Two-minute Sex

I do not speed-read books; it seems to defeat the whole purpose of the exercise, much like speed-eating a Porterhouse steak or applying the two-minute drill to sex.
—  Joe Queenan
from “One for the Books“
[This quote is from a column posted on the Wall Street Journal online site titled: “My 6,128 Favorite Books“, and is an excerpt from Queenan’s book.
I found the link to this article on a blog I follow: Lead.Learn.Live maintained by David Kanigan.  Dave’s blog was titled: “He’s Read 6128 Books“
Like most “readers”, I’ve been down the path of learning to speed-read.  From high school, to college, to multiple companies – everyone seems to want me to read faster.  I CAN read reasonably fast when I need to.  I know how to look ahead, skip non-critical words, change speed for content/purpose, etc ad nauseam.  But when I read, I tend to cherish words and ideas; thinking new thoughts about new things or in different ways.  When I read for pleasure – and I mostly read for pleasure – I take my time and cherish ever flavor, every nuance, every smell, every touch created by the author’s imagination and conveyed through the language of words to my imagination.  Of course, I enjoy a two-minute drill as much as the next person, but I don’t want EVERY experience to be a two-minute drill any more than I want EVERY experience to be a two-hour visit to the dentist (mixed metaphor/pun intended).  —  KMAB]
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Just Staring, Why?

Leisure

WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare? —
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
—  Written by: W. H. Davies
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