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Submitted by BJ_Marshall on
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Does anyone have any recommendations for a speed-reading book? There is a lot of reading out there I'd like to do, but I'd like have a strong foundation in reading more effectively before I start tackling all these books and periodicals.

BJ

bug_girl's picture

I was lucky enough to just accidentally read quickly (800 wpm, usually, although slower on technical material).

All I can say is that reading is like writing--the more you do, the better you get. How much fiction do you read, or reading for fun? That will help your brain learn the habits of quick character recognition and scanning.

I've had a lot of friends try various speed reading courses, but none of them seem to stick unless they also stop watching TV and start picking up books.

rwwh's picture
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BJ_Marshall's picture
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I understand where more practice may improve efficiency, and I also see a problem: If you practice ineffective reading habits (e.g, subvocalization, frequent eye fixations, etc.), I think there is a serious limit to how much your efficiency is improved.

I am a slow reader. I don't subvocalize, but I'm hovering around 300 wpm. I have time to read, so that's not the issue at hand. (I don't watch any TV except for The Office, which I think is required material for any manager.) I just want to use that reading time more effectively to plow through more material.

Thank you for the link to the other post. I checked it out, and there are some good references there.

By the way, your pointing me to another forum prompted me to think of the [url=http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/]Personal MBA[/url]. They suggest starting their 77 book program with [url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/0446676675/]10 Days to Faster Reading[/url].

BJ

terrih's picture

See my cousin's blog, "Reading is My Superpower," at [url]http://superfastreader.com/[/url].

I've tried in vain to find the pamphlet she mentions. She doesn't have it any more. She can read a novel in a couple of hours, and then review it... she used to work for a movie studio evaluating novels for their movie potential.

I'd love to find this pamphlet...

magnus's picture

Heres my experiences so

[b]Fictional books[/b]
I have a list of more than a hundred boks that I would like to read, and have had the same thoughts. What I did was to put a pare of earplugs in my ears, pick up a stop watch, read ten pages of the book, and get my average usage per page in the book. The I'd read, just trying to beat mye average on every page, to slowley reduce my average. This works on fictional books, where you don't want to pay much attention to details. However, the amount you remeber in the future might go down with this technique. I have stopped using it on professional books, but it works with fictional books, and still give me pleasure there.

[b]Professional books[/b]
Instead I have picked up the book "Developing essential study skills", a book primearly intended for B-school students. I focuses much more on quality in it's methods, and what you actually can remember. It makes you go through the books more slowley, but the knowledge might stick better.

[i][b]The process[/b][/i]
1. Skim the book (Read the first and last sentences of every paragraph taht seem important. Memorate the way the book is devidede - the name of the chapters. Read through models that seem important - lists and alike)
2. Re-read the entire chapter.
3. Write down a summary of the chapter.
4. Devide the chapter into parts. Read each part and add new notes to your original summary
5. Re-read your summary. Do you remember? Do you comprehend it?

My new mthod in measuring how fast I use per page on this process, and it has helped me along the way.

Magnus - the Norwegian guy