What makes a reader?

[sartorias]

Catholic Bibliophagist asks here "What makes a reader?" She refers to a Times article, and discusses it. (She also has some great posts before it, but alas on one of the blog formats my machine hates, and won't recognize the links for comments about half the time.)

personal experience below

Comments

[rosefox]

I think a prerequisite for being a fiction reader is being able to turn words into vibrant pictures in your head. I have no idea whether that's something that can be taught.

[sartorias]

And yet there are readers who say they don't see images, just 'hear' the words. I find that fascinating.

[sartorias]

Good question--do ask her.

I see and also hear. When I hit unpronounceable words, I just give it a new sound in my mind, and rush on. Like, when I was very young, Penelope and Hermione were Penn-eh-lope [rhyme with dope] and Herm--mee--yoan. But as soon as someone said them aloud, I repeated them a few times, and snap! I heard it right in that inner voice.

I also hear people's voices reading their stuff, whether books or posts, once I've heard their voice. My daughter is the same. She tried to read one of my books once, but said that though she liked the story, hearing Mom's voice reading it was too distracting.

[bummble]

Ha, me too!
I'm a fast reader as well (too fast, a lot of the time) so I tend to just skim over those unpronounceable names - there were a lot when I was younger, I grew up on a steady diet of '70s SF (translated, but they didn't fiddle with the names then, usually).

I'm an aural writer, too; I hear the words I'm writing my head as I write them, in a sort of low, droning voice.
Quite often, I'll mumble along with it.

[sartorias]

Wow, that's fascinating, especially your writing method. Isn't it amazing, just how many ways we process story?

[nineweaving]

I don't get pictures in my head at all, and was in fact confused (and envious) when people told me they saw pictures when they read.

Me too, alas. No more than I can fly.

I don't hear voices either, though I write for the ear.

Nine

[sartorias]

Yes, I was hoping you would speak up. The weird thing is, how incredibly rich your imagery is, and how the sound of your words just tastes so complex, with so many subtle flavors. Some of them spike and sting, but that's part of the pleasure.

[rosefox]

Thank you. In many ways I'm intensely visual--I love art and landscape; I draw--I just can't see things in my head. I don't subvocalize when I'm reading, but I do when I write. I don't let a sentence go until it sounds right.

Nine

[nineweaving]

That was me. Can't seem to stay logged-in at work.

Nine

[bookaddict88]

I LOVE reading fiction, but I don't see vibrant images or really "hear" the words clearly. I get vague images at times, but not always or even usually. Emotions come a bit more strongly, but I wouldn't necessarily say I'm an emotional reader either.

[sartorias]

Where is story forming for you, then? Can you formulate it? This is really interesting!

[bookaddict88]

Like obsessedwelves, for me, the story just is. It's hard to describe, since I don't quite get it myself, but I'll try.

I get vague images, sometimes, sure. But unless the imagery is really strong for me (and even then, the picture's not much more than a sketch or an outline), I have to concentrate to get anything at all. As for the sound of the words, if I'm not reading too quickly, I can appreciate them, and if they don't flow correctly they hinder my reading. But alone they have no meaning to me, so I can't say the story is forming through the sounds. Emotions come through the strongest, especially negative ones, but there are some stories where I don't really experience many emotions that I still enjoy, so that can't be all of it.

Really, it's just bare facts: this is what happened. I guess they're sort of "downloaded directly into my brain" as obsessedwelves described, though I take more of an active part in it than that implies. So when I'm reading a fictional story for the first time, especially if it's really exciting, I tend to skim more than read

[sartorias]

Oh, that makes it so much clearer. Thank you!

[breathingbooks]

I read that way too. I'm a confirmed book addict, but I rarely visualize or hear fiction. It just Is in the same way as the French Revolution, my trip to the grocery store, and the color of my Christmas lights.

[sartorias]

Interesting! How do you experience story, can you characterize?