I've been laid up most of this week with a pretty severe sinus infection, including a 100° fever. I managed to get dismissed from a jury panel because I was nodding off and couldn't focus on what the lawyers and judge were saying (they took pity on me, no contempt this time, I think). I feel slightly better now, as I am not shivering in 90°+ temps even when wearing long-sleeved shirts, but I've noticed that it's difficult to type this, much less read what I've already written.
Attempted to read portions of two books these past couple of days, M.J. Engh's Arslan and David Anthony Durham's The Sacred Band. I discovered quickly that I couldn't read at more than maybe 1/5 of my typical reading speed (lower than 60 pages/hour, compared to around 300 pages/hour under normal circumstances) and that I kept forgetting what I had read.
Has this happened to any of you before when you were ill?
Attempted to read portions of two books these past couple of days, M.J. Engh's Arslan and David Anthony Durham's The Sacred Band. I discovered quickly that I couldn't read at more than maybe 1/5 of my typical reading speed (lower than 60 pages/hour, compared to around 300 pages/hour under normal circumstances) and that I kept forgetting what I had read.
Has this happened to any of you before when you were ill?
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4 comments:
Wow, 300 pages an hour? I'm jealous. I read closer to your sick speed--60 pages an hour (at best)--while fully healthy.
Did you train yourself to read that fast, and if so, do you have any secrets or ideas you can share?
Ugh, it's awful that you're so sick right now. Sinus infections are never any fun!
There've been times when I've been so sick that I can't focus enough to read at all, let alone at a percentage of my normal reading speed. The only things I can concentrate on are walls/ceilings, or the backs of my eyelids while I doze off to sleep.
Rest well, and I hope you're feeling better soon.
As Brian said: 300 pages an hour?
My follow up: Why?
The serious answer is my brain processes images/words together at a very rapid rate. It's not skim reading. If I skim, it's over 600 pages/hour, it seems. The not-so-serious answer is that I train squirrels to read for me.
As for the post asking why, I counter with why not, if possible? I don't hear of many people slowing down to 5-10 pages/hour when they are capable of many times that speed. The enjoyment goes down when I slow down, because most of my energy is spent trying to undo what I normally do when reading. Not much fun.
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