The English Inquisitor

You always go through Hi’s and Lo’s while reading a book. Even if it’s one you really enjoy or are interested in. There are just down periods, or chapters or characters you don’t quite enjoy as much, and that’s ok.

I recently went a reading spree and made a lot of progress in my book. While I find it all a great read, it had gone through a slower period. But it’s picking up and I have a few theories about what’s going to happen, and now I’m in that “can’t put it down” stage. I also still have about 700 more pages to read, so it’s very likely I’ll have at least one more slumpy bit. But just remember to stick with it and usually the interesting parts will come.

[photo by Annais]

After 200 pages I have finally gotten past the exposition!!!!! And now the actual story is beginning. Obviously with a longer book, it would take longer to set everything up. You need to stick with it longer to start getting to the meaty stuff.

Even the exposition is fabulous, but after 200 pages, you still get a little antsy. The appitizer is good, but you’re ready for the main course. But it also shows that you often just have to stick it out.

Infinite Jest doesn’t fall into this category, but I have a rule of reading a book to the halfway point before putting it down. By then, you have a better understanding if the book is something you want to finish. If you want dessert.

Sounds odd, right? That you can listen to read. But you can! Remember there’s a wealth of books on tape out there! With iTunes and other services, you can download books to your computer, put them on your mp3 player, or listen in the car.

It’s often a great experience to be able to listen to the book.

Check out these resources for Books on Tape. (These are not free services.)

• iTunes
• Audible.com
• Simply Audiobooks
• Amazon.com
• Any Bookstore

Happy Listening!

Infinite Jest is a book I’m reading for fun. I don’t have a deadline or timeline that I need to have it finished by, I can read it and finish it whenever I want. On average I’ve been reading 2 or 3 times a week. However, since this book is so monstrous, it will take me forever to finish it that way. Plus, because of the way the plot is, I find that long times in between readings is leaving me disjointed and not following it as easily as I would if I were reading it more consistently. So I’ve decided to put myself on a schedule.

I decided that a month to read the rest of it would be a good time frame. I’ve already taken a month to read 100ish pages. So I decided I wanted to read a little each day. 1200, divided by 30 is 40. So my goal is to read 40 pages a day. Not bad, very manageable.

Reading schedules are great things to set up for yourself, particularly with school. Whether it’s a book for English or a textbook for History, if you set up a reading schedule you can finish the book in the amount of time you need to. Schedules can look very different, they don’t have to look anything like mine. For example, if you know you can read Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because of your schedule, and you have 2 weeks to read a 300 page book, you should read about 50 pages each day, and you’ll have the book done in no time!

After reading this, reading anything else is going to seem so fast and easy!

1. Get a stopwatch or clock. Set the timer or see what time it is and start reading.
2. Pay attention to when your mind starts to wander, or you stop paying attention to what you’re reading, or when you get frustrated.
3. How long did you read? 10 minutes? 20? 30?
4. Only read for as long as you could, then take a break. Put the book down, go get a snack, run around the block, or work on other classwork.

Try it!