The change from harfing to savoring

harf- to hastily scarf

With my recent eye weakening, I've had to change the way I read.  I've always been one who devours.  A book in my hand?  CHOMP CHOMP SLURP MMM.....yum!  Now, I'm having to take little bites daily.  It's been an eye-opening experience for me.

Reading has become a crock pot roast for me.  All day long I can smell it.  I can imagine how sumptuous that it's going to be so vividly that I can almost taste it.  I'm frustrated and angry because it takes soooo long to cook!  I want it now!  I'm hungry!

By being forced to slow down, I'm finding that I'm having to rely more on my memory.  Instead of being whisked away to another world and another person, I get little glimpses that don't satiate me.  When I pick up the book, I read one page.  One.  Then I have to walk away.  When I pick it back up, my brain has to struggle to push itself back into that alternate reality.  Once it's done that, it seems like only a blink before I have to pull back to my own reality.  It goes far too quickly.

I have noticed, though, that because my reading time has become more precious, I'm not skipping over parts like I previously did.  There are a lot of times when information is given more than once, or something is described and I prefer the image I already have in my head.  I don't want to miss one single word on that one page that I get to read!  Also, because I'm having to take breaks in between, my relationship with the characters has grown stronger.  I really get a chance to miss them.  I wonder what they're up to and wish I could text them really quickly.  Since I can't, I look forward even more to the time when I can reunite with them.

Even though I constantly long to be captivated in the book world, I'm finding that being forced to slow down is actually making me a better reader.  I can't say I'm enjoying it more, but that's only because I'm an instant gratification sort of girl.  I want it and I want it now.  However, now that I'm forced to take dainty bites, I'm finding flavors that I didn't realize were there.