What is your process for reading books? for Questionland Seattle

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What is your process for reading books?

Do you read EVERY single page from start to finish including any preface, copyright, dedication, etc.? Do you skip the beginning and just go to page one of the actual meat of it? Do you read different books differently? I was just curious, because I wonder especially how many people read introductions and prefaces...plus, I tend to like to not skip anything...

Kristin Bell asked in General Book Discussion 11 months ago | Report

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ooh, I know this one.
http://youtu.be/pQHX-SjgQvQ

Jim answered in General Book Discussion 11 months ago | Report

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David Wright

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Neat question. I seem to recall reading some smarty somewhere - probably Mortimer Adler's "How to Read a Book," advocating against reading non-authorial introductions and prefaces. I read a lot of fiction/literature in reprint, and these often feature lengthy introductions by somebody else - often very good - and I TRY to resist reading these, with the idea in mind of encountering the book with as few preconceptions as possible. Then go in and backfill with the introduction later. I guess it is a bit silly, but it seems right to me.

Authorial introductions and prefaces are different - I figure this is the author framing the discussion for me. Though I couldn't care less about Acknowledgements, frankly.

I definitely read different sorts of books differently - informational stuff I skip around a lot, but there are even works of fiction where I feel safe skimming a bit here and there, and of course I start a lot more books than I finish. Adler's book mentioned above is mainly about reading critically and for information - almost a study guide - but he mentions fiction and works of imagination briefly, and I vaguely recall his advice is full uncritical immersion and really taking in as much of the work in as few uninterrupted chunks as possible: this also makes sense to me. I almost always regret it when I read a piece of fiction with my mind "at arm's length," as it were. I think you just jump in and go there, and then once you've been look around and think where you've been.

David Wright answered in General Book Discussion 11 months ago | Report

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*I always read the dedications, as they're often hidden gems (see my post here.

*I only read the copyright if I'm interested in the publication year (the jazzy new cover of Earth Abides effectively conceals the book was written in the 1940's). Some authors include interesting little Easter Eggs on this page (Dave Eggers).

*I will read the preface, because it usually relates to the story in an important or interesting way (and will usually reread it when I finish the book).

*Unless they're short, I tend to skip the introduction, as they're usually terribly long-winded. Same with Forewords. Exceptions abound (A Clockwork Orange, for example).

Sacrelicious answered in General Book Discussion 11 months ago | Report

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protosaurus

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The only time I look at anything before the introduction or first chapter is if I'm interested in date originally published, what edition I'm reading, or the other books by the author.

I think it would be crazy to skip any introduction no matter who it is written by. The worse thing that can happen is you get an opinion on a book you don't agree with and move on with life. The best thing that can happen is you read something that totally clicks with you. Sometimes -- The Pale King comes to mind -- you are really going to miss out on a huge aspect of the book if you don't read the introduction. I think afterwords are usually more interesting but much rarer.

I respect the idea that reading an introduction can bias your thoughts about the book without even reading it, but so can the cover, or the summary on the back, or the blurb reviews, or anything you've heard about it anywhere else. So overall I do not really buy this idea for myself.

I read slow but consistently. I average about 20 pages per night and have since I was a teenager with no major lapses.

I almost always read at lunch or before bed. If I have been slacking, I will spend a full day-off afternoon catching up. I feel obligated to read the books I buy or else they are just a waste of money. I have read 90-95% of books I own.

I rarely abandon books, but it happens -- maybe 1 in 30. The last book I abandoned was The Pillars of the Earth about 1/3 through. Before that, Stardust after 30 pages (what a great movie though!).

It is not uncommon for me to stop a particularly long and/or painful book at about the middle, read an easier book start to finish a few weeks, and then go back to the harder one. I did this with 2666 and Underworld lately.

I tend to have 1 non-fiction going (usually a philosophy or literary criticism piece) at the same time as 1 to 2 novels. I alternate between the two more or less evenly. I keep 1 emergency collection of short stories at work. I do not use e-books but have nothing against them. I just like dead trees.

I get anxious when I am about to finish a book. Once I am in the last 10%, I very carefully figure out the last page number (no spoilers!) and know exactly how long I have until the end. I treat the final parts of a book (especially the last sentence) with great care. After finishing, I always find myself sitting there thinking about the book in its entirety over the next 5-10 minutes before moving on with life.

protosaurus answered in General Book Discussion 11 months ago | Report

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Finger Games

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I like your question! It definitely depends on the book for me. I usually flip through all the beginning pages and check the back of the book for interesting additions as well. If it is an author written introduction for the originally addition I usually read it first. However if it gets too long winded, boring and irrelevant to the story. I will skip to the beginning of the novel. I do this because unfortunately I don't have a great attention span for things i find to be pointless.

After i finish the book I usually go back to read the introductions or prefaces I may I skipped. That way I get the incite from them but they don't biased my perception of novel when I first read it. Also it gives me a way to reflect on a novel more.

I always read everything the comes in the front of a more historic text or novel especially when I think it will be difficult to understand because of outdated language of foreign principles. This helps me set the stage for this kind of book.

I've always thought every page in a book can change and deepen your understanding of the text so the more engaged in the book I become the more interested in all those extra page I get, especially the citation page.

Finger Games answered in General Book Discussion 11 months ago | Report

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I often read 3-4 books at the same time. I can get 1/2 way through a book and then just decide not to finish it. I feel like there is no choice but to read the book all the way through unless it is a collections of essays or short stories.
Lately I have the tendency to read until close to the very last chapter and then decide not to finish the book. I think I don't want to be let down by the ending if I really like the book. I don't know ,it's weird but it works for me.

meanjeannek answered in General Book Discussion 9 months ago | Report

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