How do you read?

[L. Jay Echoes]

I'm posting this here because it's not about a specific book, but rather, how to approach reading.

If you're like most people, I figure you read books straight through. That doesn't work for me. My concentration is so tentative that I'll get through one paragraph and then my mind will enter orbit for the next three. So I've switched to three separate approaches:

1. Switch stories when my mind wanders.

2. Read several books at once, using chapters or segments as the switching points.

3. Reread the same book/chapter/story twice over the same couple of months.

What are you guys' approach to reading? Do you play any mindgames to help yourselves concentrate?

[Nova Starpaws]

I read EXTREMELY quickly. I hate class readings. "Oh you're done with the first chapter? I'm done with the book." I'm only a sophmore in high school and I have a higher than college reading level.

[Michen_S]

I don't READ stories in books. I VISUALISE them. Turn the words on paper into a movie, playing inside my head. Voice and everything. If I don't, I tend to lose interest as well. Not a very detailed one, but enough to imagine how the story flows.

[Romulan_Furry]

^^

Basically how I read. It's all played in my head like a movie.

[anoni]

I struggle to read fiction personally, it takes a lot of time (I'm not a super speedy reader) so I do have trouble keeping attention and keeping comfortable (Finding the best reading position when you have bad eye sight is hard). Was thinking of going to audiobooks though.

Textbooks and stuff I just read on the PC and usually follow along with pen and paper

[Alessia Starfurr]

My reading level is excellent one of the few things not effected by my brain tumor and susequent lack of education. I read  book all the way through and if it gets too boring or too late i put in a book mark so i know exactly where i was then pickup later, sadly though recently i haven't had any good books to read I also prefer paper books to digital so, yeah ,but i will read digital if I Have to.

I do hate reading textbooks for school and such ,thankfully i'm beyond that point so... yeah, i still manage  to read some stories people have typed up like on Deviant and stuff so it's not like i have a limited amount it's more of what i'm interested in.

^^

Basically how I read. It's all played in my head like a movie.

so i pretty much do the same as these above. I like to insert myself as a observer to a visual story, this also sadly leads to me feeling like I lack detail in my own typings.

[George]

I read EXTREMELY quickly. I hate class readings. "Oh you're done with the first chapter? I'm done with the book." I'm only a sophmore in high school and I have a higher than college reading level.

I don't READ stories in books. I VISUALISE them. Turn the words on paper into a movie, playing inside my head. Voice and everything. If I don't, I tend to lose interest as well. Not a very detailed one, but enough to imagine how the story flows.

I lay my head in the book and absorb the information directly. It's like LIVING the story.

[L. Jay Echoes]

Ha ha ha! And at the same time, ew.

Anyway, I've changed my approach to reading backwards. I first read the last paragraph of a chapter or story. I read the preceding one, then on to the next. So the order goes like this:

Last paragraph. Next to last, last. Preceding, next to last, last. Preceding, next, next, last.

And on down the line. Having a very nomadic mind, I doubt I'll ever fix my attention to the degree I want to, so to absorb as much as possible, I read the same thing multiple times.