by Richard Mahony 15th May 2012 13:18

There's read and then there's READ. Skimming ain't the same as deep text analysis.

The first time I read LOTR, when I was very young, I skipped over all the songs, as did my daughter the first time she read the trilogy on her own.

When reading the series aloud to my wife and kids at bedtime, however, I insisted on reading through every line, including every song - with great feeling, you understand.