Poetry Proofreading and Reading Speed

[alanajoli]

So the project that I'm proofreading involves literary criticism of poetry. I've noted that my eyes are not focusing as well as usual when I'm working on this. Possible explanations:

1) Pregnancy is having an effect on my vision. (This happens to people, I understand, but usually with other symptoms, so I'm guessing this is right out.)
2) Literary criticism makes my eyes go blurry. (This does not bode well for pursuing a graduate degree in the future.)
3) Proofreading makes my eyes glaze. (I mean, whose eyes don't get a little unfocused while proofreading?)
4) I need my eyes checked. (I just had them checked in May, I believe, but that's always a possibility.)
5) The lighting in the dining room (where I've spread out all the galley pages) isn't as conducive to this type of work as the office. (Since I don't seem to be having any trouble reading, say, a novel, from the bedroom or the break-room at work, I rather suspect this last one may be relevant. It's just that the space is so nice for spreading out!)

For the record, I am actually enjoying the assignment -- I like the required attention to detail, and I like how working with xml has made my understanding of html better. Also, marking up pages in red pen is fun, and copyediting hardly involves that any more. Tracking changes is word is not quite the same. (My editorial staff seems to agree, as they like to bat at my pen while I'm making corrections. They actually batted it under the oven the other day, and my intrepid husband had to fish it out for me.)

As far as reading novels goes, I'm plodding my way through The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt and I'm trying to figure out why it's going so slowly. I could just be in the wrong mood for the book, because all of the individual elements seem appealing when I think about them out of context. But I'm still in the first 200 pages (out of nearly 600) and I'm not making much progress. With as many books as I have to read, I'm tempted to just let this one go back to the library.

Anyone out there who's read The Court of the Air that can give me encouragement to keep plugging through? I have a review book, some of Candace Havens's series, several books I've recently purchased, and You Had Me at Halo all on standby...

Comments

[vita-ganieda.livejournal.com]

I actually feel pretty much exactly the same way about "Court of the Air." I like all of the elements, but they aren't adding up in quite the right way for me. But then, I've been reading it very sporadically, thanks to homework, essays, library books, etc, so that could be the problem.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it's not just me -- I've actually been reading it fairly sporadically, too. But I'm not sure it's other things drawing me away as much as it's just not one of those books that I've had to STOP EVERYTHING to read for any length of time.

I may give up and try again later.

[holmes-iv.livejournal.com]

OK, I just went and read the blurb for You Had Me at Halo, and I have to say that I am very disappointed. :-P

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

You weren't expecting a goofy romantic comedy involving angels and/or the newly dead?

[holmes-iv.livejournal.com]

Well, considering the source, I more or less did expect something along those lines, once I stopped to think about it a moment. But I had a momentary hope for something different. ;-)

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Oh! Why yes, expecting that would have led to disappointment. ;)

[breathingbooks.livejournal.com]

My eyes did the same thing a couple of years ago, but mostly with distance or medium separation. It mostly went away once I'd been on my oh so fun diet for a while, though it did stop by to say hi this week.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Oh, how weird! Well, diet and exercise do have a lot of impact on things you wouldn't expect, I suppose.