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filk

Do you stop to think?

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I was listening to book club Episode 0, and was surprised by the part of the conversation where the gang (nomenclature?) discussed being unable to keep up with Smiley's deductions in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. It made me wonder how people read books. Most of the time, when I read a book, I stop fairly often to sit back and think about what I've read, specifically if there is some puzzle or change of character to consider. However, I can imagine an argument being made that to stop and think to to surrender some of the authorial intent of the pacing. Presumably, an author expects at least that a chapter be read consecutively at a constant pace.

So my question is, do you guys stop and think when reading? If so, do you think it ever impacts your impression of the work? If not, why not? Is the pacing of a book, and possibly even the inability to "keep up" core to the medium, an intentional design of an author?

As an example, I just finished reading a Young Adult novel that I'd had recommended, Graceling. If I hadn't stopped and thought, the book probably would have struck me as mediocre. But I stopped to think quite often, and ended up loathing the book when I, in the middle, considered the motivations of the characters or the world around them.

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Yeah, I do, especially when I realize that a theme is being explored and I can't seem to grasp it. I sometimes do it while stirring a cup of coffee, or, more recently, while talking to my girlfriend, who claps her hands when I get the answer and even skips.

That having been said, sometimes I can't be bothered, and just find the story itself enjoyable.

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I usually only stop if I don't immediately get the subtext of what is being said or the character references something that I do not immediately remember

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I was about to reply with yes, but then I realised I'd speed read your post and went back to read it properly.

I enjoy books more if I do stop to contemplate, but often, after the halfway point I just power through. That can result in a faint, nagging, weightless feeling that a book is getting away from me. In most books though, a later event or reference to something will correct that.

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When I read a book or watch a movie and a character is forced to hold their breath, I will usually instinctively hold my breath and rush through that section. I have no idea why I do this, but it seems relevant to this discussion.

Generally I will try to pace my reading to be appropriate to experiencing the text. When I read Nietzsche, I will often sit back and ponder the impact of what he wrote (and usually come to the conclusion that Nietzsche was a pretentious and immature asshat, so you know), and when I read an action thriller I will read at a quick pace and take the information as it comes, usually not fully absorbing the events until the end. This has its ups and downs, but it's not really a conscious decision either way, it's just a reaction to the text.

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Being able to stop and think is one of the unique attributes of the written word. An author doesn't necessarily have to worry if the reader knows who a character is from their name, as the reader can always go back a few pages to refresh their memory, or the author can add an appendix (as in Game of Thrones).

With a film or a TV show (or play), it moves at its own pace, and you have to keep up. If the viewer can't remember who a character is, then it's a major problem. Alan Moore described the above difference as being one of the reasons he felt Watchmen could never be successfully translated into a film: He wrote it to specifically take advantage of the medium's unique attributes.

I can't imagine anyone reading and not stopping to think. Even if it's between when they put the book down to do something else and when they pick it up again. While I'm actually reading, I'll only stop if I don't think I've got everything. I hate the feeling Nach described, when you think get the nagging feeling you're not completely following what's happening.

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I stop to think in everything, I stop to think in regular podcast episodes and TV shows.

I guess I'm just very slow and easily distracted. I would LOVE to pause actual conversations with people to think "oh woops, I've been letting these words just wash over me for the passed 20 seconds, let's get back into this."

I really often re-start the paragraph I'm on after realising I've phased out.

Or sometimes if there's a hint that something smart's happening I'll stop to think about what the author's trying to communicate, like when a TV show zooms in on a flowerpot for 10 seconds, I'd probably pause to piece things together.

HOWEVER I watched a movie last week where I decided to not do that, because I figured I'd more enjoy watching it twice, and to pause every 2 minutes might ruin it. But I guess that's not as big of a deal with books.

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I've recently found the perfect compromise between acknowledging a memorable moment / phrase and keeping the momentum alive. I now take a phone photo of the paragraph. It's only a minor pause, and I can move on knowing the quotes will always be within reach, free to be revisited, analysed and internalised at a more appropriate time.

It certainly beats stopping to take notes. I had to give that up when I realised I was rewriting Wodehouse verbatim.

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I tend to take a lot less time when I'm reading pulpy genre fiction. There's a story to be consumed and the supporting text can feel superfluous. Ultimately though, this depends on my own (no doubt arrogant) determination of which texts are of value, and is probably hurting me in the long term.

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I tend to read straight through unless there's a moment where I'm thunderstruck by a crazy twist or event. I usually think about what I've read right after my reading session has ended. Then I keep thinking about it for days, and usually don't resume the story until I've had time to digest whatever I read.

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I tend to only stop and pause if something majorly dramatic has happened, say, if a character has been killed, or something has been revealed. If the book is really good it's often because I'm so shocked and I need a moment to mull over their death. If it's something I'm particularly into I stop and sort of "mourn" the death of the character for a couple of minutes. However, if it's something I'm not particularly enjoying it'll probably be a similar case as to what electricblue described.

I rarely find myself thinking about the book outside of when I'm actually reading the book, nor do I stop to think during a reading session. Whenever I read a book I get an overwhelming sense of urgency to just continue reading until I've had enough, and I think that stopping during reading would give me a nagging feeling of "you could have been reading more instead of wasting your time!"

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I've more or less ignored posts in this subforum, because I'm not following the bookcast. I'm not following it because I don't see myself as a reader, I've detailed this in an other thread already, but it looks like the subject is concerns me. I do stop to think, I stop to think a lot, and that's the reason why I don't read a lot of fiction, As for nonfiction I prefer to have a computer near to make notes when my train of thought starts rolling, This thinking of me is stopping me from reading fiction because it distracts me from story, I wander off. Most of the times I read I'm riding the train for a while (going to my parent or friends) and quite often I need to flip open my laptop to make notes of the train what left the station because of the stuff that I just read. Being a software developer I have not yet have had the need to pull a Tom Hall and have a whiteboard in the shower. This is because the stuff I think out in the shower cannot be expressed on a small whiteboard, but I do sometimes need to make notes after these eureka moments.

.... I've been thinking too much here, I've rewritten this paragraph a couple of times already (different content ever time). I can't really put down the right words I want to have here, but it's something along the line that people don't stop enough to think.

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I don't know.

Usually when I read a book I'm completely swept up in it, so much so that if I do spend a few moments not reading the page and thinking about what's occurred, I don't realise that I do so before continuing to read. I think the fact that I don't really stop to think and re-contextualise while reading means that I am less critical of a work than I could be.

On the plus side, a good book to me is the most immersive fictional experience there is, more than film or even games, I think.

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I definitely find myself doing this, often for fear I've missed something. I'll even re-read a page on occasion to ensure I didn't wander off mentally and am supposed to be lost as opposed to simply tired. I do a lot of my reading in bed, occasionally when very tired, which is probably a factor. I've never felt like I'm an especially quick reader, I tend to be pondering what I'm reading as I'm ingesting it, if I'm well-rested at the time, that is.

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