A while back someone sent me this picture on my BBM
I of course laughed. And then suddenly remembered a rather odd event of my life.
For starters I am usually never jealous of anyone no matter what their achievement or attributes are. Yet there is someone I have always been jealous of. I have no idea why because as far as I see I managed to do better than her in all aspects. But still something about this person has always evoked a weird sense of competition in me.
Moving on. So the story is that this person was an avid reader. And so was I. But the difference was she was much much faster reader as compared to me. And one day out of the blue I took on the self imposed challenge of becoming a quicker reader than her.
Yes I managed to achieve that. But do you also know that this is the only thing about me which I also hate now? Books don’t seem to last on me. I read them at breakneck speed and they get over as quickly as I started. It has now become a curse.
So the moral of the story is that anything born out of negativity or a destructive sense of achievement can never evolve into a happy end.
Because the grass is greener on the other side provided it continues to be the other’s side.
You tell me how fast can you read? And what do you think, is being a fast reader a boon or a bane?
I am taking part in the Write Tribe Festival of Words 8th-14th December 2013 and this post has been written for Day 3 which has the prompt as books.
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Depends upon the book…. if it’s really gripping then can finish it off very fast or else I would take my whole life.
I believe that holds true for us all 🙂
Richa…love the moral and message you have conveyed so effortlessly here! 🙂
Thanks Aditi 🙂 I am glad you liked it 🙂
Most of the time I read faster than most other people do, and I have realized that it is because I use a skimming technique where I tend to register the key words in each sentence rather than look at the grammar, punctuation. However, this does result in situations where I have to re-read sentences to allow them to sink into me a little more thus reducing my overall speed.
Yes that happens with me too. Often I have to read pages again to understand better as well. A lot of rushdie’s make me do that..
There are some books which I read pretty fast and there are some which I love to soak and enjoy each and every word. For me this is genre and writer specific. Love the message you shared! 🙂
Thanks Shilpa 🙂 yes genres, authors and sometimes also situation do affect speed of reading… agreed.
It really depends on the book… Like the one I started today morning. I’m almost 80% complete and its fabulous and gripping and scary!!
Some, I keep them around for days.. reading a page here and there and then give it back to the library! :-/
totally agree with the message you have shared! 🙂
I can now never really return books. Even if I borrow then I have to pick them up for myself as well..
Very true. And I agree with sheetal. I can finish a book in a day if it’s interesting or take my entire life 🙂
hehe or not finish it and dump it, I have done that too!
Ha Ha Ha Ha! Ayyo somehow thi spost made me burst out laughng 😛
hehe and why may I ask lady?
What a happy curse – move to a Kindle! 😉
Already moved. But then somehow ‘real’ books still appeal slightly more 😀
Ah! Some passions are the same all over. The fastest I have ever done is reading 2 M & B in 6 hrs 😛 There are some books which took a long time such as Midnight Children.But other Indian authors speeds up the process 😉
Oh midnight children is my favourite!! I lurve that book. And M & B is a great fast read always 😀
The grass is greener on the other side because it maybe fertilized with crap.
haha 😀 yeah yeah
Love the moral of your story – that’s food for thought. I also speed read. But some books need to be read at a slower pace.
Thanks Suzy, yes some books are always better off as slow reads 🙂
A post from which I dont think anybody expected a message 🙂 I read fast too, more often than not I do not keep the book down till I complete it. The one instance where i was rather frustrated with myself for having read to fast was “Sense of an Ending”. I should have read that one slow the first time, now how much ever I might read it again now, it doesnt help me analyse it as well as I probably would have the first time 😐 Btw, I do agree with you, the fun of reading a “real” book just cannot be replaced 🙂
I agree with you, sense of an ending was a deliberate slow read for me too. Because if one would not do that then the message of the book will be completely lost. And then a re-read would never have that effect 🙂
Richa , I only read mystery and thrillers at a fast pace as I am eager to know whodunnit but the other stuff though I read fast I take time to read , understand and notice the smilies, metaphors , punctuations ,marks , grammar etc.
Yes often thrillers and mysteries tend to attract a greater speed than the rest genre
I think its all about getting through the first few pages for me, if I can do that then its super fast.
Because if it doesn’t get in the first few reads then it loses interest…
Only today, I read a post on how the motivation factor behind anything we do needs to be positive. And here you are saying the same thing 🙂
I usually savor every line in a book. So I usually don’t speed my way through any book. But if it is a gripping read, I do that.
Well I am glad that my post was in sync with the positive motivation you read about, kind of serves the purpose of every writing then…