I’ve just finished yet another re-read of ‘The Silmarillion’.

When I began reading it, I did so the way I read all books – silently, in my head.

As I started the second chapter, for no particular reason, I began reading aloud, which I only did during the day; in the evenings, when the boys were home from work, I reverted to reading silently.

To my surprise, I began noticing things I hadn’t picked up on before.

At first, I was a tad perplexed; how was I only noticing such-and-such now after reading this book (can’t remember how many) times?

A little slow on the uptake, it dawned on me that reading aloud was forcing me to slow down and really take in what I was reading.

It felt like reading ‘The Silmarillion’ anew, and that was wonderful.

Also, reading aloud really heightened the emotional heft of some of the passages.

Back when the boys were little, I used to read to them all the time, and that continued into our homeschooling years; I would still read to them when they were almost teenagers even though they could, obviously, read on their own.

But I had never read aloud to myself before.

And I have to say, I quite enjoyed it, not only for the deeper immersion, but also for the discovery of new things previously unnoticed.

I wish I’d discovered this before my re-read of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and shall certainly keep it in mind for the next time.

Going forward, will I read every book out loud?

No; it will depend very much on the style and genre.

Personally, I think a book like ‘The Silmarillion’, the style in which it’s written, lends itself very well to being read aloud, like Shakespeare’s plays, which were meant to be read out loud.

So, nothing profound in this blog post, just thought I’d share my thoughts on reading aloud as an adult.

If that’s something you enjoy doing or have never done before, feel free to share your thoughts if you wish; I would be most interested to read them.

Reading Aloud As An Adult