Written by a friend of mine:

i usually read several books at once because i can make each book last longer that way.

while there are all kinds of styles of reading to celebrate, i never understood the reader who boasted about getting through a book in a matter of hours.

i mean, i could walk through an entire museum fairly quickly. so what?

interfacing with the material in a manner whereby i ponder and reflect, taking my time, is generally how i best enjoy a book.

while i try to include nonfiction texts in my collection, my favorite kinds of books are fiction.

I like the museum analogy. This approach makes more sense for fiction, I think, but not necessarily. I’m taking my sweet time with The Power of Now, and I don’t regret it.

Unfortunately, a lot of reading these days is pure “information download.” If I’m reading a book for work, I generally want to get all the information as quickly as possible so that I can put it to use and move on to the next book. Is reflection important for that stuff?

Obviously, it all depends. No answers here.