After finishing a chapter, I always set the book down and internalize it before moving on.

Submitted by justkeepbreathing94 t3_z7apzc in books

Maybe I feel like if I move on too fast the book will just blend together, or maybe I want to really understand the chapter before continuing, but I always pause and think about the chapter briefly then move on when I'm ready. Maybe I like to analyze it, or maybe it's just ADHD and I don't read chapters non-stop.

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Aylauria t1_iy5rxsv wrote

Sounds like you probably get more out of a book than a lot of people do, myself included.

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hgaterms t1_iy61koa wrote

This, absolutely this. If the book is amazing I have to FORCE myself to take breaks otherwise I will just scarf down the story and it will make my brain feel bloated.

Over the summer as I was reading "Project Hail Mary" and by the time I was at the halfway mark I was blasting through the chapters. I had to physically force myself to put down the book and go for a bike ride, just so that I could process everything that was happening.

By taking breaks it really let my brain simmer on the story and characters. I still finished the second half over the course of 2 days, but I took breaks damn it!

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bjwyxrs t1_iy6zq4n wrote

THIS!!!!

It's funny you brought up Project Hail Mary because I actually did what OP mentioned in the post with that book but Artemis by Andy Weir I FLEW through that book. I absolutely needed to know what happened next. I finished that book in a couple of days. I would always think to myself "maybe I'm reading this too fast" but I just... never put it down.

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hgaterms t1_iy7vnut wrote

Oh that's too funny! I just finished "Artemis" a couple of weeks ago. It took me about a week to get to the half-way point, but that is when the murder mystery really ramped up and I just kept reading and reading.

I know that "Artemis" is the weakest of the Andy Weir trilogy of novels, but it's still a fun read. It's like cold pizza with just cheese. Still damn good.

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bjwyxrs t1_iy6zdan wrote

I always try to finish at least a chapter before I set the book down for any period of time. Mainly because it's easier to jump back into the book when I pick it back up. But you bring up a good point of thinking about it before starting the next chapter. I'm low key doing this every time I put down a book. The main book that really comes to mind that made me stop between each chapter and take a breather or really think about what I had just read was the first Dune book. It's a book I try to reread at least once a year, but damn, that first time it took me forever to finish just because there was always so much to digest and think about.

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DreamingOfManderley t1_iy7z7k1 wrote

This is a great way to approach reading. In the era of Goodreads I feel like reading, for some people and in some spheres, has become a mindless competition. I'm not sure how much you can actually absorb and take away from a book when you are reading at top speed so you can move onto the next book.

I don't stop every chapter, but I do read slowly, I analyse the book as I'm reading it and if I need to I stop reading to look things up. It really enhances my reading experience and appreciation for the book.

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spartygw t1_iy6xppc wrote

I usually try to read a chapter a night before bed but reading the Wheel of Time cured (?) me of that.

Robert Jordan liked loooong chapters.

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NewtonBill t1_iy9wuq4 wrote

There's a chapter in the last book that is 200 pages long. Just a quick read before bed.

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fromorphantohighflye t1_iy93zl2 wrote

I have recently started to do a variation of this as I wasn't remembering as much as I wanted to from the non-fiction books I was reading. Now, as I am reading, I imagine the words in my head in picture form, like I am there witnessing what I am reading. It has definitely worked so far, and I find myself getting drawn into the book more.

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OndhoorinalliObba t1_iy7rww9 wrote

I do the opposite, once I finish a chapter i take a sneak peek of a paragraph or a line 2-3 chapters ahead like a trailer for upcoming plot.

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tangletwigs t1_iy7w0ts wrote

"Discworld enters the chat"

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