I'm becoming obsessive compulsive about reading...

[hobo_baggins]

im sure theres alot of worse things I could be obsesses about, but I feel like there are so many classics out there I have yet to read that I just want to absorb as much as I can as fast as I can....

I've compiled a stack of books in my room to read that reaches my waist...and have a few hundred more I want to buy.

Unfortunately I'm a slow reader...anyone have any tips on reading faster? does that speed reading crap really work?

strangely enough, im getting the same way about RPG video games, I have a shitload of them I haven't beaten, and now i play them constantly...between reading and games, i do nothing else with my days.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. Don't worry about reading faster

It won't necessarily enhance the experience.

It's not how much you read, it's how much of it you understand.

[hobo_baggins]

2. thats true, and i make sure i retain everything...

but all those damn speedreading infomercials say you'll read faster, and you'll retain more...im thinking they're bogus

[Broken_Hero]

3. I get the same way at times...

One of my new years resolutions was to read more, and stay away from the internet... I went out and bought 14 S. King books, and two clancys, two grishams, and some Koontz, and i cut through all of them like a band saw, damn, i was done with all the King/Clancy's in January...

As far as reading faster...don't, read at your own pace, reading faster is somewhat overrated...as long as you retain what you read, maintain a comfortable pace...

I know what you mean by RPG's, but I usually beat them quick, but then i go back and try to gain all the experience points, and try making my guy/woman/wizard the top bad ass...

[hobo_baggins]

4. yeah, I'm all about makin em badass, thats what eats up my time

[Broken_Hero]

5. Yeah...:)

I'm still on Diablo for the ps1. I got my wizard up to level 37, and yet, i continue on and on and on, i want to get him as high as the game will let me... I am also that way on Baldurs Gate, Dark Alliance...but, its a good way to kill time...

[hobo_baggins]

6. Yeah, right now im playing xenogears, kingdom hearts, baldurs gate 2

and after that I have about 5 other games i wanna kick some ass in

[Broken_Hero]

8. damn...now, don't laugh at me...okay...:)

But, I bought Devil May Cry 2, like three years ago, and I have yet, to play it once, because i'm so wrapped up in Diablo...don't laugh, i know, i have beaten diablo countless times on the Hell level, but there is just something about the game, and gaining that every importnat level up... Damn, i should log off, and go enjoy my DMC2, right now, shit, i hear DMC3 is all ready out...i'm such a slacker...

[hobo_baggins]

16. haha, i do the exact same thing...

i've played xenogears 3 times already, and im playing it again, because i wanna make sure i don't miss anything, because I want to start xenosaga once im done...and i'll probably play that 3 times before i jump to xenosaga 2.

[WCGreen]

7. I'm trying to read fifty books this year....

So far, I have completed seven and have three in progress at this moment...

But this is my busiest time of the year....

So, I will pick up the slack later.....

[hobo_baggins]

10. what books have you read this year?

right now im currently reading the moon is a harsh mistress, 1984, euripides collected works...and after that in my stack i have, faust by goethe, wuthering heights, anton chekovs complete plays, war and peace(which will take me 2 months alone), some kafka in there too...etc

[WCGreen]

17. Will in the World.. A Biography of Sheakespeare....

Ship of Fools....

Nickel and Dimed.....

Sarah, a fictitious account of Abraham's Wife....

Take the Connolie... A collection of Sarah Vowell essays...

The name of the Rose.....

Misquoting Jesus.....

[NMMNG]

9. I can't say the speed reading stuff they advertise on tv works

But there are legitimate speed-reading courses out there. I took two semesters of such a course in college and it helped me increase my speed (which had already been good) noticeably without detriment to my comprehension. You may want to see if your local community college has anything like that rather than the infomercial stuff.

[hobo_baggins]

11. thanks! i'll definately look into that

somehow i feel alot more comfortable taking a course from a college, than buying an infomercial tape.

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. For literature, forgo the speed reading --

literature - good literature, anyway - is meant to be savored, enjoyed, and relished. Every turn of phrase, the imagery, the story-telling should be enjoyed, tasted, smelled, and one should practically have sex with the words, slow and easy.

Speed reading is only for non-fiction, IMO.

Especially if you are reading true classics, like Hemingway, Proust, Twain, Angelou, Wells, etc.

[hobo_baggins]

13. yeah, im reading all that...so im thinking i should just take my time

i was looking up speed reading on the net, and it doesn't seem as good as it sounds, they suggest jumping around, skipping pages, etc...it just ain't right

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. Speed reading is only good for getting information.

Not for enjoying a story.

[hobo_baggins]

15. thats what im quickly discovering

Fuck speed reading

[eyesroll]

18. Heh...I can't make myself slow down.

Apparently, I'm a "visual reader." 900+ wpm, regardless. I don't vocalize the words or hear them in my head. I just see them (whole paragraphs or pages at a time) and move on. Even if I slow down deliberately and try to hear the words, I end up picking up the pace once I get into it. Even (good) fiction.

This made reading out loud difficult when I was little, and my teachers kept telling me I wasn't supposed to use my finger or a pencil to guide myself...but that was the only way I could actually focus on one word at a time.

I suppose this will be a big help in law school, because it'll cut my expected reading time way down, even with note-taking, re-reading, and "what the hell was that about?"-ing.

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. Hey - if that's your natural reading speed, then so be it.

I imagine you can take in novels at a higher rate than most people, and perhaps still enjoy them just as much.

I'm only against artificially inflating one's reading speed with a novel or other fiction, because then I think a lot of the beauty IS lost. The story and plot aren't lost; but the beauty of the words, which is the whole fun of reading a novel, I think get lost.

[Goblinmonger]

21. Amen, my brother, amen

It would be a crying shame to read Gatsby fast. Angelou has to be savored like fine cognac. I can't even imagine reading Joyce fast. (I just downloaded Ulysses on my iRiver so I can reread it at my leisure without having to carry my well-worn, written in copy from home)

[bettyellen]

19. obsessive compulsive about fiction?

yeah, i could see that happening to you.