tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post3192129044916089607..comments2023-12-16T13:01:57.794-08:00Comments on shh, don't wake the DRUNKEN HOUSEWIFE: a new year, a new ideathe Drunken Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-31307696869746533522008-01-14T07:07:00.000-08:002008-01-14T07:07:00.000-08:00I am such a slow reader. I've wondered, as an adul...I am such a slow reader. I've wondered, as an adult, if perhaps I didn't have a little dyslexia. I stink at alphabetizing. I absolutely hate the phone book and the dictionary because I will simply get grabbed by the first word I see and get drawn in. <BR/><BR/>It takes me twice as long as the typical reader to read the same page. I hate when I have to read at the same time as others because it becomes distracting as I notice them look up from the book and drift off as they wait for me to catch up. <BR/><BR/>However, I have outstanding comprehension and in some cases I practically memorize passages as I go. I often re-read a passage for pleasure or just to get all the juice and nuance out of it. <BR/><BR/>Later, years later, I can tell you how far down a page and on which side a certain scene happened. <BR/><BR/>My mother reads a book a day and has since my childhood. My second grade daughter also reads a book a day. She got 5 chapter books for Christmas, and had read 3 of them by boxing day. I ask her what they are about and she says, "a girl".<BR/><BR/><BR/>kimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-18526178284072147912008-01-11T10:40:00.000-08:002008-01-11T10:40:00.000-08:00Have you read The Historian? Historic fiction, ver...Have you read The Historian? Historic fiction, very long, fun! You might like it... for a day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-61117692561179701742008-01-10T10:06:00.000-08:002008-01-10T10:06:00.000-08:00I've gotta get that Panama Canal book, too. I was...I've gotta get that Panama Canal book, too. I was always fascinated by the Panama Canal and finally achieved one of my goals by visiting it a few years ago. (I cannot recommend Panama as a destination highly enough! Way at the beginning of this blog I wrote about my trip there).<BR/><BR/>I read a fascinating book way back when I was in law school, about the Top Ten Civic Planning Disasters. One was BART, which turns out to be a hideous money-loser but yet keeps getting expanded. One major reason BART sucks so much is that the creators were deadset on giving the trains a distinctive appearance, with a sharp nose. That means they can't be driven in either direction, like most subways, and it means they have to be turned around awkwardly: a huge set of logistical problems caused by a design which is still in use today.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-3497042646447241202008-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:002008-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:00hokgardner: Will do. I've always had a fascinati...hokgardner: Will do. I've always had a fascination for engineering achievement (and disaster).JKGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13569861165454532541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-27445748069783965062008-01-10T06:50:00.000-08:002008-01-10T06:50:00.000-08:00Brown, I loved Johnstown Flood. Basically, I'll re...Brown, I loved Johnstown Flood. Basically, I'll read anything McCullough writes. If you haven't yet, you should pick up Path Between the Seas, which is about the building of the Panama Canal. It's fascinating.hokgardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09971689914882302078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-10311085789247357532008-01-09T23:07:00.000-08:002008-01-09T23:07:00.000-08:00May I humbly suggest "Goodreads"?Goodreads.com .....May I humbly suggest "Goodreads"?<BR/><BR/>Goodreads.com .... it's a social networking site (I shudder at such an inadequate term) that links users through books. It's marvelous.<BR/><BR/>Make sure to search for the user "Leah Lionheart," for I'd love to have you as afriend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-80635751555361401562008-01-09T07:55:00.000-08:002008-01-09T07:55:00.000-08:00When I was in law school (and indeed practicing la...When I was in law school (and indeed practicing law), I used to read things over and over again. I remember one particularly horrible textbook on International Business Transactions which was just incomprehensible. I used to read each chapter 2-3 times in a go, trying to make sense of it. Reading cases, I'd often have to read the same paragraph many times, stopping to think (you know exactly the sort of paragraph I mean, where the judge is setting forth the legal reasoning but doing so in overly learned tones, throwing in plenty of Latin catchphrases and those wretched expressions like "three prong test" or "fruit of the poisoned tree"). Oh, if only they could all write like Learned Hand.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-35041606509236481152008-01-09T06:49:00.000-08:002008-01-09T06:49:00.000-08:00Hugh and DH:I can read a book a day, too. But onl...Hugh and DH:<BR/><BR/>I can read a book a day, too. But only if it's a good, compelling read and it does take me the entire day. <BR/><BR/>I tend to read conversationally, perhaps a bit faster, as though someone was telling me a story. I mean, it isn't <I>that</I> slow, but that's the way I 'hear' it in my mind. There's a speed beyond which there is no savor. No savor, no point. <BR/><BR/>When I was in law school, I read for comprehension and more. That often meant re-reading the same paragraph. (Sometimes that has to do with the jurist, of course. Most judges seem either to be poor writers or uncertain thinkers--sometimes both. And sometimes what they're trying to do is make an illogical outcome sound logical. A better recipe for a narrative pretzel would be hard to come by.)<BR/><BR/>My father, an engineer, is also a rapid reader. Not on a par w/DH, but probably twice as fast as me. He used to read solely for information. It's only now, later in life, that he's begun to take his time with books.<BR/><BR/>And as long as I'm unburdening myself: I'm now reading "The Johnstown Flood," one of David McCullough's earlier books. Since the last time I read McCullough (1776 I believe -- the book, not the year), I've seen the movie "Seabiscuit" for which McCullough does voiceover work. It has taken me two full chapters to start reading faster than that man narrates, and I'm still hearing his voice in my head. Distracting.JKGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13569861165454532541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-23470400640383756602008-01-08T19:59:00.000-08:002008-01-08T19:59:00.000-08:00i think it's a learned ability. like typing fast. ...i think it's a learned ability. like typing fast. i, too. am a fast reader but it's after years and years (since grade school) of avid reading. i can also read a 450 page book a day. however i also read a book a day when i was in 5th grade.hughmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09995638646423120399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-81812069461482236202008-01-08T18:50:00.000-08:002008-01-08T18:50:00.000-08:00I will check beloved Hokgardner's blog & also good...I will check beloved Hokgardner's blog & also goodreads.<BR/><BR/>Brown, it's an inherent ability. It's nothing I learned or worked on. It's actually about the freakiest thing about me. I've had strangers on mass transit accost me about it, telling me it freaks them out to see how fast my eyes roll back and forth. It was helpful when I was practicing.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-73540142493449566702008-01-08T18:41:00.000-08:002008-01-08T18:41:00.000-08:00I've kept track of my reading for several years. I...I've kept track of my reading for several years. I have a blog all about my reading now, which I need to update, now that I think about it. Check it out at http://plentymorebooks.blogspot.com.hokgardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09971689914882302078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-27313175526772396722008-01-08T14:30:00.000-08:002008-01-08T14:30:00.000-08:00Have you tried Good Reads? It's great for keeping ...Have you tried Good Reads? It's great for keeping track of what you read, seeing what your friends read, etc. This fellow speed reader loves it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-23164037147675216462008-01-08T11:15:00.000-08:002008-01-08T11:15:00.000-08:00Is speed reading a talent, or a skill you learned?...Is speed reading a talent, or a skill you learned?JKGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13569861165454532541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-77984433745861628702008-01-08T10:46:00.000-08:002008-01-08T10:46:00.000-08:00yeah, what you really need when not playing WoW is...yeah, what you really need when not playing WoW is to READ about playing WoW.hughmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09995638646423120399noreply@blogger.com