• In total there are 17 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 17 guests (based on users active over the past 60 minutes)
    Most users ever online was 789 on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:08 am

How does it feel when you read?

The perfect space for valuable discussions that may not neatly fit within the other forums.
Forum rules
Do not promote books in this forum. Instead, promote your books in either Authors: Tell us about your FICTION book! or Authors: Tell us about your NON-FICTION book!.

All other Community Rules apply in this and all other forums.
VMLM
Experienced
Posts: 110
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 7:12 am
13
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 52 times

How does it feel when you read?

Unread post

Hey guys, after having thought a little about what I classify as fun, thanks to this thread.. I started thinking about why I find reading so enjoyable. I'd never thought of it as "fun" before, because I associate that word to something else entirely. But I undeniably find reading relaxing and desirable. I do it a lot, and when I'm stressed out it's one of the things I fantasize about doing. (i.e.: "Boy, when I have time I'm going to sit down and relax while reading X")
And it got me thinking about what it feels like for me when I'm reading.

A brain-dump on how I feel while reading can be found at the thread I just linked.. I'll quote it here for ease of viewing:
When I'm enjoying a book several things happen. On one plane I'm concentrating on imagining what I'm reading, trying to construct the layout of where stuff is happening, who the characters are and how they look, trying to act out in my head how they're moving or acting, what they look like, what they sound like...

On another level (don't tell me what I mean by level, I just get this feeling I'm doing several things at the same time, or in rapid succession) I'm critically appraising the book from a narrative, literary and interpretative perspective:

how aesthetically pleasing is the language? is it evocative? lyrical? Does it convey an accent, a mood, a state of mind?

how aesthetically pleasing, interesting, deep and well-thought out is the premise? Does the "spirit" of the book inspire me in some way? why? what does it reveal of the author? (I tend to try and imagine the author, and wonder how likeable, or how interesting he might be) how do the themes reverberate with me?

how is the story structured? is it predictable? what's going to happen next? is it intense? mysterious? dramatic? are the situations and actions contrieved? natural? is the story stereotypical? intentionally atypical?

And on another level I'm intermittently thinking about the story from a birds-eye view, sort of thinking about it in terms of other stuff currently on my mind.... sort of linking it, interpreting it...

These things don't happen immediately or all at once... the experience is very engrossing, and seem to happen somewhat subconsciously while I'm reading, so that I'm focused on the narrative and on the "imagining" while I'm reading but somewhere in the back of my mind the rest is going on by itself. Then insights of what I read start coming to me while I'm doing something else.. I call it "digesting" the book, and it happens continuously during the time that I'm reading the book.. I'll stop reading, digest for a while, and then when I go back to read more I'll realize something, and start looking at what I've read from a new perspective...

When I really like a book, it's like my mind catches fire and I can't stop thinking about it. It feels like I'm touching on something liminal to my understanding, to my consciousness... I guess it's what I think an epiphany must feel like. And then there's times when I can't wrap my head around why I like or dislike a book, or why it's got me so excited, and the "digestion" process sort of extends, and I can't stop worrying about it; sort of like "indigestion" xD.. because it won't let me think about anything else until I've figure out what it is that's got me so worked up... and I'll have to go back and reread some part of the book that I think is important.

It's obvious after having typed that out why I tend to enjoy narratives more than non-fiction and expositional texts: these are meant to be analysed and understood, while what I usually look for in a book is a personally meaningful narrative.

Anyway, this has made me curious to know what reading feels like for others. Is it the same? Why do you read? Is it "fun" for you? What do you feel while reading? Does the description of why you read and how it feels give you any insights on why it is that you "enjoy" some books more than others?
Last edited by VMLM on Mon Jan 06, 2014 1:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
christinamartine
Almost Comfortable
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:35 pm
10
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: How does it feel when you read?

Unread post

Awesome! I heard once/or read once somewhere that if you read books as a child, you developed the ability to really take in the story with all your senses. If you didn't read as a child, you probably didn't develop this ability. So people who love to read... they love to read because they have an extra sensory super power haha! Sweet!
Post Reply

Return to “Everything Else”