Reading

   

   I developed my reading habits when I was a teenager. I am extremely fair skinned, and my grandmother, from the time I was very little, made me read at least two hours a day after lunch. Mostly, because I was an oldest child, and this was something quiet that could be done while my siblings were napping, and a LOT because she needed a two hour break in the middle of the afternoon after momming us all day. At any rate, I've taken a lot of flack for the speed at which I read, with people who read more slowly accusing me of skimming, and speed readers of my acquaintance telling me did not practice speed reading enough. I've finally reached a stage in my life to mostly accept my reading speed for what it is. Having said that....

    Here's what it was like reading at a blistering pace this past summer. 

    First of all, a book every other day is a LOT. There were definitely times when I felt like I was rushing through the books, there were others, where the pages just flew by. Part of that depends on the author's skill level. In general, Michael Connelly is easier to read than Anne Perry. But I like Anne Perry's work more. Agatha Christie can be very hit or miss. Some books, especially those with a more notorious reputation, The Secret of Chimneys, The Blue Train, The Big Four, were VERY hard to read. In fact, Chimneys was so hard to read it took me four days to get through the 200 ish pages of that book. That's where I first had the idea of telling the reader how many pages there were in the book. Michael Connelly on the other hand, never took more than two days to read, despite the fact his books were the longest of all of them that I read.

    Part of that may be that his work is a tad bit more modern, so he hits a modern readability scale a bit better than say, Agatha Christie, whose work is over a hundred years old now.  And part of it may be that he came from the newspaper industry. I clearly remember sitting in the fourth grade and being told that newspaper articles were intended to be read by people who had a sixth grade education. I don't know if that's still true today, but it was at the time Connelly started. It means when he was training as a writer, he trained to get these concepts across at an easily understandable level. He had no need, and indeed was discouraged, from using high concepts and complicated words. It could be why, I sometimes found myself reading an entire Connelly book in one day. 

    Anne Perry on the other hand, I feel should be read more slowly. It's not about readability with her. It's about absorbing the concepts and enjoying the turn of phrase. I felt rushed, not because it was hard to read her books, but because I felt I hadn't spent enough time basking in them. 

    Then there are the reviews. While writing so many reviews was good for me, the pace again felt rushed. I frequently wanted more time to research quotes to add to the review, and I didn't have it. And because I was reading and writing so much, I had to approach the review in a way that felt shallow. But having done it that way for so many, it's now difficult to break the habit. Expect to see the type of review evolve here over time. 

    Was it a good thing to have read so many books during the summer? 

    YES! 

   And I hope to conquer another big project on this blog next year. 

    Until then, go check out a book today! 

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