I started reading Clarissa last year and found myself zipping through the pages on my Nook without really following the story. After nearly 200 pages, I realized I had no idea what was going on, so I stopped reading. This is one of the downsides of e-readers, for me. I'm so used to skimming when reading online that I tend to read that way on my Nook as well - I'm having to break that habit. It's also frustrating that I can't just skip back through the pages to wherever I started dropping off and read more carefully. So, I'm trying again with a year-long readalong. I think reading the letters on the dates they are addressed is helping me read more slowly and carefully. I've just finished the January letters and got the answers to the things that were confusing me. Whew! I'm actually a little sad that the next letter isn't until Feb. 20!
Terri at Tip of the Iceberg and JoAnn at Lakeside Musing are co-hosting the readalong if you want to join in!
I hope reading this time through is better for you! Reading on my e-reader has the opposite effect on me though. I'm reading on an e-ink screen and for some reason I have better focus with this than either a backlit screen or even paper. And I need focus with this weighty tome!
ReplyDeleteI've got an e-ink screen, but I guess there's just something about a screen that makes it harder for me to read. I seem to do okay if it's a light read, but if I need to concentrate it's harder on my Nook. It's been easier this time, so maybe I'm adjusting.
DeleteBecause of its size I chose to read it on my Kindle too - I do a lot of bookmarking so I can go back if necessary. And loving the slow pace of keeping to the dates.
ReplyDeleteYou were right about Feb - it is the 20th - thanks for pointing that out.
Whew!I've been paranoid about abridged versions since I unknowingly read an abridged version of War and Peace. It wasn't labeled as abridged anywhere on the cover or title page or flaps, but it tiny print at the very end! I should probably use the bookmarking feature more.
DeleteHope Clarissa is better for you this time around! After reading all the January letters and having a hard time with my huge paperback, I got a Nook last week. Now I can't wait to read the February letters on it. Still trying to figure out the bookmark feature though...
ReplyDeleteI haven't used the bookmark feature much. I don't usually bookmark in paperbooks, so I haven't used it on the Nook much. I've realized with paper though, I can always flip back to what I'm looking for without needing a marker and sometimes what I'm looking for isn't something I would have thought to bookmark anyway.
DeleteI find keeping a commonplace book nearby to note down impressions and quotes helps me refocus on the text as I read.
ReplyDeleteI have a journal I use for notes as I read as well. I've noticed with both times reading Clarissa though, I haven't made notes. I just wasn't connecting the first time - I don't think I was in the right mood and was racing through.
DeleteI am also reading the (nine volume) Kindle addition. I think JoAnn and Terri's date-oriented approach is making the book far more accessible! Looking forward to your thoughts on the rest of the book!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the group read! I haven't read this one, but I do like epistolary novels.
ReplyDeleteI am not a natural screen reader either. I have to really concentrate. But I used to be a horrible audio book listener when I first started and now I can really focus. I'm hoping by the end of this book I'll be more used to reading electronically. It should provide a lot of practice being so long, right?
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