RE “A book lover’s lament: Why can’t we read books as fast as we buy them?” by Jeff Jacoby (Op-ed, July 18): Treasure your slow reading. The list of available books will always swamp what any one person can hope to digest anyway. If you try to get through everything on your list, you could end up with a shallow experience.
It takes time to make a fine wine, which is not all that different from what books do for us. Contemplation adds layers of thought, and opens us to the nuances of others’ minds as they are expressed in their ideas.
It takes effort to align your thinking process to those of the authors you read, and to probe your own thinking for insight. Go with it.
In addition, don’t discount the possibility that, sometimes, what appeals to you might not be very well written, and might account for the pace of your reading. Bad writing is like walking through deep snow, while good writing easily leads you from page to page.