Do you read books word-by-word or do you scan the book?

[Eileen R]

If I don't find the book interesting, I'll probably just scan through that's what I do with my history books. When I'm reading an engaging book, I make sure to read word by word since I don't want to miss anything.

[See_B00kReaDs]

I do read it word by word, although it depends on the book.

[tvess]

Almost everyone seems to be saying 'word for word' here. While I don't skim books for important bits like I would a magazine article, I do tend to outright ignore words or phrases occasionally so long as I understand the point of a sentence. Sometimes sentences if a paragraph is going on about the same thing. If a terrible thing has happened and a character is described with words I don't know well, but tears are mentioned, I'm just going to assume that the point is they are sad and move on. Or when setting is being described, I pick up on a few details but don't try to pay much attention to the finer points. The book I'm reading now spends quite a bit of time describing the city, but it's easy to pick up on the points of "the city is vertical, elegant, divided vertically by class, and the upper class has a lot of variety" without trying to remember specific details about where a bridge is or what a particular house looks like.

This habit made it pretty difficult for me to understand poetry when I was younger because I would get the basic point and not look further, but I've recently learned to change my style when looking at poetry. Specifically chosen words are much more important in poetry.

[JuliaKay]

I typically read books word-for-read. Anytime I have tried the scanning technique, I have missed something and had to go back and reread it anyway.

[Kendra M Parker]

I read word for word, too, but I’m still pretty fast at reading. I tend to read decently long books in a couple of days.

[crediblereading2]

I am a fast reader. I used to read 1 Mills and Boon Romance Novel per day when I was in my teens. However, if I am reading a book and I find some parts not too concise, I will slow down my reading and read the passage, word for word.

[Shrabastee Chakraborty]

I read word by word but still I'm quite fast. I know some people tend to skip paragraphs or even pages. I can never do that, I just have to read cover to cover. Sometimes, though not often, I skip the foreword, since very long forewords tend to put me off.
By the way, when I look at a word, I can generally take up the neighbouring words as well and get the general idea of a sentence and even a paragraph. If I am not able to do that, it means either my attention is in some way diverted, even if I am not conscious about it; or it might mean that the book is too hard for me.

[nikkyteewhy]

I read book word by word, if I get bored reading and I realized I scanned through, I will go back and intentionally read it again word for word.

[KRay93]

There are segments in which I do a quick scan, but generally, I read word-by-word, especially if I like the author's writing style or if the plot becomes interesting. To give an example, there are moments in the books of the saga of A Song of Ice and Fire that become a little dense, especially when it comes to intrasentential events. But when important things happen, when the characters explain things about the fantastic universe, or when the author exposes the characters in flesh and blood, there is no way I can miss a single word.

[bootsie0126+]

I read word for word. This allows me to mentally capture the words and form into a visual picture in my head. There is so much that can be missed if you simply scan a book. However, I have found that if a book does not hold my interest, scanning, skipping and jumping over text has occurred. To me the full meaning of what you are reading is lost if you scan or glance over the text. There could be something that is important in relating others things if you miss it by scanning. This is especially true in suspense, thriller or horror books. I want to read every word so that I can connect to the words.

[Rumbly]

I skim a lot if I'm reading by looking since long fill descriptions aren't very important to me unless I plan to draw fanart using such descriptions or am writing an essay about the book.

If i'm listening to a voice reader or audiobook then it's word by word, and yeah I'm much slower when listening to audio than just reading with my eyes.

[Mely918]

I always read books word-by-word. Even if it takes me a bit longer to finish the book, I don't regret it. I like being able to fully absorb a story and understand as much as I can about it.

[Alice Thokchom]

Most of the time, I read a book word by word but sometimes, when the story line gets dull or the explanation of a character goes endless, I just scan a paragraph.

[TheRVMom]

I read every word. I too am jealous of those who can scan or speed-read. I love audiobooks though. I love that I can hear accents, etc.

[TheRVMom]

Most of the time, I read a book word by word but sometimes, when the story line gets dull or the explanation of a character goes endless, I just scan a paragraph.

I zone out on those too. Like when they just start going on an on like a textbook of historical facts. UGH! I hate when they do that. Also, sometimes the corny love scenes. Blah!