People with aphantasia, how does it affect your book reading?
-
How do you guys without aphantasia manage to read when there's pictures whizzing around your head all the time??
For me, the book and my surroundings completely disappear, the whole thing turns into a dream-like movie experience. I don't see letters or words at all, it becomes an unconscious process that keeps feeding the dream and it looks similar to fuzzy AI videos.
Sometimes the process of getting pulled out into reality again can be brutal: suddenly it's 3h later and I have to look around and take a moment to settle back. If you dream while you sleep, it's like when you suddenly wake up while you were in an intense dream, takes a moment to process. I'm really completely gone in another world the whole time.
That sounds pretty wild.
-
Kinda echoing other comments in here, to say that lengthy segments where the author is describing the appearance of something can be rather annoying to me. I can't see it. No matter how many flowery words you use, I can't see it. I know what it is that you're describing, I already got a good-enough understanding with the first few sentences. But I can't see it. Please, please just move on to the actual story.
I really wanted to get into Stephen King's Dark Tower series. I made it to the point in the first book where two characters spend an extended amount of time in a pitch black tunnel. Oh. My. Fucking. God. I can only take so many pages of "Boy it sure is dark in here" before I lose my patience. I've started that book at least 5 times, and could never manage to make it past that section because it's just so infuriating to read. It's almost like the book is mocking me, as if to say "Hah hah, get a load of this goober, can't even see the darkness!"
I don't blame authors for this, though. It's not their responsibility to cater their art to my neurodivergence. It's just a minor frustration I've learned to live with. But it's also part of the reason why I don't read much for leisure. I think this is why I'm generally more tolerant of films that aren't as good as the books they're adapted from, because the alternative is that I'll likely otherwise never experience the story at all, so I'll take what I can get.
I recommend sticking to it, the first book is generally boring, but some of the latter ones are pretty great (until they get very weird again).
-
Details in books and written media as a list, not a series of images. Loved reading as a kid, dropped off when I spent more time doing other things, like cpmouter gaming.
The upside is that witthout a mental picture of characters any close enough visual take on the character will work for me. I also have ADHD so small details are likely forgotten and only the prominent ones that the character is defined by are going to be weird if mkssed.
For example when I heard Idris Elba was going to be cast as Roland in The Dark Tower it was a big positive because he seemed like someone that would be able to oull off the personality of the character and I was only concerned about whether they would do a good job with the missing fingers or drop it entirely as missing fingers was a big part of Roland's character for me. Yeah I know there was something involving race in the books, but that plotline was something that didn't seem to be necessary to carry over into a movie.
Of course the movie ended up being a pile of trash, but is a good example of how I focus more on how the character acts than how they look.
Same with a lot of science, swords, and other objects where I really don't have a mental image so a lot of sets work as long as they have the things or the general feel.
It was different for me, King mentioned his blue eyes so many times that I couldn't imagine Idris as playing him.
-
Another great analogy are those comically quick cuts in Bollywood dramas where they mix slo-mo, sped up shots, random super closeups, the same shot over and over and whatever else until you can barely make out what's even going on
Both of your descriptions match closely with how I internally visualize. Never bothers me until I try hard to follow a visual description
-
Both of your descriptions match closely with how I internally visualize. Never bothers me until I try hard to follow a visual description
Does your sense of direction also suck? Because it really does for me and I've always suspected a connection. I still get lost in my hometown from time to time despite living there for 9 years now.
-
I actually prefer books and really can't enjoy tv. It's simply not my medium. I don't think aphantasia has any influence on these tbh. It's not like I can compare but I don't see how not visualizing what is happening in a book should have any influence on the enjoyment. The information still gets parsed in your head just fine.
It probably depends on the person. I know for me, reading books is only entertaining if I can visualize what is happening like scenes from a movie. Sometimes I even "cast" real-world actors in this imagined movie because it makes it easier for me to keep characters consistent.
Reading just for information retention, on the other hand, sometimes takes me a few passes because I will end up zoning out if it's not something I can visualize.
-
Does your sense of direction also suck? Because it really does for me and I've always suspected a connection. I still get lost in my hometown from time to time despite living there for 9 years now.
My sense of direction is usually pretty good. If I'm distracted I'll get turned around fairly easily but it's not hard for me to figure out where I accidentally went.
-
How does it affect your ability to enjoy books? Or type of books you'd enjoy?
Do you tend to prefer more visual medium like video(movies, tv), or comic books?
Completely. Books are only good to me if the author has a nice writing style. Those character descriptions or scene description paragraphs? I just skip them. They don't do anything for me.
On the other hand, I LOVE movies.
-
Dated a girl for a while that had corresponding R & L tattooed on the topside base of her thumbs.
That way when she was driving and people said go left, go right, she wouldn’t have to ask which way that was.
When I was with her I’d have to say things like the turn is on your side, take a my side.
It was different.
my grandma once said if I get one of those tattoos I would never get a job and live in a cardboard box because nobody would hire someone who can't know their rights and lefts
She also said I'm infected by the devil because I love my gay dad
she also hasn't even gone to church in 4 years because the pastor told her to not be racist.
-
my grandma once said if I get one of those tattoos I would never get a job and live in a cardboard box because nobody would hire someone who can't know their rights and lefts
She also said I'm infected by the devil because I love my gay dad
she also hasn't even gone to church in 4 years because the pastor told her to not be racist.
Your grandma had a lot to say.
Those three points are a lot to unpack.
Well she was the first time I’d encountered that personally. While it was different and directions-wise I had to train myself how to convey meaning, you’ll be pleased to know I never gave her shit for it.
