Monday, November 29, 2010

Snail Speed Reading

Lately, I have become very slow at reading; it drags and drags before I finish a book. So, I started thinking about how my reading habits have changed.

In my school days, not so long ago, and well trough university I used to read really fast. I usually read a book in one sitting. But, then I used to have three or four hours time a day I could afford to do nothing else but read.

At present, however, due to a lot of commitments and other interests besides reading, I am not able to read for hours. Naturally, I could read just a couple of pages a day for a quarter or half an hour, but I hate to start and stop reading somewhere in the middle. I like to “fall” into the book. I dislike reading little by little. One or two sittings are what I prefer or three or four if a book is very thick, and on consecutive days. I am really bothered if I cannot read a meaningful unit of a book, which means at least a chapter. Therefore, if I do not have enough time to read 50 or 60 pages, or to finish a chapter, I feel reluctant to even start. So, sometimes I do not read a page for days and my reading is progressing very slowly these days.

What about you? Do you like to read all at once and as fast as you can, or just little bits day by day?

1 comment:

  1. Very interesting. I personally don't mind if it takes me a few days to read a book, but I really have to read at least 50 pages a day, or I feel kind of empty. And I rarely stop reading in the middle of a chapter, unless a chapter is really long and I can't possibly stay up any longer.:) It's pretty easy for me to read at least 50 pages a day, as I mostly read in the evening, which for me means between 8 and 11. Then, of course, I catch a good movie sometimes, so I might not always reach my 50-pages limit.

    ReplyDelete

Don't hesitate to drop me a few strange new words! I'd love to hear what you think!