This plot sounds so blah, but Wild Tales was such a singularly fun, unconventional movie, so I have hope. Maybe Szifron can inject some life and novelty into this formula?

Thank you for sharing this, I'm often curious about what other people's reading experiences are like. I've always been a slow reader, and when, as a kid, I tried to learn more about "speed reading," or asked friends how it was possible for them to read a novel in one day, they'd describe reading somewhat like you do. I.e., they would sort of scan the page, taking in a line of text at a time, basically. This is possible because you can understand all the words and sentences without actually having to say them in your head. So I'd try this, read a page or two trying to scan quicker than I can speak, and would realize after 2 pages I had no idea what I was reading.

I don't know if it's a cognitive issue or what, but I simply cannot read text faster than it would take me to say it. So, I don't move my tongue in my mouth or anything, but I essentially read words as though there were a voice in my head saying them. And, maybe for this reason, I really enjoy reading out loud, and find (as OP describes) it helps me focus and get absorbed in what I'm reading.

When I travel I like to check out the used bookstores in whatever city/town I'm in. Besides the fact that they're all unique and worth checking out for their own sake, it's a way to explore neighborhoods you otherwise would have no reason to visit. Often the selection of books will reflect specific things about the community, too, which makes sense since the inventory is largely stuff locals have sold to the store. I remember a store in Bozeman that had a whole section of fiction by authors from Montana (and/or set in Montana). Good stuff, mostly, too.

You can find great stores in college towns too. Boulder, Berkeley, Bloomington, Burlington... probably some cities that don't begin with "B"... One that sticks out in memory was in Lawrence, Kansas. Can't recall the name, but a small, cute store with an interesting collection and good prices. I try to keep bookmarks from the store with whatever I purchased there.