Tips on helping me read a huge book

[unicron44]

I recently started showing a strong interest in books so my dad gave me a couple books: Richard Feynman's Lost Lectures, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Arthur M. Miller and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The Feynmann book and Leibowitz are managable because I'm kind of an inexpericence as I only read when I'm supposed to for school. But Altas Shrugged is 1168 pages and that is really daunting, especially for me. I also have The Fountainhead by Rand and it's extremely long compared what I'm used to. I have The Fountainhead movie adaptation on my Netflix queue and an Atlas Shrugged movie is being released next year and I'm thinking about watching those to get a basic idea of the stories before I dive in.

So when reading a huge book how should I go about it?

 

[BonsaiK]

Do it in small doses. Carry it everywhere and read it whenever you have an idle moment. Public transport or when waiting for classes/work to start is a good time.

Mind you, I don't think even I could get through the massive turgid chunks of text that is Ayn Rand's stuff, and I've read some pretty big books. I guess it all depends on what you're interested in though. If you're really keen on it enthusiasm will carry you through.

 

[Count Igor]

Don't read it then >.>
KI abave glovers on so excuse the sopelling.
IOf you don't want to rerad a book or need tips on how to do it, tjhen it isn't really a good book gfor you, is it? And hoing from "ReADING for school ONLY" to a 1000+ book isn't the best thing to do.
And if you ha ve to watch a fuilm to undetrstand the book, t hen that's defeating pretty much the entire point of it.

So again, read something you want to, probably shorter, and if you need help with it, put it back and choose something else.

 

[Lyndraco]

My recommendation is a chapter at a time. When I read a large book, I do it one or two chapters a night before bed. You'll be done before you know it! It will only seem difficult if you are not interested in the book, but hopefully you will be after the first chapter. If your not interested, I say read a different book.

 

[Lilani]

My recommendation is a chapter at a time. When I read a large book, I do it one or two chapters a night before bed. You'll be done before you know it! It will only seem difficult if you are not interested in the book, but hopefully you will be after the first chapter. If your not interested, I say read a different book.

Before bed, really? I tend to do my best reading in the morning or afternoon. Before bed I'm just really tired and I want to hit the hay. Any sort of goal-based reading I try to do beforeheand just feels like an imposition and I dislike it even more. And because I'm so tired I end up forgetting most of it.

 

[Antonidious]

So when reading a huge book how should I go about it?

The same way you would read a smaller book, it just takes longer to get through. Personally when I read I start reading until it's not enjoyable at the moment and then stop. In this way reading a small book and large book are the same, just takes longer to get through the large book.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

if you think you might have a hard time slogging through a large book, DO NOT watch the movie first. if a book is large enough to be daunting, the only way to get through it is to want to know what happens. if you've seen the movie, you're not going to have that need, since you'll already pretty much know (unless the adaptation is VERY liberal). also, i find i do my best reading before bed or on the can. sometimes right after lunch is a good time to read as well.

 

[Jedamethis]

Just carry it around with you and read when you have a spare moment. If you're relieved when you have to stop reading, the author hasn't done a very good job.

 

[theComposer]

Don't worry about the length. Pick up the book and start reading. If you enjoy it, keep reading. If it gets boring or uninteresting, then you simply don't like the book and should move on to something more entertaining. The length shouldn't matter, only whether or not you're enjoying it.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Do it in small doses. Carry it everywhere and read it whenever you have an idle moment. Public transport or when waiting for classes/work to start is a good time.

Mind you, I don't think even I could get through the massive turgid chunks of text that is Ayn Rand's stuff, and I've read some pretty big books. I guess it all depends on what you're interested in though. If you're really keen on it enthusiasm will carry you through.

I've heard that Atlas Shrugged is like that, but I didn't find that The Fountainhead had that feel. It flowed pretty nicely, and before I knew it I was 2 months down the line and I finished the book.

I also second your tips though for some people it might be a bit hard to lug around a huge book like that. I can slip a Terry Pratchett or Dresden Files paperback in my pocket, but The Founthead or Dune are just too big to carry around all the time. I usually read half an hour or so before I get to bed, and when I'm home alone during holidays.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

Don't worry about the length. Pick up the book and start reading. If you enjoy it, keep reading. If it gets boring or uninteresting, then you simply don't like the book and should move on to something more entertaining. The length shouldn't matter, only whether or not you're enjoying it.

i'd disagree with part of your statement. i've read many great books over the years that had portions that were (incredibly) boring and/or uninteresting, yet getting through those portions let me enjoy a great book. the most extreme example i can think of is the first half of "Fellowship of the Ring" but a lot of other books have a chapter or 2 here or there that are hard to get through, but doing so is ultimately worthwhile.

 

[ThreeWords]

If I had a huge book to read, I just have at it and munch it up whenever I can. That said, I'm about as far from 'only reading for school' as it gets; I read massive sci-fi books for pleasure, as well as intricate maths books.

On another note, the Canticle is an excellent book indeed

 

[manythings]

Play Bioshock, I'm told that it hits the important points of Atlas Shrugged.

 

[PurplePlatypus]

You just read it, and you put in a bookmark if you need to put it down for a while. If you like the book it won?t be as daunting or difficult as you expect. The only time it?s a horrible struggle or something you need to ?tackle? is if it?s shit but you need to read it.

Personally I read a chapter and at the end see if I want to keep reading or if I want to put it down. End of chapters are usually good break away points.

 

[kitsunefather]

Well, its Ayn Rand.. so.. I think you'd be excused for skipping it.

But, if you feel its a must-read, don't look at the length, let the narrative carry you. A good book should never feel like a chore to read.

 

[ham and red bull]

Read it regularly, if your brakes are too long, you might forget what just happened... and that sucks! Made me re-read a book like 3 times.

 

[superbatranger]

Well, read it in manageable chunks. If your eyes get tired, take a break. Be warned, though. That book..is somewhat...there is a word for it, but I can't remember. I'm 480 pages in, and I still don't know what they're talking about.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Read in segments like maybe a few chapters at a time don't just overwhelm yourself with it.

 

[Jamieson 90]

I recently started showing a strong interest in books so my dad gave me a couple books: Richard Feynman's Lost Lectures, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Arthur M. Miller and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

The Feynmann book and Leibowitz are managable because I'm kind of an inexpericence as I only read when I'm supposed to for school. But Altas Shrugged is 1168 pages and that is really daunting, especially for me. I also have The Fountainhead by Rand and it's extremely long compared what I'm used to. I have The Fountainhead movie adaptation on my Netflix queue and an Atlas Shrugged movie is being released next year and I'm thinking about watching those to get a basic idea of the stories before I dive in.

So when reading a huge book how should I go about it?

If you are not used to reading long books then you need to build up your stamina. There is no point just jumping in and trying to read 1000 pages, start smaller if you are used to reading books at say 300-400 pages then move on to books that are around 600-700 pages.

If you really do want to read it then work in small chunks, this is useful if the text is difficult to understand and sometimes you may have to read things multiple times to understand them. Make sure you understand them though before you move on or you will just get more confused.

 

[Gamegeneral]

Get a really, REALLY boring job. Take only the book with you.
This is how I made it through the boring parts of Dune.
(Thankfully they were short enough.)