Sophia Nguyen had an article in The Washington Post about voracious readers. I enjoyed reading about people who read 300 books a year. I’m just not that kind of reader.
My friend Alvin can read a book a day. When he was a boy, his mother insisted he take a speed-reading course. It changed his life. One of the distinctive features of his personality is that he goes through several books a week. We have a weekly conversation, and we seldom talk about the weather.
I wish I could read quickly, but it’s just not in me. I tend to think and brood while reading, making me a slow reader. I frequently put down a book to make notes. (I never sit down with a book. I sit down with a book, a pencil and some index cards.) I’m a plodder, and that plodding quality is also a distinctive feature of personality, I suppose.
Still, I’m always reading. I claim to be a voracious reader, just not a fast one.
• Sources: Sophia Nguyen, “Want to finish more books? Super readers share their tips.”; The Washington Post, March 30, 2024.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/03/30/super-readers-how-to-read-more/
I saw that article and wondered about why being a “super reader” should be associated with quantity. And when one of the interviewees mentioned her American Girl books -- sheesh.
ReplyDeleteI thought of Eric Hoffer's story about being snowed in one winter with just one book in the cabin: Montaigne's "Essays." Hoffer thought of that experience — weeks with one book — as his education.
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