How do you read a book? - Page 2

On January 31 2012 14:14 coffecup wrote:
I know this is an old thread, but I bump for justice. I think "how" you read is pretty important in terms of getting the most from reading itself.

At first I just read the text and had sort of short clips of the story moving along every now and then. I tended to read novels like I did in coursework (extract info).

Then after reading novels a bit more, I slowed down and started to do the full motion picture thing where I would not only imagine full visuals but also sound.

But today, I try to immerse myself fully. It's gone to the point where I don't really see the text I read (if that makes any sense at all?), and I just visualize what's going on, I hear the sound (of talking, walking, opening of doors, etc..), I also put in feel and smell whenever I can (e.g., the breeze or temperature, or the smell of the bakery or whatever that's relevant). The great thing is the older you are it's easier to incorporate these sensory inputs into the story simply fromt he fact that you can draw from a greater reservoir of real life experiences. Pretty much everything going on in a novel can be fairly accurately put in terms of visuals, sounds, smells, touch, and taste.

Now I don't read like this for classes (where it's just info intake asap), but I've got to say that today I enjoy reading much more than watching films. It takes a bit more brainpower and concentration to do the full immersive style, but it's pretty fulfilling and worth the effort imo.