Big things, little things

I wonder if anyone have the experience of being so focused on the details of a particular thing, that they fail to see the big picture. This is just a thought i have after listening to a friend who is currently doing an art project which involves him looking for a quote in the books of a particular author. Talk about looking for a needle in a haystack but such patience! Anyway, while i think i understand his rational of undergoing through such a, in my view, clinical and precise process, it is something difficult for me to envisage doing myself.

I am a 'big picture' reader and i read fast. To put it plainly, i read chunks of sentences, enough to know what they mean and move on quickly, trying to catch the rest of the fleeting images of the story as it unfolds in my head. Though occasionally, a particular good line stands out like a beacon beckoning at me, rather than the other way round. And i realized that when i focus on the individual words and slow down, i often stumble and fall into the chasm of grammer, syntax and vocabulary. Nothing much gel and at the end of the day, i often couldn't really remember what i have read.

Perhaps it is just me, having the inflexibility of the mind to both focus on the details and pull out far enough to appreciate the big picture. Perhaps, i am just too impatient to try and do that, appreciate both the language and its meaning at the same time. Maybe that's why i like to re-read my books. First round skim through the lot to 'view' the images, then a 2nd reading to pick out nuances of the langauge. Not a very effective way i guess, but i'm slow in that way...

Maybe for my next book, i should try to do both at the same time.