How fast do you read?

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  • #9427
    Daeus
    @daeus
      • Rank: Chosen One
      • Total Posts: 4238

      Not a very deep question, but I’m curious. How fast do you read? I’m wondering because, while I know you can technically breeze through a book at 100mph and remember all the important details, I’m wondering if there might be something the people who do that miss – something more than details, things more like meaning, connections, the skill of the writer. If anyone would pick up on these equally important companions to story details, I would expect it to be writers. Therefore, if you all mainly read slowly, it would support my theory, but otherwise not at all.

      So, I’ll start with myself. I read very slowly. How about you?

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      #9428
      BlueJay
      @bluejay
        • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
        • Total Posts: 1622

        Well for me, I read fast. Way too fast! I end up thinking I’ve read everything in the book and then I reread it and find a part that I didn’t know was in there. And then I read the book for the third time and find a completely new part that I managed to miss twice. It can get a bit creepy when I reread a book for the tenth (or hundredth) time and go “Wow! I didn’t know that happened. Oh, that makes much more sense.” I know it is a really bad way to read a book, but if I look at the glass half full, at least when I run out of books that I’m allowed to read, I can go back over them again and still get enjoyment out of them. 😀 It would be really bad if I read that fast and go everything in one go!!!! :O That isn’t even worth thinking about.
        If I am reading out loud, though, I’m much slower. Especially as my eyesight is not the best, so I really have to slow down so that I read the small words – a, is, it, the, an, I, am, of, off, for and so forth.

        #9430
        Sarah Hoven
        @sarah-h
          • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
          • Total Posts: 669

          Everybody says I read fast, and I don’t think I miss anything major. But, despite my high aspirations, I’m not yet much of a writer. So don’t let me mess up your theory. 🙂

          #9431
          Kate Flournoy
          @kate-flournoy
            • Rank: Chosen One
            • Total Posts: 3976

            Sorry to debunk your theory @Daeus, but I read the Count of Monte Cristo in a week, total, and I could spend five hours right now going over it with you point by point, twist by twist, arc by arc, concept by concept. 😀
            I’ve always been this way— well, ever since I learned how to read, which was pretty late due to some vision complications. I read fast when I first really started, and even when I began writing (and thus analyzing what I read) I don’t think I slowed down at all.

            Greta
            @gretald
              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
              • Total Posts: 450

              I read relatively fast…a least compared to my sisters. I don’t know if I read fast compared to the rest of the world. 😛


              @bluejay
              , yeah, I’m the same way. I read fast in my head, but when I’m reading aloud, I always have to slow down. 😉

              #9442
              Daeus
              @daeus
                • Rank: Chosen One
                • Total Posts: 4238

                Well well well. That was fun. Obviously wrong.

                How-how-Cout-Cristo-week?????????

                For comparison, it took me several months to finish The Count of Monte Cristo. I read silently only just barely faster than I read aloud (though I do read aloud pretty fast.)

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                #9444
                Ivy Rose
                @ivy-rose
                  • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
                  • Total Posts: 102

                  @Daeus, when I first saw the title of this topic, the first thing that came into my mind was, “Not fast enough.” 🙂

                  In reality, I read pretty fast. My mom taught me to read at 3 and at age 5 I was reading Little House on the Prairie by myself. Though I’m not proud of this, I have a terribly short attention span and can’t sit still for long. I guess I just learned that if I read faster, I didn’t get bored with the book and I could get up and wiggle around every chapter or so.

                  When I started analyzing what I was reading (about 4 years ago), I did find myself slowing down a bit. But after consciously analyzing 2 or 3 books, I was back up to speed and still able to analyze.

                  Truth be told, my reading speed greatly depends on the book. For example, it took me about 2 weeks to read The Hobbit. No offense to Tolkin, but that kind of fantasy just isn’t my favorite. On the other hand, I read a 120,000 word novel (about 500 pages) in 14 hours. I LOVED that book, and had the time to read it in one sitting.

                  SOO…that was a really long answer to a really easy question. 🙂

                  #9447
                  Rosey Mucklestone
                  @writefury
                    • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                    • Total Posts: 467

                    I actually read too fast. I pick up all the details and everything, but I usually want books to last longer than I make them by reading so fast. I have to rein myself in and be sparing, usually. XD My family nickname is “the reading cheetah”. My brother and sister were dubbed the reading snail and moose, respectively.

                    #9449
                    Daeus
                    @daeus
                      • Rank: Chosen One
                      • Total Posts: 4238

                      This is funny. Anyone like me?

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                      #9452
                      Rosey Mucklestone
                      @writefury
                        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                        • Total Posts: 467

                        Well, my brother (reading snail) picks up on the nuances pretty well. But he’s nothing close to being a writer. 😛

                        #9463
                        Faith Kindred
                        @faithdk
                          • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
                          • Total Posts: 139

                          I think I’ll have to relate with @ivy-rose. My reading speed greatly depends on the book as well. I read way faster when it’s something I enjoy, and I guess that would make sense because you’re more interested to what happens next (obviously). Sorry about your theory, @Daeus 😛 Still, it was a good one…very well thought out. 🙂 …and just because some of us writers on the forum read fast, doesn’t mean the theory isn’t accurate when applied to all the writers in the world. 😉 You never know…

                          #9464
                          Anonymous
                            • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
                            • Total Posts: 199

                            I’m going to have to agree with most everyone else, @Daeus. I read really fast, unless I am editing or critiquing. I really should read slower than I do, because I do miss things sometimes.(and I go through books entirely too fast 🙂 )

                            #9466
                            Daeus
                            @daeus
                              • Rank: Chosen One
                              • Total Posts: 4238

                              Perhaps I should reverse my theory. Na, that would leave me out. I hereby vote the matter (in most cases) inconsequential.

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                              #9468
                              Kate Flournoy
                              @kate-flournoy
                                • Rank: Chosen One
                                • Total Posts: 3976
                                Daeus
                                @daeus
                                  • Rank: Chosen One
                                  • Total Posts: 4238

                                  Two in favor. Motion passes. Virtual ice cream for everyone.

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