of Philip Roth's as well. By the way, my daughter is going to attempt to read Ulysses this year. I will be extremely happy if she manages to as I only know of one other person who has managed to do so, and it isn't me.
I seem to be having the same struggle i made my wife force me to stop reading gone girl but the amazing mrs flynn. i would of finish it within a night of reading its that good but id hate myself for it....... so i finished it in 2 days and im bummed its over :-(
I read really fast.. I got through the twilight saga in 3 days, reread the Harry Potter series a few months ago and read the whole lot in 5 days.. I read most of Terry Pratchett's novels a day per book, and the 50 shades trilogy took me 5 days (technically four, i reread the 2nd while waiting for the 3rd in the mail)I'm now reading war & peace.. to see how long it takes..
Because I know how much effort and time goes into writing a book, in a way I feel a little bit bad for reading so quickly!!! But if I'm into the story there is NO WAY I'm putting it down until it's finished!!! Lol!
I'm glad I'm not the only one! :) Thank you for the suggestion, QueenAmidala28 and Becky. I'll see if I can locate something challenging, and perhaps in another genre.
I'm glad I'm not the only slow reader. I used to reader compulsively fast when I was younger, to escape. as I got older I slowed down to less than a book a month if that. THAT depended on book length!
count me in with the people who wish they had this problem. i've always been a slow reader, but i guess that's better then not reading at all which is what my sister does. my mother is a fast reader. not book a day fast, but a few books a week fast.
amber wrote: "count me in with the people who wish they had this problem. i've always been a slow reader, but i guess that's better then not reading at all which is what my sister does. my mother is a fast reade..."I used to be a very fast reader when I was going to primary school until I read a really, really, boring book and from then on my reading speed slowed down rather dramatically ever since. I'm hoping that with all the extra reading I'll be doing through the many GR groups I'm a member of, that that will change. Here's hoping.
L.Y., I wish I could read that fast--what a gift! I wouldn't say I'm a slow reader, however, but I tend to take my time rerreading as Cary mentioned, so that slows me down sometimes.
I read quickly, but if you want to learn how to kinda slow yourself down...I have started reading four books at once. Every night I try and switch books that way I am not just flipping through one of them in about a day. I suggest instead of treating the book like words, you take a little bit more time trying to create a more detailed mental picture. Then you won't read so quickly because you will be more focused on the details.However..if its a good book, go for it girl!
I think one of the downsides to being able to read so fast is how little I absorb. My brother can quote whole sections of a book from memory after one read, lol. I kind of skim and then imagine the rest, I guess. I don't know if that's good or bad...
I'm a dialogue person, so sometimes I just skim the description paragraphs, and devour the dialogue. I often get so lost in the story that I don't even realize I'm doing it. This sometimes leaves me feeling a little cheated when the story ends.
I can read a book in a day without a problem and I remember it very clearly. But as quickly as I read I have a (boy) cousin who reads 3 or 4 times faster, and his memory is incredible!!! He'll be quoting lines and scenes in the book as though he were reading straight from the page. As much as I envy him I also kind of feel sorry for him. It's a really struggle for him to himself in books!!!
i too can finish a book within a day without any problem provided am absolutely free the whole day!!! but once i finish the it's not like i forget everythin but i cannot go in detail explaining about the story but can manage with the basic and the underlining story!
I am envious. I read books very slowly to digest them. I also get distracted very easily, so maybe that's my problem. :p
Have you guys tried BookMooch.com before? Good way to send books you no longer need/want and get others you do want.
Troy wrote: "Have you guys tried BookMooch.com before? Good way to send books you no longer need/want and get others you do want."Print or ebooks? If they do both, now, that would be awesome. :D
I really don't want to finish a book too quickly. I want to savor it and enjoy it. The only kind I want to finish quickly is a 1 star book, if I elect to finish it. I have read over 80 books this year and that is plenty fast for me.
The only solution is to read more books! Of course! lol. You can never have too many books. I just wish I had more hours in a day to read.
Amazingly, that's been my solution! I bought a kindle, just so I could have access to all the free ebooks on Amazon, lol.
I'm a really slow reader by nature and it takes me ages to choose a new book when I finally finish one. It's the worst of both worlds!
Wow. Do you at least remember what you read? I read really fast, but I don't usually remember lots of detail about it.
Andrea wrote: "The only solution is to read more books! Of course! lol. You can never have too many books. I just wish I had more hours in a day to read."I'll second that, Andrea!
I just keep a large tbr pile on hand that is varied and so I always have something to read. I don't think I could function without having at least 100 TBR books on hand to choose from.
L.Y. wrote: "Wow. Do you at least remember what you read? I read really fast, but I don't usually remember lots of detail about it."I have trouble remembering too. Only a few stay with me. That's one of the things I like about Goodreads. It's given me an easy way to journal about my books.
L.Y. wrote: "Wow. Do you at least remember what you read? I read really fast, but I don't usually remember lots of detail about it."Well, it depends on how long it has been since I read the book. After a couple of months I just remember vaguely what it was about. Unless it is an 5/5 star book and a favorite, then I will remember for years!
I'm pretty vague, too. With certain of the ones I've read over and over (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings...) I can quote parts word for word, but those are the exception.
I read pretty fast, and have to remind myself to slow down sometimes, when it's a book I'm really enjoying. But then I reread a lot as well, so I get the nuances sooner or later ;)
I have insomnia. So I read a lot at night... and to slow myself down, I pick up 5+ books to read at the same time and try desperately to rotate through them. I've got 9 I'm currently reading right now and groan every time I see them piled by my bed! The only way I can read a book slower is if I read it before. I re-read quite a few books and then that curbs my book buying too. I even try to pick a couple of books that I like to re-read every year, just so that I'll slow down and enjoy the story.
I find it strange that people find their reading speed to be a problem (whether it's fast or slow). I tend to tear through books at a fast pace, but that's just the way I am. Why do you care if you read fast or slow? The point is whether or not you enjoy the story. It's about the experience. A person who reads quickly can savour the experience gained from a book just as fully as someone who reads slowly. I think that if a person feels that he or she needs to read a different way, it will take the fun out of it. If someone told me that I had to read more slowly, I would probably be less inclined to read. Do it your way and enjoy it!
Well said, Buffy. You've got a good point. I can however, answer for the people who read too slow. It's frustrating to see all the books out there--good books--and want to through more of them.
I go through maybe five books per week (on a good one) and I always feel like I'm reading too slowly because of all the books out there that are just waiting to be read. That being said, I enjoy the books I read in the pace I read them in just fine. I prefer finishing the book in two days, tops. Even in one sitting if I can. But there are some that I feel would be more enjoyable if I read them slower, so I do. As for the problem of having to spend weeks trying to find new books to read, well I can't say I have ever encountered that problem. The old TBR pile is stacked sky high and I always borrow too many books from the library anyway. Better have heaps available than none at all.
I wish I had the time to read a book in one sitting. If I could I would. But time is an issue for me.
Buffy wrote: "I find it strange that people find their reading speed to be a problem (whether it's fast or slow). I tend to tear through books at a fast pace, but that's just the way I am. Why do you care if you..."My problem is that doing it my way means I have nothing new to read for a long time. I don't have access to a library, and certainly don't have enough cash to buy new books every few days. :P Believe me...if I could buy new books every day, I would be a happy camper! At that point, I would not complain. Probably ever. xD
My wife is the fast reader, she can read a book a day sometimes more depending on length.. I tend to be a slower reader but I feel I get everything out of a book the first go round so I don't have to reread it later. I always have several books on my Kindle to read after I finish one I am reading. My biggest trouble is updating my goodreads after I have read a book!
L.Y. wrote: My problem is that doing it my way means I have nothing new to read for a long time. I don't have access to a library, and certainly don't have enough cash to buy new books every few days. :P Believe me...if I could buy new books every day, I would be a happy camper! At that point, I would not complain. Probably ever. xDAhhhhhh, I see. That definitely is a problem! I can't afford to buy a lot of books either. I'm lucky to have several libraries to choose from.
One thing I could suggest is that if you have an e-reader, there are ways to 'borrow' books from various libraries. I haven't fully looked into it, so I'm sorry to say that I don't have details for you, but a google search should help you. My mom works at a library and she told me that hers will let you download a book for three weeks and then it will disappear. You can't renew them, but if you're a quick reader that shouldn't be a problem. It might be worth some looking into.
If you don't have an e-reader, I would suggest getting one as that will provide you with more material to read. The cost would be worth it. A lot of the classics are free and some authors give their books away as well.
I hope that you are able to find a solution to feed your voracious reading appetite! :)
Yes, lol. I bought a kindle recently, but the wifi for my house hasn't been set up, so I'm having to be patient (HA! We'll see how that works out). Thanks for the tips though. Once it's working, all those free book sites had better watch out! I've started reading The Hobbit to a certain five-year-old girl, which seems to have slowed me down a bit. :) The ADHD child actually sat still; will wonders never cease? xD
Never underestimate the powers of Tolkein.
Definitely one of the major attractions of an e-reader is the free and really cheap reads. Here on GR you'll find lots of groups to direct you. I have more than 700 items on my Kindle now. I know I'll never be able to get to them all but I get so avaricious! lol.
Andrea wrote: "Definitely one of the major attractions of an e-reader is the free and really cheap reads. Here on GR you'll find lots of groups to direct you. I have more than 700 items on my Kindle now. I know I..."I want wifi. NOW. I want 700 books at my fingertips, lol. I'm a little jealous. ;)
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Singing (other topics)The Warlock (other topics)
Does anyone else have this problem? And if so, what did you do about it?