Have you ever . . .

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Travis J. Smith

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Skimmed through a great book to get to the end, only to feel you cheated yourself and should have paced yourself. You have that let-down you get when you know you've finished a good book, but it's even worse because you know you lessened the experience somewhat and even if you re-read it, it won't be the same?

I'm afraid I'm going to do that with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I put a hold on it a while back and I can only have it for a week, and I don't have tons of time to read, so I'm rushing at times and I love the book. I'm picky about what books I buy, and I rarely re-read books, but I plan to both buy and re-read this and I'm not even finished. So far, I concur whole heartedly with King's blurb on the back.

I wasn't sure where to put this, so if it doesn't fit here, I apologize. I'm just interested in seeing if anyone has had similar experiences.
 

citymouse

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No. However, I have read a book fully only to fall on the floor in gales of laughter mixed with anger (I've been robbed!) and confusion (Is this guy for real?). The book in question? Dan Brown's Angels And Demons.

BTW this is not an attempt to open a thread on Dan Brown or his books!
C
 

Vincent

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Sigh, yes...
 

Shara

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Yes, sadly I do this a lot and don't seem to be able to slow down my reading speed in spite of it.

Shara
 

Travis J. Smith

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I struggle to get my reading speed up at times. When I'm really into a story I'll be chugging right along and pulled into the story, pretty much unaware of the little distractions that would otherwise get on my nerves, so I push for that when I'm going along at a snail's pace and tend to just skim or speed read in an attempt to, resulting in the phenomenon I described.
 

ChaosTitan

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Nope. The closest I've come is glancing to the last line of the chapter I'm currently reading (and that's only if it's within a few paragraphs and I just can't help glancing down or over).
 

tehuti88

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If only that were a problem of mine!

I can't skim things quickly. The Internet has ruined my attention span, so now when I read, I read the same sentence over and over and over again, convinced that my brain isn't thoroughly understanding it (even if it does--I often test myself by trying to recall the last sentence I read yesterday, and by mentally paraphrasing what I just read, and I usually succeed, but I still sit here and read things over and over...). It's like an obsessive ritual. It's terribly frustrating, because I have so many books I want to read; now I'm such a slow reader, and spend so much time worrying that I didn't REALLY comprehend what I read, that I have trouble just enjoying any of it!

So I guess I'm in the opposite boat.
 

Cherry Bear

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When someone wants me to read a book that I'm not really excited to read, I go into reading like I hate the book before I've even opened it. It's a nasty thing, but usually before I start reading it I skip to the last page and read it just to see if there's a happy ending or not. It's ridiculous but I like to know what I'm in for, and what I read on that last page can influence me into desperate excitement for reading the rest of the book, or astonishment that someone would even suggest the book to me. It's like a sneak peek...but of the ending :)
 

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No, I like to read slowly, I like to make sure I'm absorbing every detail. I still feel disappointed when I'm finished a really good book, because the experience is over. I tend to miss it for a while after I'm finished.
 

TheAntar

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When someone wants me to read a book that I'm not really excited to read, I go into reading like I hate the book before I've even opened it. It's a nasty thing, but usually before I start reading it I skip to the last page and read it just to see if there's a happy ending or not. It's ridiculous but I like to know what I'm in for, and what I read on that last page can influence me into desperate excitement for reading the rest of the book, or astonishment that someone would even suggest the book to me. It's like a sneak peek...but of the ending :)

Blasphemy.
 

SPMiller

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My late aunt liked to listen to the audio version of Angels and Demons. What I heard of it was so terribad I was struggling to stay quiet.
 
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