The Pain and Pleasure

Even though I've been laboring to get through a book I'd chosen to read for pleasure, I'm just happy to be doing fun reading at all. The main characters so far aren't really likable, nor do I feel any kind of connection to them, so if they die or get hurt, I don't really care. The author occasionally writes in dialect, which I normally don't care for, but is surprisingly not entirely offensive to my senses in this particular case. And so while this isn't my ideal first splash into leisure reading this summer, it's my decision to begin, continue, and finish this mediocre book. But it got me thinking about why I haven't just tossed this book into the Did Not Finish pile and start another because certainly no one's forcing me to finish it. What makes this book different from those that were assigned to me in class?

1. I don't have to take notes. If the margins of the book are large enough, I'll write directly on its pages, but more often, I have to keep a sheet of paper folded inside to write down page numbers and phrases or ideas. It's kind of a lousy way to read a novel. It takes time and effort, which sucks even more because you kind of have no choice. You know you're going to write an essay, and you know you're going to need this type of close reading, and when you're done with this book, it'll be on to the next. Yay!

As much as my book sucks, I don't have to later explain character or plot development, I don't have to compare it to another book I've already read, and I don't have to look for related scholarly articles. All I have to do is read one word after the next until the book is pau, and not even that is mandatory.

2. Because I don't have to read each and every word and examine diction for meaning. I learned fairly early on-- most distinctly when reading The Old Man and the Sea in Mr. Martin's 10th grade English class-- that authors make deliberate choices. Check out Chekhov's Gun if you're interested (and that link takes you to a Wikipedia page. Snarf you, academia!). What this translates into when reading to learn is that you must pay attention to details. There are seven characters involved in events that span seven days? Well, what's significant about the number seven? Why does the story take place in Seattle, Washington? Why is this character blind? How are walls and bridges used in this novel? Ugh!

You know what I do when reading a book for fun? I sometimes skip entire paragraphs! *Gasp* I sometimes scan whole pages because they're filled with setting description! Sometimes, I can go through an entire book without knowing who a specific, usually minor, character is because I don't go back to find out. Because to me, the pleasure of reading is in the reading itself. It's in my decision to read over watching a movie or doing a puzzle, and I can do it which ever way I choose.

3. I have no third point, but it's a good number in essay writing. It's generally enough support for a thesis, but not an overwhelming number. Oh! I know. There's no deadline when reading for fun. The only reason for any pressure to read fifty pages a day is to get to the next exciting book on your list or because the book is just THAT GOOD or because the book you're currently reading is a 400-page hardcover and the next is a 200-page paperback and much easier to tote in your beach bag. Of course, that's irrelevant if you're reading on an electronic device (but more and more I've found myself reaching for actual books than e-copies).

Anyhow, now that I've gotten this off my chest, I'm going to try to make a dent in this haphazardly-written and edited book. Happy reading to you!