Speed Reading?

HereIStand said:

Does anyone speed read or tried to improve his/her reading speed? Are there books or tapes that you've used for this purpose?

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"Speed reading" and "reading faster" are two quite different things. The latter mostly comes with practice.

HereIStand said:

Does anyone speed read or tried to improve his/her reading speed? Are there books or tapes that you've used for this purpose?

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I learned using the technique that was popular about 40, 45 years ago. It was useful to go through and get the sense of something. I can still skim and get maybe 80% comprehension and retention.

I don't generally use it for anything I wish to enjoy, or that is important to me and I want to absorb the details. It doesn't work for deeply technical or logical readings where each step must be fully understood.

Not sure if this helps you or not.

(A good first technique for many people for simply reading faster is to silence the inner voice if you have one. It generally goes slower by necessity than your mind/eyes can.)

HereIStand said:

Does anyone speed read or tried to improve his/her reading speed? Are there books or tapes that you've used for this purpose?

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I guess it's a habit acquired in time, because we often lead such busy lives.

~Anastasia~ said:

I learned using the technique that was popular about 40, 45 years ago. It was useful to go through and get the sense of something. I can still skim and get maybe 80% comprehension and retention.

I don't generally use it for anything I wish to enjoy

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That's the thing about "speed reading." It works, but it's no fun.

HereIStand said:

Does anyone speed read or tried to improve his/her reading speed? Are there books or tapes that you've used for this purpose?

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Years ago I used software on my Apple II. I think it can help, though the progress I made was modest at best.

FireDragon76 said:

Years ago I used software on my Apple II.

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Was that while you were on the Ark with Noah?

No, seriously, I have fond memories of the Apple II.

Radagast said:

That's the thing about "speed reading." It works, but it's no fun.

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Agreed.

I only do it for something I don't really care about and need an overall sense of, which means almost never. I did read a book in the library yesterday that I decided wasn't worth checking out. Little actually valuable info and mostly depressing and fatalistic. But it rarely comes in handy for me.

I guess there are different styles of instruction, now that I think of it. I've seen one where the person skims his finger under the text. I wasn't taught to do that - really the opposite. I was taught not even to run the eyes over every word, but to visually take in and read lines all at once. If a finger was used to trace (which it shouldn't be) it would have been to go straight down the center of each page. It's kind of like taking a flash-picture of the page with your eyes and reading that while your eyes are moving, if that makes sense. I can do it, but don't like to. Anything that isn't recalled in the mind or further considered within a day or so is largely forgotten (but just thinking about it makes me remember a lot, if I take the time to do that).


I usually deliberately choose to do the opposite. I usually read things very deliberately and slowly, and hear the voice in my head, pause sometimes, and think about it while I'm reading it. It's much slower, but I enjoy it. And I tend to remember essentially all of it that way, unless I try to read too many new things in a day.

It's a temptation to read a lot because I have things I need to read for other reasons, but I like to read for my own sake. But I honestly go through most books very slowly because I find I like it better to take my time, and I get more out it - whatever my purpose for reading is.

I actually started reading a fiction book yesterday, which I almost never do. I might actually finish it, since it is quite interesting so far.

HereIStand said:

Thank you all for the helpful responses. I generally can't read something difficult fast. I have so much (too much) that I would like to read.

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Practice makes perfect.