The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
discussion
Anyone on here speed read?
date
newest »
newest »
There's also apps for your smartphone and tablet that can help with speed reading. Like Spree, which uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to help you read much faster... up to 1000 WPM.There's a free version.. so try it on your .epubs. https://play.google.com/store/apps/de...
Michael wrote: "You practice identifying the words and their meaning, without actually pronouncing them in your head."Do people actually do this--read in their head as if they were actually reading out loud? I can't remember ever doing that, but I don't consider it speed reading.
To the original poster: the best way to get through a stack of books is to make more time to read, not to read more quickly.
Most do. They sound out every word in their head. A lot actually sub-vocalise.Speed reading courses teach you to scan down the centre of a page and let your peripheral vision pick up the stuff not in your direct vision, and have your brain do the processing, rather than your conscious.
It does work, but only if you are gleaning information. I can do it, but I generally don't, as you miss the nuances. Also the 'ands' and 'thes', so maybe halfway is a good point to aim for.
Reading books is the ultimate enjoyment. It must not be measured.Igor
I had a book by Tony Buzan that dealt with this in one chapter. The secret was to view clusters of words- not one by one. Anway, since I got my kindle (I love it!) and put it on large font setting I am almost reading this way- my reading speed has doubled at least
I'm a fast reader, but I don't speed-read. Speed-reading is more for getting facts out of non-fiction. Fiction is for enjoyment, for savoring, not for just getting through. I managed War & Peace in 3 days, for example. As I get older though, I find I cannot read as fast as I used to (in my twenties), which you would think is unfair. You should get better at something the more you practice (now in my fifties).
You don’t need speed reading, you just need to read every day and you will start to read faster. Reading is just like every exercise the more you do it, the more you progress (but everyone has a cap)So try to read 1 hour a day for a month and you will improve your reading skill.
fast readers reads between 100 to 300 books a year, I have read near 7k books in my life. But i read between 1 and 3 hour a day
As usual forget my poor english
Just keep pushing your reading speed up a little bit more. That is probably a better way to improve speed instead of truly speed reading. Always make sure that you are comprehending and remembering what you are reading to the same extent as when you are reading slowly. Just make sure to keep in mind that you want to read faster. Read with a sense of urgency rather than comfort. This also helps me to keep my mind active.
My second tip is that it's probably better to probably just spend more time reading than to speed read. You want to read without the goal of just burning through books. We have become more and more interested in efficiently using every second of time, and it's not always good. Some times you should just sit down and read a book as slowly as you want. If you are immersed in what you are reading, that's all that matters. Don't worry about the rest because more good will come from that.
One guy mentioned that they read faster when the re-read. I would suggest rereading. It does help you read faster and can get your brain in the habit of doing that with new texts. The main reason has to do with a lessened sub-vocalization that happens when reading something for the later times.
Now, if I haven't scared you off and if you do want to really speed read, one thing that helps is pointing with an index finger or pen. Let your eyes follow it at whatever speed you move it, and your mind will just read the words. If you go too fast you won't know what you are reading, though. Just run the pen across the lines as fast as you want/can to read them, and let your eyes follow. The next step and most important step is to not let yourself say the words, just let your mind read them. Saying the words, even in your head, activates vocalization parts of the brain which slow your reading to a slow talking speed. Think of this as a totally new way of picking up communication than you have never experienced before (we are usually taught to vocalize when reading, talking, thinking, etc.). You are merely trying to lift the words from the page with your eyes, and let your brain do the rest of the work. If you just focus on lifting the meaning from the lines (no vocalization or sub-vocalization), you will read much faster. After using the pen for a while try it without, just moving your eyes across the lines (after like a week or two of using a pen). Sometimes I move my book slightly from side to side when I don't have a pen (I still use a pen if possible). Still, you shouldn't try and flip through a book as fast as possible. Try to pace yourself to where you comprehend and remember a lot of what you are reading and really engage the text. You will now easily read twice as fast as your normal reading speed. Once you have figured that out, try and not focus on individual words while reading. It's sounds weird, but think about this. Your eyes take in the world in a kind of sprinkler motion (*tick, tick, tick* taking in a snapshot at a time)when you turn your eyes or head. It is the same when reading. We think we are fluidly perceiving the world, but it's a trick of the brain. You'll notice it once you practice the next technique. Just let them *tick, tick, tick* about three points across the page, pacing with your pen. Do not let yourself focus on any particular words, just the lines of text. Your eyes will transmit the data to the brain and process the whole line (or chunks as people have said) at one time. Stop some times and just run through what has happened in your head. Check for comprehension, slow down if necessary. People say that you get better over time, which might be true, but I am happy with a doubled speed, and most of the time I don't use all of the techniques together.
Also, when you hear people say that it lessens your comprehension to speed read. They are right, but but it's not a very significant problem considering those same people who read slowly, even with higher comprehension, will be losing a huge majority of whatever they might retain over the course of a few days. Human memory is pretty bad.I actually find that speed reading can help with comprehension at times because when I read slow I can get side tracked by other thoughts (especially in a bad book), but I do have ADHD, so that might be why. Still, it works for me. The way I think about it is that if it's a good book or a book I'll need to remember, I'll probably read it another time, and the recurring readings will really help more with recall and retention and comprehension than reading slowly could (unless you are keeping notes throughout and underlining, but even then people will forget a lot of it if they are away from it for a while).
I just would suggest learning to speed read as a secondary reading skill to have in your repertoire. Slow reading is enjoyable. I decided to start speed reading to knock a lot of books I wanted to read for pleasure off my reading list, but some times it's more fun to just let yourself take as much time as you need, etc. There are ways to speed up your reading without "speed reading," as I mentioned earlier, but it definitely comes in handy later on when cramming for a test, scanning a book for a passage or quote, reading in class, reading for a test, etc. It's just important to note the benefits you notice and the drawbacks. Everyone has a different idea of reading and what it is they want to get out of it. See if you can find a happy medium of reading (instead of 500% your normal reading speed maybe 50%) or if can use different styles at different times.
My second tip is that it's probably better to probably just spend more time reading than to speed read. You want to read without the goal of just burning through books. We have become more and more interested in efficiently using every second of time, and it's not always good. Some times you should just sit down and read a book as slowly as you want. If you are immersed in what you are reading, that's all that matters. Don't worry about the rest because more good will come from that.
One guy mentioned that they read faster when the re-read. I would suggest rereading. It does help you read faster and can get your brain in the habit of doing that with new texts. The main reason has to do with a lessened sub-vocalization that happens when reading something for the later times.
Now, if I haven't scared you off and if you do want to really speed read, one thing that helps is pointing with an index finger or pen. Let your eyes follow it at whatever speed you move it, and your mind will just read the words. If you go too fast you won't know what you are reading, though. Just run the pen across the lines as fast as you want/can to read them, and let your eyes follow. The next step and most important step is to not let yourself say the words, just let your mind read them. Saying the words, even in your head, activates vocalization parts of the brain which slow your reading to a slow talking speed. Think of this as a totally new way of picking up communication than you have never experienced before (we are usually taught to vocalize when reading, talking, thinking, etc.). You are merely trying to lift the words from the page with your eyes, and let your brain do the rest of the work. If you just focus on lifting the meaning from the lines (no vocalization or sub-vocalization), you will read much faster. After using the pen for a while try it without, just moving your eyes across the lines (after like a week or two of using a pen). Sometimes I move my book slightly from side to side when I don't have a pen (I still use a pen if possible). Still, you shouldn't try and flip through a book as fast as possible. Try to pace yourself to where you comprehend and remember a lot of what you are reading and really engage the text. You will now easily read twice as fast as your normal reading speed. Once you have figured that out, try and not focus on individual words while reading. It's sounds weird, but think about this. Your eyes take in the world in a kind of sprinkler motion (*tick, tick, tick* taking in a snapshot at a time)when you turn your eyes or head. It is the same when reading. We think we are fluidly perceiving the world, but it's a trick of the brain. You'll notice it once you practice the next technique. Just let them *tick, tick, tick* about three points across the page, pacing with your pen. Do not let yourself focus on any particular words, just the lines of text. Your eyes will transmit the data to the brain and process the whole line (or chunks as people have said) at one time. Stop some times and just run through what has happened in your head. Check for comprehension, slow down if necessary. People say that you get better over time, which might be true, but I am happy with a doubled speed, and most of the time I don't use all of the techniques together.
Also, when you hear people say that it lessens your comprehension to speed read. They are right, but but it's not a very significant problem considering those same people who read slowly, even with higher comprehension, will be losing a huge majority of whatever they might retain over the course of a few days. Human memory is pretty bad.I actually find that speed reading can help with comprehension at times because when I read slow I can get side tracked by other thoughts (especially in a bad book), but I do have ADHD, so that might be why. Still, it works for me. The way I think about it is that if it's a good book or a book I'll need to remember, I'll probably read it another time, and the recurring readings will really help more with recall and retention and comprehension than reading slowly could (unless you are keeping notes throughout and underlining, but even then people will forget a lot of it if they are away from it for a while).
I just would suggest learning to speed read as a secondary reading skill to have in your repertoire. Slow reading is enjoyable. I decided to start speed reading to knock a lot of books I wanted to read for pleasure off my reading list, but some times it's more fun to just let yourself take as much time as you need, etc. There are ways to speed up your reading without "speed reading," as I mentioned earlier, but it definitely comes in handy later on when cramming for a test, scanning a book for a passage or quote, reading in class, reading for a test, etc. It's just important to note the benefits you notice and the drawbacks. Everyone has a different idea of reading and what it is they want to get out of it. See if you can find a happy medium of reading (instead of 500% your normal reading speed maybe 50%) or if can use different styles at different times.
I actually learned a form of speed reading in middle school. Its more training your eyes to flow over the line and then your mind registers certain words (like the, what, they, you) without you consciously taking them in. I must do it all the time, because I tend to go through 300-400 page books at about three days and they are books that I enjoy. But there are times when I will stop to reread if something is particularly dense, there's an important point I want to make sure I understand, or the language is such that I want to reread it to savor. Biographies and histories take me a couple of days longer because I will sometimes take notes to keep track of key people, dates and events.
Savannah (Rhåþ§öХ̢ê) wrote: "People's perception of speed reading is false. Though you are reading quickly, it doesn't mean you aren't absorbing what you read."very true!
I can't speed read. I always have to read the words to myself (in my head) to understand their meaning. I'd love to be able to understand the written words directly, for it would make reading study books so much easier and faster. Sadly, I've always been an increadibly slow reader. Well, not everyone's perfect, haha.
I cannot not speed read. It is sad since I sometimes miss the plot. Hence, I like reading aloud.
I never speed read LOTR and The Hobbit but I admit I have speed read other books like Flaubert's Madame Bovary (because it was so darn descriptive I was losing interest with the flowers and the rugs and the stuffs that adulterous shopaholic did). I guess the reason for this was that The Hobbit was the first novel I ever read as a kid. It was like a form of graduation ritual for me from picture/illustrative books to zero pictures and pure imagination. Hell actually I tried reading Two Towers first but it was so hard for me get pass it so I tried reading The Hobbit because honestly it felt like a much more easier read.
If you cant speed read, then something that will contribute to how fast you read is how interested you are in the book.If you pick up a book youre hyped about, youll finish it quicker than youd finish a book youre not entirely interested in.
I dont think I speed read, even though Ive been told I read quickly, but I usually finish a 400 page book within 3 hours.
I cant really teach how to read fast, but the way Id describe it is like Pamela (msg 67) said, that you dont sit and ponder/waste a minute or two on each page to understand the words, just go on with it and slide through the sentences.
Nessie Night wrote: "If you cant speed read, then something that will contribute to how fast you read is how interested you are in the book.If you pick up a book youre hyped about, youll finish it quicker than youd fi..."
I guess that you never deliberately tried to learn how to speed read. My own experience (see above for more detail) was that reading a swedish author (Sven Stolpe) describing the process of "block reading" in an essay, I became aware of doing it spontaneously for years. I see on this thread that in the US one seems to measure speed reading and even offer classes to teach it. My position to that is : don't try it! It cannot possibly augment the pleasure you can have from reading.
Nessie Night wrote: "If you cant speed read, then something that will contribute to how fast you read is how interested you are in the book.If you pick up a book youre hyped about, youll finish it quicker than youd finish it quicker than youd finish a book you are not entirely interested in..."
I agree
Sometimes I read 3 or 4 books per day.
Preston wrote: "Just keep pushing your reading speed up a little bit more. That is probably a better way to improve speed instead of truly speed reading. Always make sure that you are comprehending and remembering..."Good thing I can speed read after that novel.
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic
I have to agree with you, Teresa. Speed reading is NOT skimming. Personally, I don't skim. If the book (novel) is boring me, or is less than what I want, it gets relegated asap to the scrapheap. Life is getting too short to force myself to finish it on principle. And, yes, I do go back to poetic or inspirational descriptions to savour them a second time. As for binge reading, my father used to shout from his bedroom, "Glenn! Turn off your light and go to sleep! It's school in the morning." Good thing there weren't any eBooks in those days that I could read in the dark.