Many people begin a book with little knowledge about how they will actually read it. Some have only heard the term “absorption style,” which refers to readers who read in full sentences or even paragraphs at a time, while others may have observed that some books must be read word by word because they are denser and more complex.
People like different styles of reading, some like to read word by word, some like to read full sentences and others don’t mind if they skip a few lines every now and then. On the market, there are many types of readers with different styles.
In this article, we look into the different types of readers. Let’s get started.
13 Different Types of Readers
1. Word-by-Word readers
Readers who prefer this style say that it helps them focus on and remember specific details and words. These people tend not to look at the overall picture but instead, they look into each detail separately without giving too much time or attention to it – they don’t let emotions influence their thoughts or feelings about what is happening in the story. In other words, these kinds of readers want only facts – they want to know every single detail with a fact.
2. Wholistic readers
These readers tend to take in a scene as a whole, and more importantly, they make inferences based on those overall impressions. These people like the sense of completing the story – this kind of reading is also called absorption style because some books are too dense and complicated that these people need only the basic information such as characters’ names and facial expressions; therefore absorbing everything didn’t work for them.
These kinds of readers usually read faster than any other style of readers because they don’t mind skipping some lines or even paragraphs. Emotions do influence their thinking process but not as much as high-level-structural readers.
3. Low-Level Structural readers
These people like the sense of finishing the story but not as much as absorbing everything; they need more details on characters, plot, and setting to fully understand it all. They usually take more time to read than wholistic readers because they only get the most important information in every scene so they have patience when reading.
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These kinds of readers are also very emotional with what happens in a story – their emotions do influence how long it takes them to finish a chapter or even a book. Therefore, these kinds of readers are considered slow but dependable because their minds do wonder if they don’t feel invested in the novel.
4. High-level structural readers
These types of readers like to take everything apart and look at all the details separately without looking at them as a whole. These people have patience when reading so they ask for help from friends or read more information online about what happens in a novel before they feel invested. These kinds of readers don’t mind skipping some lines but still absorb as much as possible because these readers need to fully understand everything before moving on – therefore, it depends on how interesting a story is for them to read on.
5. Sentence-by-Sentence readers
These people are the dictionary readers of the world; they read every detail very carefully you can almost say that they mindlessly absorb it all. They like to finish a story or even novel in one sitting because if there is any case where they had to stop reading along the way, for example, having an emergency at work or school, then they would need time to think about everything back again; therefore not finishing the story.
These kinds of readers are very interested in how words work together and which words express what feels better than other ones; also how sentences describe characters more specifically like “he was secretly jealous” instead of “he felt annoyed.”
6. Skimming readers
These readers tend to investigate a text by skimming it for information they already know, or suspect. These people mindlessly read just the most important details – therefore not many details from what’s happening in a story. They usually try to finish a novel as soon as possible and sometimes this kind of reader gives up on reading especially when there is an essay or report that has to be written at home. These kinds of readers feel relieved because they don’t have to remember everything anymore; only the most important stuff!
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7. Arora readers
People who can’t read a novel in one sitting – it takes them longer than the sentence to sentence readers. They think more carefully about every detail they have already read instead of what’s going on at the moment. Emotions do influence how long it takes them to finish a chapter or even a book. They usually get invested faster than any other reader because their mind will wander if they don’t feel invested in the novel, but these kinds of readers need patience from the author to carefully create a scene so they have patience when reading.
8. Non-linear readers
These kinds of readers like to read scenes in a different order than changes every time. For example, what happened first then second then third – instead of just reading something that is chronologically related to one another even if it’s just a couple of lines apart. However, these people are very interesting for writers because they’re always trying out new ways of telling stories.
9. Reversed dictionary readers
People who don’t mindlessly absorb everything – only read the most important details and skip all the rest. They usually want to finish a novel as much as possible and like to read what’s going on at the moment. Emotions do influence how long it takes them to finish a chapter or even book but these kinds of readers need patience from the author because they can’t get invested easily; therefore, this kind of reader needs patience from the author to carefully create scenes so they have patience when reading.
10. Multi-linear readers
These kinds of readers can read in different orders depending on how much time passes since they last finished a chapter or even book! For example, maybe one day there’s this scene and another day there’s some tiny bit and etc. Instead of just reading something chronological like always; therefore these kinds of readers need patience from the authors because it takes them longer than any other reader type to finish a novel.
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They usually get trapped in only one scene in a story because they’re interested in how the characters interact in that scene unlike any other reader because their mind will wander if they don’t feel invested in the novel. Therefore, these kinds of readers need patience from the authors to carefully create scenes so they have patience when reading!
12. Gap filling readers
These people are similar to the sentence to sentence readers except every detail is important to them. They compare everything happening at once instead of one thing after another. The order doesn’t matter, but there has to be some kind of connection between every tiny detail whether it’s physical or psychological. Gaps are very interesting for writers because they’re always trying out new ways of telling stories.
Also, these kinds of readers need patience from the authors because it takes them longer than any other reader to finish a novel! They usually get invested faster because their active imagination does influence them; therefore, these kinds of readers need patience from the authors to carefully create scenes so they have patience when reading.
13. Inter-linear readers
These kinds of readers examine every single word because they’re super observant! For example, people who read a novel in one sitting – less than a minute – it takes them longer than the sentence to sentence readers. They think more carefully about every detail they have already read instead of what’s going on at the moment. Emotions do influence how long it takes them to finish a chapter or even book but these kinds of readers need patience from the author to carefully create scenes so they have patience when reading.
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Final Thoughts: What’s Your Reading Style?
Contrary to popular belief, reading styles do matter when people get invested in what they read. It’s not just about whether or not someone likes an author’s writing style; it’s also about how much time it takes them to fall in love with the protagonist and either get frustrated with the actions of other characters or become so curious about other characters interactions that they don’t want to put down their book! Therefore, authors need to carefully think about their story structure when creating scenes because these kinds of readers need patience from the authors while reading.
