Thursday, March 17, 2005
Page numbers
Reading books is a tremendous passion of a lot of people I know and people they know and this even includes the strangers who frequent bookstores all over the world. Whoever says that books are being replaced dont know what they are talking about.
While reading a book, the ideal situation is of course sitting at length and finishing the book - wishing away other wordly responsibilities. Would that not be the best way to spend time? But alas, but it cannot be that way.
So whenever in school/college my reading was interrupted, I promptly whipped out my bookmark (needed to be snazzy, with a wisecrack on it and lotsa colour) and placed it on the page where I left the reading. I had my own little system. The better ( or glossier or more colourful or wittier) side faced the page I wanted to get back to. But I soon realised how much bookmarks were damaging the binding of the book.
At that point I told my self that I would remember the page number where I left the book. I mean one small two or three digit number. How difficult can it be? if it would be that much of a problem, I would note it down on the first available surface in my bag or in my wallet. Little did I know what I was committing myself to.
At first I started noting these page numbers down. Very soon I had a scraps of paper floating around in my bag and jammed in corners of wallet with numbers scrawled on them. No reference of which book and when and why. Phew! That solution soon wore itself out.
Then came the idea of remembering page numbers. I mean really! Slowly I developed a love hate relationship with these page numbers. It was a small victory everytime I remembered the correct page number. Victory of me over math!
Slowly it began to get deeper. I started being partial. Only books that mattered (read serious) got the luxury of me taking pains to remember page numbers. Really difficult ones got more than a few seconds of my thought time.
I started making it a lesson in algebra with me making up "word problems" to remember the page numbers. If Jack is 3 and his brother is twice his age, what is his brother's age plus 2?" 368.
275 would be first digit plus last digit equals center digit. 311 ha.. did not need anything to remember it. 193 the number totals ten. Initially it was simple for me. Make some sort of connection or story to go with the number. Some association and it would not be a problem opening the book the next time.
But that was not be. When I would come across a number like 241, I would wish it was 240. When it was 102, why not 100. Of course the inevitable did happen. I started remembering the numbers I wished it to be. More often than not, I land up reading huge portions of any book again because my memory serves me the previously remembered number.
Have given up trying to remember page numbers and am waiting for a new idea to strike.
While reading a book, the ideal situation is of course sitting at length and finishing the book - wishing away other wordly responsibilities. Would that not be the best way to spend time? But alas, but it cannot be that way.
So whenever in school/college my reading was interrupted, I promptly whipped out my bookmark (needed to be snazzy, with a wisecrack on it and lotsa colour) and placed it on the page where I left the reading. I had my own little system. The better ( or glossier or more colourful or wittier) side faced the page I wanted to get back to. But I soon realised how much bookmarks were damaging the binding of the book.
At that point I told my self that I would remember the page number where I left the book. I mean one small two or three digit number. How difficult can it be? if it would be that much of a problem, I would note it down on the first available surface in my bag or in my wallet. Little did I know what I was committing myself to.
At first I started noting these page numbers down. Very soon I had a scraps of paper floating around in my bag and jammed in corners of wallet with numbers scrawled on them. No reference of which book and when and why. Phew! That solution soon wore itself out.
Then came the idea of remembering page numbers. I mean really! Slowly I developed a love hate relationship with these page numbers. It was a small victory everytime I remembered the correct page number. Victory of me over math!
Slowly it began to get deeper. I started being partial. Only books that mattered (read serious) got the luxury of me taking pains to remember page numbers. Really difficult ones got more than a few seconds of my thought time.
I started making it a lesson in algebra with me making up "word problems" to remember the page numbers. If Jack is 3 and his brother is twice his age, what is his brother's age plus 2?" 368.
275 would be first digit plus last digit equals center digit. 311 ha.. did not need anything to remember it. 193 the number totals ten. Initially it was simple for me. Make some sort of connection or story to go with the number. Some association and it would not be a problem opening the book the next time.
But that was not be. When I would come across a number like 241, I would wish it was 240. When it was 102, why not 100. Of course the inevitable did happen. I started remembering the numbers I wished it to be. More often than not, I land up reading huge portions of any book again because my memory serves me the previously remembered number.
Have given up trying to remember page numbers and am waiting for a new idea to strike.
# posted by Janaki @ 11:17 am 
