Translator....

Maybe not uncommon where you reside, but every last person I speak to seems to think that "well over 100" is quite a few when you're talking only reading a couple of hours a day. And, yes, they're usually rather long books, too. And, yes, I speed read, but that's mostly because it's how I read, not because I want to get through a book faster! Now, if I didn't have a full time job and enjoyed that 8 hours of sleep a night.....oh, the possibilities are endless!!

Oh, Translator....

BTW....I actually agree with you that 100 a year isn't that much, I just need to find more time to read more....hmmmmm maybe more breaks at work! It's GOOD to be the boss!

I still wonder how much of what you read do you remember, or have an emotional affection for. Is it more a love of reading than what it is you are reading?

Library,

I love to read and I retain quite a bit of what I read; of course, it all depends on how good the book was (in my opinion....what I think is good others may consider total trash!). I can remember details of books I read in middle and high school - and that was a LONG time ago!! F451 I read during middle school and haven't read it since, but I can still remember the major points of the book - so, okay, sometimes it gets jumbled up with the movie, as I've seen that a lot more recently!

I have to agree with Mr. Dark. I used to read as many books as I could, as fast as I could, just to say 'look how much i read.' But now I've learned to take my time and enjoy the words on the page...not only read them, but fully understand them. It's not the books you touch--but the books that touch you...

Oh, I don't read simply for the sake of reading. I just naturally read very fast and if a book REALLY grabs me, it's extremely difficult to put down....which has led to being up until 4 am doing the "just one more chapter" thing! My way of really enjoying what I think is a good book is re-reading it. Then there's the anticipation of reading one of my favorite authors, which I do by keeping those books at the bottom of my to-be-read pile (until I can't stand it anymore and HAVE to read it!) What's the point of reading if you're not enjoying it? Other than assigned reading for classwork (of which I haven't had to do in a LONG time!), that is.

Superchick18. I liked the way you put your last line.

How nice to read a post NOT related to Michael Moore . . . I tried to throw a post out there on Bradbury's forward to Harry Harryhausen's new book, but just couldn't generate any interest ( I even topped it myself -- how desperate is that!? )-- kind of like my dates . . .

;-)

[This message has been edited by Mr. Dark (edited 06-23-2004).]

I think my retantion is pretty good. I tend to forget the names of the main characters sometimes, after a few years, but usually the plot is as vivid as it was during the actual time I read it. As for emotional attachment - I can;t judge that; I don;t know what others feel when they read books. I know that I feel tremendously happy, and if there is a particular book I liked, I push it onto my friends until they read it.

Cheers, Translator

Thank you Dark and I agree with you Translator. I have a tendency to get extremely into a story and not be able to put it down. My problem is, whenever a story gets like that I start to read so fast I lose what's going on. It was especially bad in school whenever I had to read plays. I would get so into what was going on with the plot that I would just read the dialogue and not who was saying what. I would have these visuals in my head of who the characters were and therefore not need the names as much. But then when test day came, I was in deep trouble when they'd ask who said what... I could tell you anything you need to know about the character's conversation about {insert topic} but the names absolutely evaded me.

Since then I've tried to learn to slow down durring the exciting parts and be sure to catch everything. I'm currently trying to go back and read all the "classics" I was forced to read in high school to enjoy them at my own leisure. It's actually proving to be quite wonderful...books like Huck Finn and the Great Gatsby are actually quite enjoyable when you don't have to read a chapter a night.

There are very few things more rewarding than getting totally lost in a books's universe. All of a sudden hours have passed, and you've been . . . where?

It is such a cool experience.

Mr. Dark,

I agree completely! And I'm almost sad when I've finished a book I'm really engrossed in because I know that the trip is over (unless I re-read the book, which has been known to happen with relative frequency). Although, I've been noticing more and more grammatical/spelling errors in just about every book I read.....and it drives me insane! What happened to proof readers??

What's happened to proof readers? Good question. I have noticed the same thing. I'm always especially disappointed when I see them in University Press publications.

I suspect at least two factors: (1) Reduced willingness to spend money on this, (2) Increased reliance on automated spell checks, etc.

I'm not in the industry, so these are uneducated guesses. Any publishers out there?

Could it also be a general comment on the state of the education invested in by the current crop of folks who might serve as Proof Readers? The rules of English, so maintained by the truly educated for so long, and a mark thereof of having received an education, lost much of its emphasis when excellence became irrelevent to graduation standards. I have seen many examples of educators who can't spell and thus, can't seem to provide examples for their students. Move 'em on, move 'em out. Rawhide!

Anyone know how I can become a professional proof reader? I'm always spotting mistakes in books. How can I get paid to do this?

Groon,
I wonder about that all the time! If I had a penny for every error I see, I'd be a rich woman!!