• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Do you skim or read every word?

We got told in college to read the introduction after the book, as it only confuses the reader if you read references to halfway through the book before you even start. So that's what I do, if I even bother with the introduction.
 
Hah! I'm different!!!! I just read the last few pages of every book, and if I like it, then I'll read the whole thing. You can't imagine how many books I've read and how much time I've saved!!!!

Ahem.

Actually, I read everything. Even footnotes. Even appendices. Even indices.

Anything less is like not getting the book's worth.

ds

p.s. Okay, maybe *not* the indices. But the appendices in LOTR is very damn interesting.
 
direstraits said:
Hah! I'm different!!!! I just read the last few pages of every book, and if I like it, then I'll read the whole thing. You can't imagine how many books I've read and how much time I've saved!!!!
Click to expand...
My friend actually does something similar to this. She hates surprises and not knowing what's going on, so she reads the last chapter first so she knows what is going to happen. Each to their own I guess :)
 
direstraits said:
Hah! I'm different!!!! I just read the last few pages of every book, and if I like it, then I'll read the whole thing. You can't imagine how many books I've read and how much time I've saved!!!!
Click to expand...

:eek: Don't you find that spoils it, especially if it's the kind of book with a "twist". I couldn't do that - it would spoil the book for me I think. I like to be surprised at the end.
 
Along the same sort of lines, how many of you do or don't read the blurbs of books before reading them? A friend of mine for example never reads the blurbs, and instead reads a page at random to get a feel for the prose. Personally I'll read the blurb of an author I'm not familiar with, but try to steer clear of the blurbs of authors I know.

EDIT When I say 'blurb' I mean the actual story synopsis, rather than recommendations by other authors.
 
I always read the synopsis.

Sometimes, actually not sometimes, just once, with Intensity by Dean Koontz, I read the last few pages because it was scaring me a bit too much, and I didn't want to finish it if something happened that I was afraid might, so I had to check. It didn't happen, but I found out something that completely spoilt the story, so I don't think I'd be in a hurry to do that again.
 
Goodness! I was kidding! I never read the ending first, that'd be nuts! I actually quoted Kate Hudson in the movie _How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days_...

I'm a guy who would get pissed if my wife correctly guesses the ending of a movie we're watching together (and trust me - she's good). In the same vein, I wouldn't be able to stand reading the ending of a book first - it spoils the fun, and it wouldn't make sense anyway.

In my original post, the part after the "Ahem" is true... the part before is bollocks.

ds
 
direstraits said:
Goodness! I was kidding! I never read the ending first, that'd be nuts! I actually quoted Kate Hudson in the movie _How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days_...
Click to expand...

LOL - oops, I thought you were serious. :eek: I didn't recognise the quote, and I love that movie. :eek:
 
angerball said:
LOL - oops, I thought you were serious. :eek: I didn't recognise the quote, and I love that movie. :eek:
Click to expand...
Kate Hudson was better in this movie. She is becoming predictable and boring.

Hehe... time to watch 10 Days again? Her Le Divorce is slightly better, because of Naomi Watts and lots of Freeeench.

ds
 
Every word. I know it slows me down and I'm already a slow reader as it is, but the author took the time to write each word and they were chosen for a reason (in theory) and I feel each should be honored.
 
I always give a book a chance, reading every word at the beginning. But once I get the feel of it, unless I'm utterly enthralled, I will skim. To what extent, it depends on the book. I get all my books from the library so I don't worry about getting the book's "worth" out of it. I just read for what entertains or interests me, and skim the rest.
 
Skimming a book is an insult to the author. Read. Don't be lazy. Just read. If you don't like the book, stop reading.
 
sirmyk said:
Skimming a book is an insult to the author. Read. Don't be lazy. Just read. If you don't like the book, stop reading.
Click to expand...
Now that is a crock. Telling someone to stop reading is an insult to the person's intelligence, as if the person cannot decide for themself whether they should read a book or not.....And, If I want to skim parts of a book for reasons known to me, I will skim.
 
sirmyk said:
Skimming a book is an insult to the author. Read. Don't be lazy. Just read. If you don't like the book, stop reading.
Click to expand...
The author is the one who is meant to be striving to please the reader, not the other way around. I paid for the book, and so I think that I'm entitled to "insult" the author all I want (it's not as if the authors are going to find out anyhow). I personally think that it would be more insulting if someone threw down my book without reading it all compared to just skimming a few lines.
 
sirmyk said:
Skimming a book is an insult to the author. Read. Don't be lazy. Just read. If you don't like the book, stop reading.
Click to expand...

I don't think it is laziness. More likely bordom. And that also doesn't necessairly mean that one doesn't actually like the book. And why would you consider it an insult to the author? I don't agree, but wonder why you say that.
 
muggle said:
Now that is a crock. Telling someone to stop reading is an insult to the person's intelligence, as if the person cannot decide for themself whether they should read a book or not.....And, If I want to skim parts of a book for reasons known to me, I will skim.
Click to expand...
I'll respond to these posts by quoting your signature line:

muggle's signature line said:
Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast... You also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Click to expand...

I'm not telling anyone to stop reading, only suggesting readers to read. Skimming is for flat rocks across wet surfaces.

pontalba said:
And why would you consider it an insult to the author? I don't agree, but wonder why you say that.
Click to expand...
The average novel is around 90-100,000 words. The authors of such novels have spent many laborous hours structuring all of those words. Why read only 30,000 or so of those words? Why not read them all to let writers know you truly appreciate thier work?
 
sirmyk said:
The average novel is around 90-100,000 words. The authors of such novels have spent many laborous hours structuring all of those words. Why read only 30,000 or so of those words? Why not read them all to let writers know you truly appreciate thier work?
Click to expand...

If the book is worthy of having every word read, then I read every word. If the author waffles on, and says in 20 pages what could be said in 3, then I'll skim it. If that's the way they write, then I don't particularly "appreciate" that aspect of their work. :)

There's a reason people choose to skim read. If something really grips them, then they'll probably be hooked on every word.
 
If I catch myself skimming, it's a good sign that I'm tired and need to move the bookmark back a bit and set the book aside for awhile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top