Comments on: Nick Douglas: Skim is for Wimps

By: That Was the Week That Formerly Was : Journeyman

That Was the Week That Formerly Was : Journeyman — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:25:46 +0000

[...] incidentally makes a satisfactory transition (not at all tortured and freewheeling) to Nick Douglas’s post from Tuesday. This one’s all about reading attentively and making cross-connections between [...]

By: Infinite Jest: How a book should work

Infinite Jest: How a book should work — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:53:14 +0000

[...] via Infinite Summer » Blog Archive » Nick Douglas: Skim is for Wimps. [...]

By: Heather Ann

Heather Ann — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:57:45 +0000

the disappointment at page 223 quickly counteracted by the deductive satisfaction of the next sixteen pages

I’m already finding it hard to read only 75 pages a week. I get to the end of a heart-breaking section and want to stop there to savour it, but I accidentally glimpse the first sentence of the next section, a section on a totally different topic, and it sweeps me right back in.

By: Elinstar

Elinstar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:58:45 +0000

The three bookmark system works great, I must say, highly recommended. And I agree with you, I find it sad, and only a little funny in parts. I am also not intimidated by its size, especially now that I’ve gotten through what I hope is the really hard part!

By: Elinstar

Elinstar — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:54:06 +0000

This is my first time through, and I’m actually looking forward to reading it again, since the first 250 or so were so confusing, and I’ve heard the second time around is much more satisfying. I’m not a skimmer, I read every word, sometimes more than once. I plug through the hard stuff. My sister can skim, she got that gene. I did not.

By: Vanity

Vanity — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:20:00 +0000

I tend to be a skimmer, when I find myself skimming, I make sure I go back and reread. I’m getting lost ALL THE TIME skipping around to read the end notes, or realizing I’ve been on autopilot. I need to get started on a three bookmark system! I am not intimidated by the book’s size, but the complexity is something else. I find the book overwhelmingly sad, not so funny.

By: Tizzle

Tizzle — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:50:52 +0000

I can’t help but skim. It’s my reading style. I skip ahead to the end of any page or section that has a one sentence ending. Sometimes when I’m listening to a book on tape in which I don’t already know what’s going to happen, I look up on wikipedia so I can know, now. But I do go back as soon as I satisfy my intense need to know what’s about to happen and read it slower.

I also skim over graphic parts. I don’t re-read those. I dislike graphic violence and get squeamish about gross stuff. I did read all of Poor Tony’s withdrawal, but let it slide in one ear, and out the other to a certain extent.

I really wish this copy I have was not my friend’s, because then I could highlight things I really liked. She’ll never read it, and her husband has a copy, which is why I’ve been borrowing it for 6 years, but I still can’t ruin it.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:18:42 +0000

I have to come out in favor of NOT skimming. Wallace’s language is as important to the story as the content (at least it seems this way to me on my first time in). The endnotes about prescription drugs made me crazy. But the endnotes control the flow of ideas like the pauses control the flow of the notes in music.

When I first decided to join this journey I hit this site and prepared to settle in for the long haul. I survived Moby Dick a few years ago and made it most of the way thru Leviathan (not modernized). I could handle anything. I sat down. Two bookmarks, with a third nearby, just in case. I had the kids in bed, the dog out and my husband in the other room. I was ready. I have never laughed so hard over a book in my life. If I could quit my job long enough to finish by reading non-stop, I would. This is not a “difficult” book. The language is beautiful, the characters fully reaized and the concepts intriguing. In fact, I am done here now so I can finish several more pages before I put the kids to bed tonight.

By: blayne and simple / reading and thinking

blayne and simple / reading and thinking — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:29:29 +0000

[...] post got me to thinking this [...]

By: ray gunn

ray gunn — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:05:14 +0000

I am skimming everyone’s replies to this awesome post, which I did not skim. Also, glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks of The Neverending Story on occasion, albeit with slight embarrassment. I mean, Orin? Right?

Anyway, you can’t call yourselves endurance bibliophiles and skim through the tougher sections unless you make and follow through on a promise to go back and read the skimmed sections. You’re only cheating yourselves. (Sorry, I’ve always wanted to say that, but I’m not a teacher or sports coach, so I’ve never had the opportunity.)