When reading a book...

[Woosta]

This is mostly targeted toward medium to large ( 500+pg novels ) but then again could refer to any book, so anyway to continue:

Do you read it even without comprehending some references that the author has made? Do you *have* to look them up? Do you do it after you read, while reading ( laptop in bed ) ?

I'm thinking of just putting my laptop on my bed so I can look up any reference without guessing at what something is, or if it's a region being described in an ancient time I could find some images on the web.

 

[minendo]

From time to time I do look some references up

 

[Red Squirrel]

I usually assume everything in the book is somewhat true, or the editors would of probably caught it before it gets published.

Then again, assuming can also make an ass out of you and me.

 

[Barfo]

I never bother looking up references, perhaps I would if I was researching for a paper or something of the sort.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

I don't know how to read.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I can usually infer what the author means using context clues. As long as I know what's being referred to in general terms it's good enough to get the point across. Very rarely do I ever look anything up from a novel.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

I don't usually look up references, but I will look up words I haven't seen before. Even if I can ascertain meaning from the context, it never hurts to expand my vocabulary.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
I don't usually look up references, but I will look up words I haven't seen before. Even if I can ascertain meaning from the context, it never hurts to expand my vocabulary.

Yup. Because even if you can glean the meaning through context, it's not the same as a comprehensive definition.

When I was younger, I would sometimes read with a dictionary by my side, so I could look up words immediately. Of course, this was before the WWW.

 

[irishScott]

I'll look up words I don't know, but thankfully I've read a lot in my life so my vocabulary is pretty broad. As for references, if I'm writing a paper sure. Otherwise I'll just assume it's generally accurate (provided the author's statement makes sense).

 

[natto fire]

I do look some stuff up. Same with song lyrics.

Speaking of that, could you imagine if books put the "next" page before the "current" one like this shitty Fusetalk likes to do, that would be pretty aggravating. Less so with this type of dialog than if you were sucked into a story, but annoying nonetheless...

 

[SonnyDaze]

My comic books don't have references.

 

[pontifex]

I tend not to look up stuff, though I probably should. I've been reading some short stories by Kipling lately and they almost all take place in India. There are a lot of Indian(?) words used that I don't know. They do give the meaning in the end of the book but it seems like a chore and also breaks the focus of the story to stop reading and look up every word.

 

[Newbian]

Wait... porn has stuff to read now?

 

[nageov3t]

I can't think of a time when a fiction novel has referenced something that I couldn't at least figure out via context.

if I don't know a word, I'll look it up (kindle ftw)