What is the secret to reading a book and finishing it? I am no expert in finishing a book from cover to cover, because I always find another book that I'd rather devote my time to reading instead, but I think the secret is urgency. Even the best books can drift away to slackness if it is read too slow.
That was how I finished Goblet of Fire in a day. About a thousand paged book in one day is my official record so far. I am still reading Midnight Children and I hope I am not taking it too slow so that I start to lose interest. It is crazily, ridiculously well written. This book set the standards for all Indian English writers after it got released. Ground shatteringly written I have to say. Another book I would have said the same of is 'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy; except that I never finished the book. Blame my slow reading habit. I had to return the book back to the library and I had taken a month's time to read it. While I also was reading some other books simultaneously.
Reading is not a discipline, if I were to only enjoy doing it. But if I want to learn the art of story telling and why and how books become so important to people as they are, I need to train myself to read more efficiently and not solely for the sake of pleasure.
Ben Ning, Creative Practitioner