Monday, March 2, 2009

Musing Monday #3


This week's Musing Monday is ..

When reading do you read every word? Do you ever skip chapters or skim over parts? (question curtesy of Wendy)

I usually read word for word and sometimes I go back and read a paragraph or a few lines again just to savour it :)

Rarely do I ever skim something.. and if I start doing that it means I'm bored with the book but want to know what happens next.. usually it's boring details that are skimmed..

I've done the skimming of a few lines with Atonement in the second part, the one about the war.. it was just too boring and pointless to me.. but I finished the book in the end.

The other book I remember skimming through was Fledging, and that one I just couldn't finish.. I tried a couple of times but felt I'm wasting my time with something that I'm not enjoying so I stopped.. and I don't really want to know what happens in the end :)

7 comments:

Julie at Outlandish Dreaming said...

I feel the same way you do, I read word for word, if I start skimming (and I almost never do, though I've wanted to), then I don't feel like I can say I've read the book, and if I've gotten to that point in the first place, then that means it's time to give up on it, which has only happened once in a while. The last time I felt that way about a book was with Shadow of the Wind, I just could not get into it, which is amazing since I was able to slog through Foucault's Pendulum!. I'm usually pretty faithful about finishing books, my own little quirk, and I never peek to see how it will end before I've gotten there, if I were to do that, then it would really be over!

Sandy Nawrot said...

Same here. No skimming, no skipping. My anal retentive nature would not allow it. Sometimes I have to go back and re-read, just to make sure I got the point!

Beth F said...

I skim under certain circumstances.

TexasRed said...

I skim sometimes -- especially when I run into big blocks of text with no dialog. Usually I don't even realize I'm doing it until I get further down the page and things stop making sense.

I did lots of this with Tolkien because I love his stories, but really don't need to know what everyone's wearing and the details of every tapestry in the room.

Jo-Jo said...

I don't skim either, that's probably why I'm such a slow reader!

sally said...

i adore u. u r a serious reader. i mean look at ur piles of books ;) i dream of having my own mini library at home..

Desert Rose said...

Julie, as for peeking.. I never used to do that, but lately I have done some peeking it's rare but I've done it and I don't like it.. but sometimes I'm just worried what would happen to a certain character and the suspense just kills me.. so I gotta know.. I've only did it maybe 2 or 3 times.. and I'm planning on not doing it again.. it ruins the surprise :(

Sandy, yeah the rereading part is so true.. sometimes you just need to go and check you got it right and visualize the scene :)

Beth, yeah me too.. but rarely :)

TexasRed, that's what made me not finish Tolkien.. I can't read that much details.. I'll explode from boredom.. that's why I watched the LOTR movies instead of reading the books.. as my neice told me "I can't stand him describing every leaf on the tree.. I don't want to know what the leaves look like, get on with the story!" :) I miss her.. she's studying abroad :)

JoJo, that's why I'm slow too.. I mean I wish I could finish a book a day.. but I can't for two reasons.. one I hate skimming and two I get too involved in the book that I need to think about the book after I finish it.. some books I feel more involved in than others and I need to do some serious visualizing, analyzing and thinking before jumping to the next book :) weird eh?!

Thanx Duchess, but I'm still slow.. I do admit that I'm faster this year than last year and I am getting better.. but still I wish I could read faster because I have so many great books I would love to get into :)

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Books Read In 2007

  • PS, I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
  • Where There is Evil by Sandra Brown
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
  • New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
  • The Sins of the Fathers by Lawrence Block
  • Time to Murder and Create by Lawrence Block
  • Drop Dead Sexy by Elisa Adams

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