While I agree with the bit about how good the 'intense payoffs' feel, doesn't reading also allow you to lose yourself in a narrative? And isn't that more gradual and immersive, and so more satisfying, than the dopamine hit of reading a stellar sentence or passage?
I think the immersive reading experience happens with work that has high density of such sentences/phrases. By stellar sentences here I don’t necessarily mean the ones that can be taken out and quoted and wah wah’ed at. Even for a racy/plotty read for example, the payoff of finding out what happens in the end is enough to make one go back to similar work. What do you think?
Ah okay. Yep, agreed. I read Project Hail Mary a few weeks ago, and this defines that experience quite well. There were zero wah wah passages. But it was such a fun, fast-paced read, massive payoff all the way through.
Rahul "I am not a newspaper". That is the line that has stayed with me. 😅😅😅
We've met, Rakhi. You know I am not :p
Yeah Rahul. Thank you for clarifying 😜
Interesting take, Rahul.
While I agree with the bit about how good the 'intense payoffs' feel, doesn't reading also allow you to lose yourself in a narrative? And isn't that more gradual and immersive, and so more satisfying, than the dopamine hit of reading a stellar sentence or passage?
I think the immersive reading experience happens with work that has high density of such sentences/phrases. By stellar sentences here I don’t necessarily mean the ones that can be taken out and quoted and wah wah’ed at. Even for a racy/plotty read for example, the payoff of finding out what happens in the end is enough to make one go back to similar work. What do you think?
Ah okay. Yep, agreed. I read Project Hail Mary a few weeks ago, and this defines that experience quite well. There were zero wah wah passages. But it was such a fun, fast-paced read, massive payoff all the way through.
Very interesting take! :)