LITERATURE: Reading Well

I cannot be sure that it is the level of quality in the books and stories I am reading now, or if it is due to the learning of reading story (tx to se), or a combination of both, but I find that I read more slowly, savoring the story and seeking more than an entertainment or brief escape into another world.

It seemed that I used to be able to read a book in a day or two–of course with concentration and doing little else, but with the goal of getting from here to there; the beginning to the end.  This is naturally the point of any book, but there is sadly overlooked what is learned in between.  In the past few novels, I find myself noticing not just fine writing, but some meaning that might have eluded me in a quicker reading.  Before, I was almost unable to read a few pages and put something down; odd, because this is often used by some as evidence of a "good" book, a page-turner.  Yet I find just the opposite.  What I consider a good story appears to be one that makes me stop and think about it, enjoy it or ponder it, rather than race through to find out what happens.

It is sort of like a special day that you don’t want to end.