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Book club member told me I was "speed-reading" and it messed up how I discuss books
Last month at my neighborhood book club, someone pointed out that I kept finishing books two days before everyone else and then missing subtle themes during discussion. They said I was speed-reading for plot, not for meaning. I tried slowing down, reading one chapter a night, and writing down one thought per chapter. It felt weird at first but I caught way more character stuff in our latest book. Has anyone else had to retrain how they read for a group?
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thomas_johnson3d ago
Did you ever figure out if you were just naturally a faster reader or if you were actually skimming? I had the same problem when I joined my wife's book club. What worked for me was reading a chapter, then closing the book and trying to explain it out loud to myself like I was talking to someone who hadn't read it. It forced me to slow down and notice the small details. Also, keep a sticky note in the back and jot down questions as you go, not just thoughts. That way you bring actual discussion starters to the group instead of just remembering plot points.
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andrew69347m ago
DUDE yes. I had the EXACT same thing happen when I got roped into a buddy's book club on a whim. I was tearing through pages thinking I was just a naturally quick reader but then we'd meet up and I'd realize I had no clue about this ONE character's weird habit or some random description that everyone else was talking about. The explaining out loud trick is gold. I started doing that after every few pages, not even whole chapters, and it totally changed things. And those sticky notes? I write down the dumbest stuff like "why does the author keep mentioning the color blue?" and it ALWAYS leads to the best conversations. It really forced me to stop treating reading like a race.
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