Reading Comprehension

This is really a no-brainer, but it’s a skill I’ve only recently begun to actively exercise. When I read, I try to ask things like, “What’s the outline?” and “Why did the author say that?”. I’ve also been trying harder to visualize landscapes and physical appearence of characters as they are described in fiction. (In the past, I’ve really only paid attention to dialog. Sometimes I have such tunnel vision that I miss important parts of the action and have to re-read to understand what characters are talking about.)

I realized a while ago (maybe a couple of years) that I’ve read quite a few books, but I rarely remember what they were about. There are also times when, upon finishing a book, I find that I can’t explain its main point(s).

I think what happened is that like a lot of bookish people, I was a voracious reader as a youngster. I was totally undirected, though. I developed bad habits that weren’t much of a problem until around college time.

I have another reading frustration that seems unrelated. I read books or articles, especially in religious magazines, and I have the impression that they are important, but the ideas aren’t sinking in. This isn’t a reading comprehension problem in the same sense as before. It’s a deficiency (if I must call it that) in my mental categories. I understand what I’m reading on some level, but the furniture of my mind is arranged in such a way that trying to simply add another piece breaks up the flow of the room. Some rearrangement is required, which takes time. Later, I re-read the article or book or hear the same idea elsewhere, it clicks into place, and I wonder how I ever got along without it.