Hopefully, we are ALWAYS reading for pleasure, whether the reading is assigned or not. But it is a fact that we read for different purposes. Sometimes we are reading purely for pleasure and escape and inspiration. Sometimes we are reading purely for information. Sometimes the style is important to note; sometimes paying attention to style distracts us from our focus. Sometimes, we have chosen to read something because of our fascination with the subject or style or author; sometimes we have to read something despite being repelled by the subject or style or author.
In any case, before we read, we should be clear on our purpose. What do we want from the piece of writing?
Your science teacher gives you a worksheet summarizing the information in that night's textbook chapter. Your English teacher tells you to read forty pages of a literary masterpiece. You decide to curl up with some Harry Potter. Do you approach these tasks the same way?
The decisions you make before you read will condition the way you interact with the material.
Does the fact that your eyes saw each word mean that you read the material?
How much should you get out of it?
It depends.
The more reading you do, the more information you will glean from reading: of course, as in anything, the more you do, the better your skills will be.
But. In addition. You can help yourself get more from reading. The best way is to make a habit of reading actively.
Screen entertainment washes over us with a profusion of pre-processed information. The emotions a character experiences in a movie, the amazing photography and spectacle, the soundtrack, the brilliant dialogue, these things tell us how to feel, what to think. Our minds don't have to do any work to construct meaning; it is already there. Then we can interact with it, connect to it, feel with it.
Books are different. Without our participation, there are no thoughts there, no images, no emotions or characters or plots or settings. There are only squiggly lines, black marks on a white page.
Somehow, miraculously, we've learned to take those squiggly lines and bring life to them, feel the emotions, think the thoughts, follow the reasoning, see the images suggested by those squiggles.
How do we do that?
The author counts on your ability to do that. Really, it's amazing that we can. And we can get better at it.
Think about it this way. A book is like a radio station; a reader is like a receiver. A great book sends out a strong signal. But if your receiver has a crappy antenna, what will you pick up? Some words, bits and pieces of a tune, a lot of static. We must become better receivers, work on our antennae, so that the signal comes in crisply, clearly.
Annotation helps you turn up the power of your antennae, so that you can tune into an author's signal.
Excellent readers pay attention to all of this naturally, as part of the process of reading. At first, though, it is useful to pay attention to it methodically. This is the purpose of annotation.
As you read, write in the book (or on sticky notes), to build your active reading skills.