Some Like It Fast


Bree Despain had some interesting tweets the other day about being a slow reader. This one in particular stood out.


I tried to respond on Twitter, but 140 characters is impossible to convey meaning. I'm a fast reader. I read books in a few hours in one sitting. Sometimes when you do something, the thought of doing it differently doesn't even come to mind. That's why I was surprised to see her tweet.

I read fast. It's weird because I've done those tests that have you read a page in your head and they time you, and I've gotten normal, even low scores. When it comes to books or long text in general I can read very fast. Some people ask whether you can truly understand what you're reading if you're doing it so fast.

I'd like to say yes. My ego would enjoy that, but the truth is that I forget the books I read. I've written about my book amnesia before and it's a little embarrassing to forget even the books that I love. It's just a side effect of the way I read.

I'm great at focusing on only one thing. I can put all my passion and attention and focus single mindedly on one thing. I can read in any environment, no matter how loud it is or how much I'm moving. So when I read, all my attention is put on a book.


I get lost in the book. The words don't matter. They blur by. Not even consciously, during action scenes, I find myself almost skimming the words as the action takes place in my head in real time. However, I'm not a visual reader. I don't imagine things as they look like a movie, I imagine the sense of it. The details are so important to some people, and sometimes details are important to me too, but only to give me a sense of the story. It's a little hard to explain.

If for example, I read about someone punching someone else, it's not a fist flying that I see but the emotions, the anger, the pain, the confusion, and the hysteria. And when I sum it up, I won't remember it as someone punching someone else. I remember that a fight happened.

So it's really the essence of what happened that matters to me, and when I slow down and focus on the details, it kills the overall. You know when you're in school and you have to find the theme or thesis of something? I'm awesome at that because it's always what happens overall that I pick out. The day-to-day details don't stick.

When I'm reading, it's like I'm in the world. I'm the characters going through the crap they go through and I don't process what's happening, it's more like I experience it. When a story is good, I connect with it to the point where for a few hours, I don't even think about me. It's like I'm dreaming but I'm awake. And when I finish the book after such a blistering pace, the story is done with me and it feels like I woke up. Like I've been sleeping or gone to another world and I've finally reappeared.

When people try to call me when I'm reading a book, it usually takes a few tries for them to get to me. There's also that feeling after being sucked out of the story where I wonder what I'm doing. When I don't finish the book, it burns inside me, especially when it's a good book. Everything I do, everywhere I go, all I think about is that I'm not done. The book hasn't released me from its hold and I'm in a kind of in between state.

I can't read two books at once and commit myself to both of them. I always end up treating one like a textbook while the other is like another life. I'm just so into whatever I read.

I resent it being thought that I don't 'get' a book because I read it fast. I experience it differently. The words honestly don't matter to me because it's the characters and plot that truly reign supreme in my view. Maybe I understand the story differently because I only analyze it when it's done and I look at the sum rather than the parts. That's the way I am. I look at the forest more often than the trees.

It's like my heart stops when I'm so engrossed with something and I do it until it's done and finally I can take a break and life goes on. It's the same when I write. Reading fast is just a part of me and they way I do things. What about you?

-P.E.

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great post!! I don't remember the books I read either and I thought it was just me. Then I started to think about it .. I read a lot of books. So it shouldn't surprise me that I can't remember what I read a year ago. When I continue in a series I have to go back and find out what happened in the last book on the internet. Everyone I know (who are nonreaders by the way) always tell me I read so fast I am not even taking in what I am reading and that is just not true. I don't even read as much as a lot of people that I see out there blogging!!! I am just glad that I am not alone!!

    Angie
    Angela's Anxious Life

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha it's pretty funny to see the difference between bloggers and nonreaders. I'll be all, boo, I read a meager 90 books and they will think I'm exaggerating when I say many bloggers read over 100. And I do the search for spoilers too! I usually check out Recaptains, or if I'm lucky, there's some kind of wiki I can read. You're definitely not alone.

      -P.E.

      Delete
  3. I usually read super fast, but that's the way I read and very rarely I take it slow with a book because the book and writing demand it. But, despite being a very fast reader, if I've read a book and loved it, I remember it, I remember the parts I loved and I don't necessarily will need a re-read before a sequel comes out.
    I only forget easily the books I've read and failed to impress me enough. If a book gets 3 stars from me it's likely that I'll end up forgetting about it given a week or two, if not sooner. 4 stars and 5 stars... not a chance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a pretty interesting distinction. I'm definitely not like that. Even if I love a book, even if I try my best, I still end up forgetting it. I don't mind too much because when I reread it's like reading the book for the first time, except that I know how much I will love it.

      -P.E.

      Delete
  4. I'm a little of both. Sometimes I read a book really fast and sometimes it will take me a few days. Though, most of the time if a book takes me a couple of days to finish it's because life has got in the way or I'm really not enjoying it that much. I do forget a lot of books too, but I'm not sure if that's because I read fast or I just have a sucky memory, haha. Great discussion post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe it is about memory. I know that I remember things when I say it out loud. As of recently, books take me a while to finish just because I don't spend that much time reading. :(

      -P.E.

      Delete

What do you think?