Why read?

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

So my brain stated on this tangent. I finally finished reading the Neal Gabler "Walt Disney" book, which took me since April 2007 to read - so that's what? -- 7 months. I read "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" in about 3 days - tried to read the Magicians Nephew and am halfway thru "PRince Caspian." I went to the thrift store and found a butt load of cool books to read including "The 5 people you meet in heaven", Goldywn bio, Cold Mountain, Bio's on Kirk Douglas and Lawrance Olivier and ShopGirl by Steve Martin. I"m about 1/3 of the way thru ShopGirl.

So, I think my question is several levels and I hope it is an interesting enough converstion to have among the swanky readers here on LoT.

I'm trying to figure out how I feel after reading the Walt Disney bio. I learned something and it was a nice read and I'm glad I read it. Now over with "THe Magician's Newphew" I got bored and found myself skipping over sentences etc.

What happens to you after you finishe a book, good or bad? Do you put it away and not think about it or does it apply to your life in some way? Why do you choose to read certain books and why do some read easy and other take forever to read? Is there a satifaction or is it just to pass the time? Have you ever finished a book or gotten halfway thru and nothing sunk in to where you had to start over again?

So why?

[flippyshark]

It really depends on the book. Some books stay with you forever, others practically vaporize the moment you set them down.

I found Gabler's book something of a chore to read, but it had its rewards. The Magician's Nephew isn't my favorite Narnia book, given that I've read it at least twice, and I barely remember it.

Recently, I had to give up on a very silly book I was trying to read. It's called Natural Selection, by (if I recall correctly) Richard freedman. The bubblegum premise is flying carnivorous rays. Stupid, yes, but I thought an airborn Jaws ripoff thriller would be fun. I had to give up a little over a third of the way through. Absolutely NOTHING had happened by then, and I felt imprisoned in the company of half a dozen of the most paper-thin, idiotic characters imaginable. According to the Amazon reviews, it has its fans, but I'll not be opening its covers again.

I'm way too tired to marshall any actual thoughts or ideas on the topic. Please accept these random dribblings in lieu of substance.

[BarTopDancer]

I read for enjoyment, entertainment, to learn and for kicks.

Currently I am consumed with school reading, most of which is applied to life.What I do with non-required reading depends on the book and why it was read. Sometimes the story has a life-applicable meaning, sometimes I was just happy to get through it. I love buying books and keep them all (or did until they were destroyed in storage). My favorite books were dog-eared, falling apart at the bindings. Books I found boring or struggled through appeared to be brand new.

I found the Lord of the Rings trilogy painful to read even though I loved the movies. I was skipping sentences and had to re-read so much of the back story because I was just going through the motions of reading it. But I can tear through the majority of the Jack Ryan Tom Clancy books in a day or two.

I am looking forward to reading The Long Hard Road Out of Hell (http://www.amazon.com/Long-Hard-Road-Out-Hell/dp/0060987464) when I am done with this semester.

[€uroMeinke]

It differs from book to book. The good ones stick with you but maybe in different ways. Lately I love Murakami, but some of that may be where I'm in in my life - I identify with his protagonists and suddenly see the magic and mystery of ordinary life. I feel differently about myself and the world when I read his stuff and find I need time to savor before I start something else.

Some books I appreciate, but know I read them at the wrong time - I was way too old when I finally picked up On the Road, but i can imagine how good it would have been had I read it right out of high school.

I used to love reading sci-fi, but found as I got older the genre has become less and less compelling. I used to think that was the place to find the most innovative thinking, but now I only pick something that's been recommended by more than one person.

I read to be entertained, to be educated, and be challenged - I like most the books that make me think differently about things. That might not always be a page turner, but usually the most satisfying to me.

[Alex]

As others said it differs a lot from book to book.

Primarily I read to be entertained. Though my definition of entertained seems to differ quite a bit from what most other people mean. For me, entertainment is learning something I didn't know or hadn't considered or had never seen in quite that light. Even with fiction I am generally looking for that.

What happens to you after you finishe a book, good or bad?

It is very rare for me to just be reading one book at any one time. Currently, for example, I am reading four books and that is a bit on the low side of average.

Do you put it away and not think about it or does it apply to your life in some way?

Both. I'm not exactly sure what "apply to my life" means but I don't often spend a lot of time thinking about a book after I've read it. But I do absorb it as I'm reading it. If it is relatively factual non-fiction then the information gets stored away (I have a very good memory in this regard).

If it is philosophy/opinion/analysis/etc. then it gets incorporated into how I think, my "arsenal" of points of view. While I have my own views on things, I like to think that in reaching my own conclusions I get to a point where I could accurately present and argue differing points of view and so reading is constantly remapping the mental architecture so to speak.

I'm not a serious fiction reader so generally what I am seeking in good fiction is that it put me completely inside a mindset or way of seeing the world different from mine. Something like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time does that for me.

But I also usually have trash fiction (generally genre sci fi but not always) that I use for environments where I can't read for any length in a single session so it doesn't really matter if I only read 2/3rds of a page then come back to it later.

Why do you choose to read certain books and why do some read easy and other take forever to read?

Non-fiction is generally a form of bibliography trawling (I follow book A with some tangentially related book B from the bibliography followed by book C, another tangential reference in book B) but that frequently jumps the rails for any number of reasons. When the thread dies out on me I usually reset to science popularization, pseudoscience/bad science, non-American history, or classics of philosophy and that gets me off on a new chain.

Fiction is frequently just wandering the aisles at B&N and picking something with an interesting cover. Then if I like it (generally I don't particularly) I try some other things by the same author until I get bored with that and then pick at random again.

I don't really experience the fast/slow thing. I read fiction and non-fiction at dramatically different paces but within that the speed of reading is pretty constant. But when a book is boring me I don't really experience any hesitation in trashing it and moving on.

Is there a satifaction or is it just to pass the time?

Sometimes the latter (why else would I be reading anything Michael Crichton has written in the last 15 years?) but mostly the former.

Have you ever finished a book or gotten halfway thru and nothing sunk in to where you had to start over again?

Only with trash fiction. I once was reading a Patricia Cornwell novel (and only the existence of Dan Brown keeps her from looking like a total hack) and accidentally skipped about 100 pages at some point and never noticed.

[alphabassettgrrl]

A lot of my reading lately has been informational- some for school, some on my own. Some of it applies to my life, but some of it makes me think. I read books on archeology, religion, history, and just about anything else that strikes my fancy. I've got a few books on quantum physics. Some things I read for distraction and entertainment.

Something from a school reading stuck with me the other day, about how humans need some limits or we are not happy. Someone asked me about it and I had to go track down the original article. Another bit about religion has been useful in a couple of circumstances.

[Not Afraid]

I love the craft of good writing as much as I love the craft of good visual art. It's an experiential thing for me. If I can become immersed in the little segment of world presented to me then I am having a great experience. I LOVE a good story, hate trite writing, love new ideas or twists on existing ideas, and adore the immersion I get from being enveloped by a book.

Then there's the informational aspect of reading. The ability to learn some new facts or opinions on history or a take on a person's life and their place in history or just vicariously experience a part of the world I've never been to. Again, it's the transportation to a different place and time that I love.

[lindyhop]

I've had my nose in a book my whole life but not so much lately. I feel guilty about that but other worthwhile things have been filling my time. When I do read it's in little bursts and sometimes I just pick up a magazine instead of a book. Since I live alone one of the steps in meal preparation is finding the right reading material while I eat.

I read fast and that's not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes I feel like I'm just trying to get through as many books as possible and I don't remember a thing, even when I've enjoyed a book, after I'm done. I skip over words I don't know, assuming I'll get it from the context, and I skim through description and long paragraphs.

Currently I'm reading an annotated version of "Pride and Prejudice" and I'm finding that reading all the notes is adding to the experience but it has also slowed me down and I'm really enjoying that. For a change I'm really absorbing more than just the bare outlines of the story.

I'll read more than one book at a time but that's usually the reason I don't finish some books. Sometimes I never go back to a book once I put it down. I've stopped reading books with only one or two chapters to go. A few summers ago I was reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude" while I was on vacation and I got halfway through it before I came home and never opened it again.

I know a lot of people who don't read. I don't understand those people.

[wendybeth]

It depends on the book, and my mood. Sometimes I can just be in the wrong mood for a book but then read it later and be blown away. The last book to do that to me was 'The Road'. I know it's a good one when I immediately re-read it, as I did with this one. Depressing as hell, scary as hell, but really got me thinking and stayed with me long after I finished it. I'll read through a book for the story, then go back over it for closer examination and if it's a well written story I'll always find more to mull over. 'The Wind-up Bird Chronicles' is a great example- lots of symbolism and subtext involved, and I loved the authors writing style. Some books just don't click, no matter how often I go back to them. One that comes to mind is 'Beloved'. I truly thought it was crap, but everyone else just loved it. I couldn't get past her writing style- it got in the way of whatever story was there.

[blueerica]

I think that for me it truly depends on the book, and I have yet to figure out the magical formula. Like BTD, most of what I'm reading is school related... I'd figure it around 97%. I think I'd have more time to read if it weren't for having presentations and case studies due (practically) two-by-two on a weekly basis. I'm spending much of my spare time (like work breaks) working on outlines and reading the material. The rest of my spare time is here or at work. Yay. Now that things are lightening up, I'm finally working on finishing The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, which I'd started a couple of years ago (sad, since it's such a short story).

In all of my readings, I find that the difference is really in how it was written. Some books are simply better than others, and that goes for textbooks, too. Some texts I can read once and it's absorbed; others I have to read twice and go over key parts a third time just to be on the right track. I'm looking forward to getting back into books again. Whee!

[3894]

I love the craft of good writing

Agreed! How I love a master literary stylist.

[Kevy Baby]

Why read?Why not?

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Why not?

Because it takes to much brain power. Watching a movie is so much easier. hehe

Agreed! How I love a master literary stylist.

I love the craft of good writing ... LOVE a good story, hate trite writing, love new ideas or twists on existing ideas, and adore the immersion I get from being enveloped by a book.

...Again, it's the transportation to a different place and time that I love.

I think that's what I was looking for as a possible validation to what I've read. Maybe that's what I need to look at or what is missing in my reading life. Excellent ideas, everyone.

Over the last several days I actuall finished "Prince Caspian" "ShopGirl" and "THe FIve People YOu Meet in Heaven" - granted they're short books but after taking 6 months to read the DIsney Bio, well...

One last thought - I hope those who no longer need thier books either pass them along to others or donate them to the Salvation Army or like causes. This not only helps the cause, but that's how I buy my books. ;)

[alphabassettgrrl]

Come to my house and look through my bookcases. I have a bunch of things to get rid of. Mostly my fiction but I do need to go through them all.

[Prudence]

One last thought - I hope those who no longer need thier books either pass them along to others or donate them to the Salvation Army or like causes. This not only helps the cause, but that's how I buy my books. ;)

But I always need my books!

[mollywog]

I'm with Prudence on this one. If I like a book, I need to keep it forever and ever and re-read it sometimes. If I don't like it very much, well, we have this place down in the laundry room of my apartment building where people put books they no longer want, and so those books go down there.

[Gemini Cricket]

If it's a special book that I love, I find a hardcover and keep it forever.
But it's very hard for me to read a book. I'm too A.D.D.

[libraryvixen]

I love books. I'm not going to say I'm not a little biased about flipping pages.

I'm cheap. I only buy books when I know I'm going to read them again. Using the library is like test driving. If I really want it, then I'll purchase it. Movies on the other hand...

I read books and listen to them on audio. It's an easy way for me to kill time in the car and to get my lit fix.

With wayward books (in decent condition), donate them to the library! The donation is tax deductible and if the library can use them, it's cataloged into the system. If not, most libraries have a book sale. In our county, the proceeds go back to programs for summer reading and new items!

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Yeah, I keep all my books and I only read hardcovers. There are a few that i've purchased at used books stores because they're my favs, but for the most part I've bought at Thrift Stores. A $1 for a hardcover can't be beat as opposted to $25+ new. Its amazing what you'll find there - eventually.

[ozron]

I read mostly big historical fiction and fantasy - Michener, Tolkien, Eddings, Lackey, etc. I'm also a Clancy fan. I like becoming invested in a story, a place, and well crafted characters. I like finding that after finishing a book, I actually miss the characters.

I love reading aloud. I read four or five Michener books to my wife, all ten books of the Bellgariad and Mallorean, and LOTR after our daughter was born. It's one of the best memories Erin and I share.

In the last few years my reading slowed down as my arms got shorter. Now that I've gotten my new glasses I'm back to reading. Erin has me reading "Contact" right now.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I know you've pooh-poohed it all these years, Mark, but I really think if you sat down with the Potter novels, you'd find they are enchanting.

[wendybeth]

Oh, he'd totally fall, LS. I, too, was a doubter as to the quality and appeal of the Potter series, but I think it's no secret that I reformed. You really should read them, Mark- at the very least read the first one.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Funny this should be brought up. I've been in my most consistently read-y stretch of my life for the last couple of years, and I'm really glad. I'm a naturally slow reader, especially when I haven't read in a while, so I've tended to resist. But I seem to have broken out of that and I know I'm better for it.

What happens to you after you finishe a book, good or bad?
Depends widely on the type of book. If it's a novel and I enjoyed it I might make a note of it and look for other work by the author. If I REALLY enjoyed it I'll likely immediately grab something else by the author (the day I finished reading everything Douglas Adams had written was a sad day). If I didn't like it I'll find someone to complain about it to (ideally someone who liked it :p ).

If it's non-fiction I usually look for something else on the same or similar subject, or tangent off to a related (even if marginally) subject.

Do you put it away and not think about it or does it apply to your life in some way?
Depends on the book and the subject. I'd say that the only subject that I read that I consistently continue to ponder after putting the book down is anything regarding philosophy of the mind/consciousness. Agree or disagree with what I read, it's always on my mind.

Why do you choose to read certain books
Recommendation. Previous experience with the author. Referenced in a bibliography of something I liked. Nearby on the library shelf. Stuck in an airport. The title jived with something I was thinking. Any combination of the above, and more. It's kind of a stream of consciousness decision usually.

For example, I grabbed 2 books at the library today. I was pulling titles from the bibliography of a Douglas Hofstadter book. The first one I grabbed was Waiting for Godot, which I've never read (straight out of the pages of Duh Magazine, but damn if that isn't a good play!).

The second title I was looking for on the shelves was a book called This Book Needs No Title, about paradoxical word play (e.g., "This is not a sentence.") and such. Despite being in the system, it wasn't on the shelf, probably mis-shelved or yet-to-be-shelved after a return. But as I was scanning the area around where it should have been, I spotted Paula Poundstone's book, There's Nothing in this Book I Meant to Say. The conceptual similarity in title, and the fact that I've been hearing a lot of Paula Poundstone since I've been listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR regularly were enough for me to accept that as a fair substitute. Of course, the very next day our TiVo recorded an episode of Home Movies for the first time in months and it happened to be one of the 6 where Paula Poundstone voiced one of the main characters. Go figure.

and why do some read easy and other take forever to read?
I figure it's a matter of how closely the author's thought process aligns with your own.


Is there a satifaction or is it just to pass the time?
Definitely satisfaction. I actually hate reading as a time-passer. If I'm not interested in the book I can't concentrate and it's an absolute chore,

Have you ever finished a book or gotten halfway thru and nothing sunk in to where you had to start over again?
Never a whole book. I'll find myself re-reading a sentence, or a page, or a chapter due to my mind wandering, but as a whole I pay attention to the book.

That said, my long term retention is fairly horrible. With rare exception, by the time I'm reading the next book, the details of the previous one are pretty sketchy.

So why?
To keep it short, because of the opportunity to expand my thinking. I'm not one who gets lost in fantasy worlds while I read, but that doesn't mean it doesn't make me think in new directions.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

I know you've pooh-poohed it all these years, Mark, but I really think if you sat down with the Potter novels, you'd find they are enchanting.

Actually I have read the first one back near the beginning of the year. I found the first one at a thrift store for .50 cents and it was a hardcover, so I picked it up. I enjoyed it and if I came across the others in a thrift store I'd pick them up. Enjoyable and I can understand why they're such a hit.

GD - You bring up a good point about the library as a way to try out material and its such an odvious point too. I guess accessibility plays a role in that. -- Thanks!

[katiesue]

I like to read mostly for fun although learning something doesn't hurt. I usually buy my books and have varying criteria. Could be the author, the subject, suggestion by someone, book review or even just an interesting cover.

I mostly read in the tub. It's warm and comfy and no one bothers you (well mostly). For this reason I tend to buy books rather than check them out of the library as I'm always afraid I'll drop one in the water.

Some books I slog through, I rarely ever don't finish one but there have been a few. Some I can read in a couple of days. It just depends on the writing I guess. Some stick with me for years, these I tend to re-read. Others I forget a day after I finish reading them.

I hate reading aloud. Poor Maddy. She always wants me to read to her, and I do, but it makes me crazy. I read really fast and reading aloud just seems like it takes freaking forever. The exception being Shakespeare which was meant to be read aloud and is much better if you do so.

The rule in our house is you can never have too many books.

[Ghoulish Delight]

GD - You bring up a good point about the library as a way to try out material and its such an odvious point too. I guess accessibility plays a role in that. -- Thanks!I also like recommendation-hopping at Amazon. Good way to find stuff you might like (then I go to the library).

[Chernabog]

I'll join the "it depends" chorus on here -- some books stick with you and others don't. I read fiction 95% of the time, and I read books for entertainment. Unless I re-read a book (like I've read most of Stephen King's books a few times over), or it was a book from my childhood (Roald Dahl, Madeline L'Engle) the names and places don't really stick with me. Sure, I remember if the book was enjoyable or not, or whether I'd recommend it to others. But besides some works of Stephen King, Clive Barker and Anne Rice, it is very rare that a book truly affects my life in a way beyond it just being pure entertainment.

I also rarely cry when reading, but every so often, it hits me. Last week, actually, I was surprised when I was crying while reading a Stephen King short story that appeared after the novel "Blaze" (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). There was a part that involved a disabled man's response to a neighbor's dog getting hit by a car (yea yea cheap shot) but the characterizations, the writing, and the response was so powerful that it left me shaken.

I don't read as much as I'd like to, but I always have a book in my briefcase for when I have time to kill. Right now my briefcase book is John Steinbeck's "East of Eden", which is AMAZING. And amazingly sordid. I hadn't really read Steinbeck before, thinking he was dry English lit stuff, and it SO isn't. Kinda like how I prejudged Kurt Vonnegut, and his stuff is so wonderful to dig into.

I'm also reading a collection of short vignettes by David Sedaris called "Naked". Highly recommended because the stories call up strong emotional responses in me that I don't often get from reading.

Books are odd things though, I read them like I play video games -- that is, I buy them, play/read the first part, just to test the waters and see what the "mood" is, and then set it down for a time. When I'm in the mood to pick it up again, I do. And sometimes, years go by before I'm in that mood (though that may be the product of too many entertainment options at my apartment lol...).

I do have a lot of books that I read halfway through and put them down forever because I just cannot get into them. I'll start skimming through boring parts, and if that doesn't produce something interesting after 20 pages or so... well... my attention span just isn't that long ;)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I read that in The English Patient and it has stayed with me.

First and foremost, I read because it gives me pleasure. One of my favorite elementary school experiences was cracking open an unused text book, burying my nose into the spine, feeling the softness of the pages against my cheeks and inhaling the scent. It was the ritual I practiced unconsciously before I began to read.

Every time I take a book from the shelf, in a library or in a store, new or used, I feel that same kind of anticipation. I like to experience the physical reality of the book before I enter the universe of the writer's mind.

My approach to reading is sometimes three-fold.

The first read: For pleasure. I read without ignoring my own point of view. I may learn new things, but often my own opinion may skew the author's intent. The book speaks to me or it doesn't. I find myself fixated on turns of phrase, word usage, the structure of paragraphs. My love or hate, etc. of the characters. It can be intense or cursory, depending on how excited I am by the narrative. More often than not, even if I love the book, one read is all I manage.

The second read: To better understand the book the author set out to write, taking my own experiences into consideration less. Sometimes I'll notice something wonderful I missed before, and sometimes I'll notice its faults more.

The third read: Deconstruction. The part of me that likes to write reassess the whole in order to develop a deeper understanding or appreciation.

Mostly, I like to read because I love storytellers, and the mythology and folklore passed on through the ages, digested and reinterpreted. I learn more about myself whenever I read a novel. I learn more about the world. Words thrill me. I read the dictionary for fun. I love it when an author can explain a common experience in a way that hasn't really been done before. Poetry can enhance one's understanding of language in a way a phonics book never could. An historical fiction can sometimes make palatable a lesson that one yawned through in 8th grade American history, and a non-fiction book can read like the best imaginary story ever told, if the writer is gifted enough.

I, uh, just really like to read.

Plus, reading is sexy!

Heh.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Well, I went to the Library today! I got a Hemingway bio for $2. I couldn't check anything out because since I am homeless and my previous address was in another city, I can't get a card yet. But...there are other ways. I wish it was less of a "cold" place - not really a comfortable place IMHO.