How do you read novels or other books?

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How do you read novels or texts?


I've been struggling with reading for a long time. There's quite a bit of reading i've been promising to do but haven't done it. It's partly motivation and it's partly fear of the vast amounts of books and information available on any one subject and the fear that there's not enough time to read some of it.

I want to get serious about reading, from start to finish.


So, how do you do it?
 
If you want to get in the habit of reading, I'd suggest more loosely structured books that don't require cover-to-cover progress. Try some of the "for Dummies" series (they make for really good historical reference books when you get to the more specific ones). Then you can get used to reading chapters that look interesting. Later you will start to notice natural sequences of sections that make the most sense when read in order, and you can gradually start on longer, more rigid texts.

Or you could just find an extremely involving fiction novel that you can't put down. :D
 
for me its all about schedule and interest. if you're reading something you're not all that interested in obviously this is going to be difficult to make yourself do and can be more of a chore than leisure time.

schedule in terms of where can i fit in half an hour or more in my daily routine, and more specifically; when will i need a little time to myself (this helps me stick to it). for me, i love reading after lunch bc it is usually a low energy period for me and lets me digest my food and still remain productive. and also b4 bedtime though the only problem with this is that sometimes you may not want to go to sleep, lol (:
 
This book I am reading now is fairly dense. Sometimes in tedious books I find myself wondering how much longer the damn chapter is.

I have forced myself to stick with some books, there have been a couple that I have put down either because I didn't have enough prerequisite knowledge for it to engage me properly or just because it was written in a way that really didn't work for me.

Sometimes I just persevere, sometimes I try to reflect on the topic at hand (see the big picture) which will get me more engaged and sort of pique my interest which helps it go faster.

Whenever I read Nietzsche I am in the dictionary constantly and also reflecting a lot so progression is very slow, but I just have to remind myself that there is no time limit, especially on a good book.
 
I ask questions, starting with the title, and keep reading until all questions are answered and I cannot come up with any more.
 
read the last two pages first, then read the rest of the book to figure out how everything ends up the way it does.
 
NeverAmI said:
This book I am reading now is fairly dense. Sometimes in tedious books I find myself wondering how much longer the damn chapter is.

I have forced myself to stick with some books, there have been a couple that I have put down either because I didn't have enough prerequisite knowledge for it to engage me properly or just because it was written in a way that really didn't work for me.

Sometimes I just persevere, sometimes I try to reflect on the topic at hand (see the big picture) which will get me more engaged and sort of pique my interest which helps it go faster.

Whenever I read Nietzsche I am in the dictionary constantly and also reflecting a lot so progression is very slow, but I just have to remind myself that there is no time limit, especially on a good book.
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Yes, I have to do that also when i am reading the beliefs of a philosopher. i am currently reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius for my Honors European history class, but I am struggling with getting into it because I have to read it before the 17th and would probably enjoy the work more if there wasn't a deadline
 
I pursue two types of reading ... pleasure and technical. The pleasure reading is mind candy for me ... something I enjoy and have a difficult time putting down. I like certain genres and authors. I do have a habit of skipping ahead. Sometimes I read the last chapter first. It doesn't spoil things for me, but rather gives me a better understanding of the nuances and plot twists as the book progresses. Odd, I know.

Technical books are sometimes a bit harder for me to make it through. I often find myself in front of a computer trying out the different things outlined in the book. That takes time, so the pace of reading is much slower than pleasure reading. I get interrupted a lot by the pace of work and life, and sometimes don't get back to the books until much later ... and I feel that I must re-read them to get back to the point where I left off. That makes getting through them difficult at times.

If you want to become a better reader, try to find something that you enjoy first ... then work your way to things you feel would be elightening, but might not really grab your interest right away.
 
Anita said:
How do you read novels or texts?


I've been struggling with reading for a long time. There's quite a bit of reading i've been promising to do but haven't done it. It's partly motivation and it's partly fear of the vast amounts of books and information available on any one subject and the fear that there's not enough time to read some of it.

I want to get serious about reading, from start to finish.


So, how do you do it?
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i'm the same! it's actually been a long time since i've read a book cover to cover, i've been trying to get back into it. i think it'll help if you read multiple books at once, that way when one gets boring or isn't making sense you can switch to another :P a schedule might even help, though knowing me i'd make one and never follow it xD
 
TheLastMohican said:
Or you could just find an extremely involving fiction novel that you can't put down. :D
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those are the best =D i'd easily forgo sleep and sanity for the pleasure of reading a really good novel xD just wish the ratio of amazing novels to mediocre or just plain crap ones wasn't so abysmal!
 
Thanks for all the responses. Good suggestions.

April said:
i'm the same! it's actually been a long time since i've read a book cover to cover, i've been trying to get back into it. i think it'll help if you read multiple books at once, that way when one gets boring or isn't making sense you can switch to another :P a schedule might even help, though knowing me i'd make one and never follow it xD
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This^. Sometimes, i get so easily bored with one and pushing myself to continue is difficult. So, i think reading different books may help. Thx.
 
Very slowly. I'd like to think I'm a good reader (at least literate) but I like reading a book as though I am in the text with the words or as though someone is narrating it to me. I can't simply read.

On one hand, my memory of books is nearly photographic, on the other hand, it takes me as long to read a book as it would to narrate one.

Being an English major in part of college was a nightmare for me. So many books, so little time - no choice but to skim. I was average at best and retained nearly nothing. On the othe rhand, I can pick out books I read nearly 20 years ago for fun and recall parts of chapters like I just read them (Piers Anthony used to be my favorite).
 
Anita said:
How do you read novels or texts?

I've been struggling with reading for a long time. There's quite a bit of reading i've been promising to do but haven't done it. It's partly motivation and it's partly fear of the vast amounts of books and information available on any one subject and the fear that there's not enough time to read some of it.

I want to get serious about reading, from start to finish.

So, how do you do it?
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I used to have a long "to-read" list/pile and it was daunting. I think what helped me most was accepting that I'm not going to be able to read everything I want to read. I used to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of texts I wanted to delve into. Accepting a limitation on this led me to consider carefully what I add to my list/pile, as I enjoy picking up anything that seems remotely interesting and adding it to said pile (baaad idea). In spite of the careful selection, I've still had to accept that I might not be able to (or want to) read everything on my list or finish it; and in giving myself permission not to and by easing up, I've gotten to enjoy what I do read. To add to that, I've also had to accept not being interested in certain books that I wanted to be interested in but were a chore to read in terms of subject matter or style.

I usually read from front to back, although some books are better skimmed. I also often have several books on the go, as it affords a nice diversity to suit my moods. And I vary easy reading material with more difficult texts. The easier or lighter texts can be a great way to get back into reading.
 
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For me, reading depends on a good handful of factors, including the material I'm reading, the mood I'm in, and what's the reason I'm reading said material. My method differs from combination to combination. Currently, I have a very long "to-read list" of nearly 700 novels, including school textbooks. I've put aside everything non-school-related until I get a good grip on my situation.

When it comes to reading novels start to finish, I'll admit, there are some novels I would have put down 50 pages in if I didn't commit to finishing the book :m100: The first case to come to mind is "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," which is a novel I'm glad I saw through to the end. Whether I like a novel, I try to make myself finish it to at least see the resolution of the story. For academic materials, I take the book one chapter at a time, which makes the overall book seem much less overwhelming to me. You can take that approach with fiction, too, although I find it hard to justify that approach to myself (that's a long story that I don't feel like sharing).

Even if a book seems like more than you can bear, you must persevere.
 
When reading non fiction books you should try a technique called previewing.

What you do is start at the beginning and read the index. Then go through the chapters only reading chapter headings, sub-chapter headings and bolded text etc. Basically read anything but the main body of the text. DO NOT be tempted to read the main text even if a chapter catches your eye. Look at any diagrams but don't study them in depth.

Go through the entire book in one sitting like this. Don't be tempted to quit part way through. This should take you around 20 minutes.

When finished doing this put the book down and leave it until the next day (optional)

Then read the book normally. You will find it SO much easier to read and you will remember significantly more of the book. I can't stress enough how awesome this is. The difference is immense.
 
Good suggestions. thx for the responses everyone. :)
 
[MENTION=472]Poetic Justice[/MENTION] ... that's a very intriguing system. I'm going to give that a try soon. Thanks for sharing it.
 
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