On Reading

I love books. Literature, poetry, picture books, magazines, newspapers, etc... I am a sucker for a good read. If I am ever in a book store it is likely I will not make it out without buying at least one or two books. I own more books than I know what to do with and my friends and family all know that if they want to make me happy on any holiday a great gift for me is a book. However, I must admit like Paul I have thorn in my side, a life long struggle about which I often pray for deliverance.
I am not a strong reader. When it comes to reading I am inept.
Don't misunderstand me, however, I am not saying that I do not enjoy reading, I am simply commenting on the fact that I am not a good reader. For some people reading comes as naturally to them as walking or riding a bike. While the concepts may have been somewhat difficult to learn for them once the knowledge held fast in their brains they were able to fly through the pages of books as if gale force winds were turning the pages for them. For some it is a steady retention of knowledge. It may take them a bit longer to read, once they have read it the information is attained as if their memory banks were some sort of computer database to which they may refer at any moment they need to regurgitate the information. I must admit that I would give nearly anything to read like either of these two types of readers.
As for me I can read something ten times and not remember the information half an hour later. While I retain some of the knowledge but much of it is muddled in the mess of dis-connectivity that is my brain. The other bothersome feature of my reading ability is my speed. If I were in a race against an average joe to read an essay, he may be likened to a Chevrolet Corvette while I am stuck in an Electric car, not one of the new revolutionary hybrids that are supercharged with potential but more like a go-cart that is low on batteries.
Do not be mistaken, I am not illiterate! My grammatical and phonetic skills are much higher than average and I received a nearly perfect grade on the reading and writing portion of many placement tests. However, while those sections took a small amount of time for most students, I was doing them nearly the entire time.
But why is my ranting today over reading? I can assure you it is not to complain. “woe is me,” to the cyberspace universe. It is instead to encourage anyone reading this to take advantage of you superior reading skills. If I could read like you I would likely have read many more books that I currently have. Possibly all of my books.