Fellow Potter fans, tell me how to speed read

[Michael]

It takess me weeks to read the first hp,i need to learn how to speed read

[[deleted user]]

spreeder.com is an excellent website

[Kristen]

The more you read, the faster you will be. Just takes some time.
I would like to learn speed reading too though :)

[Michael]

Kristen wrote: "The more you read, the faster you will be. Just takes some time.
I would like to learn speed reading too though :)"

I've read close to 250 books, and its not helping me.

[[deleted user]]

That is not nearly enough, I'm 14 and I read 350+ books a year and it took me thousands to get where I am today, 1,000 words a minute.

[Kathryn]

Do not speed read

[Kristen]

Michael wrote: "Kristen wrote: "The more you read, the faster you will be. Just takes some time.
I would like to learn speed reading too though :)"

I've read close to 250 books, and its not helping me."

You probably just don't realize the change since you started reading.
Listen to a kid who has just begun reading, for a few minutes, and you will see how fast you actually are.
It's not going to happen over night, but the more you read, the faster you will be. Just like anything else, the more you do it, the better and more efficient you will be at it.

And yes, as Alexandra pointed out, 250 is really not that many in the grand scheme of things. Keep going.

I have a small tip to offer though. Reading should be enjoyable, not a chore. Stop focusing on how fast you get something read and just relax and enjoy the story. It's much better that way :)

[sam_i_be]

Plus, if you read too fast, you can't savour the story. I'm a pretty fast reader, but I read slower if I'm reading a really good book, I try to read it slowly so I can love it for longer :)!

[AgCl]

there are good speed reading apps out there, the program employs different techniques to improve your reading speed and you can actually monitor if you're getting better (e.g. 7speedreading). I agree with samantha though. Doing it too fast can take the fun out of reading.

[Sparrowlicious]

Err, well, search for speed reading techniques online?
The thing with me is: I spend a lot of time reading. One of my friends reads pretty fast. I think she read the entire Harry Potter series over the weekend once because she felt like it.
Of course there's a difference between reading fast and speed reading.
I only got one tip though: let your eyes fly over a sentence and see how much you actually understand. I wouldn't read an entire book like this though because I seriously can't but it helps when you suddenly lose track of what's going on.

[[deleted user]]

Don't push yourself too much, you'll miss things if you try too hard to read fast. The more you read the faster you read and you'll even begin to understand books better. It's been scientifically proven that reading a lot improves your concentration, speed and memory, making it easier to read. Just keep reading, it's the only thing that really works.

[Benja]

It's not a race, man!

[Sammy]

I read most novels (say 200-400 pages within them) in a period of around two days which I consider to be pretty fast and I must tell you that I absolutely hate it. You've finished a book in a matter of hours and even if you have a high comprehension rate (which I do) you still haven't always been able to connect and attach to most characters that you read about, one minute you've opened a book and the next you've put in your book shelf because you've finished. I've always hated being a fast reader and wish I could read slower but I always get ahead of myself be grateful your a slow reader it means you can appreciate books more

[[deleted user]]

Savour the series while you can! Re-reading is never quite the same.

[Carolín]

Sammy wrote: "I read most novels (say 200-400 pages within them) in a period of around two days which I consider to be pretty fast and I must tell you that I absolutely hate it. You've finished a book in a matte..."

I totally agree with this! It happens to me all the time and I always have to reread books to pick up the extra details

[Nate]

read in chunks not by sentence or word

[Asti]

Fast or slow ..., I'll just give you a shrug.
I think what important is whether you enjoy the reading or not.
But if you mean how to finish a book faster, it depends not only on the reading speed, but also on how long you can endure reading. Can you read 4 hrs non-stop, or all night long, or have to take a rest every 30 minutes?

[Emily]

First time I read harry potter 1 it took me a month- now I could probably read it in half a day, It's really simple the more I read the quicker I get. Also keep track of how much you read helps- in a hour, you could read 1 chapter, a month later you could read 4.
although this is good- it's had to not speed read, if I reread harry potter now, I hardly take it in- it's a blessing and a curse!

[Lilac]

Practice Practice Practice

[Shawn]

It is fine to take a while to read a book.Their is no certain time limit to read obviously. I actually wish I didnt just binge read this whole series but its alright, I will read it again sometime.

[K Whatsherface]

Don't worry about it so much. Everyone reads at there own rate

My boyfriend can read a 200 page book in less then an hour. and because of that hes always whine he has nothing to read. (and i refuse to lone him books anymore because of the brown gunk that was on the cover when I got it back...I'm just glad in was hard cover and I don't lone out the sleeves)

I can read that same book in a day if i really like it, a week if I don't.

my best friend reads maybe 10 pages a day....She can sit still of long....and can read if someone bugs her (did say I can text while i read? drives her nuts how I easy I can get in and out of a book)

Enjoy your books. Your way. Speed reading is not for everyone and you're probably faster then you think. It took me weeks the first time I read Harry Potter and it took a few of my friends around month-month and 1/2. It also depends on the authors writing style. Some writing styles are just easier to read. I have issues with reading Shakespeare, as much as I love him, his style is just hard for me and takes me forever

[Dramapuppy]

There are sites; people have already said them.

Speed reading can be useful when reading something you dislike. I can read faster than most (but slower than speedreaders) but when I'm reading for fun I don't like to.

[Kaj]

Kathryn wrote: "Do not speed read"

I agree, enjoy the books!

[Rae]

I hate how fast I get through books. You can enjoy them more at a slower pace; keep on going as you are.

I just read 'Pretties' by Scott Westerfeld in about an hour and a half by skim-reading it. Only do this for books you dislike and if you have to, just read the dialogue and the occasional sentence; this is what I do to skim-read.

[Doskoi]

Speed reading is great for looking for information. It gives you the ability to scan through text at a fast pace if you know what you're looking for.

But in my personal experience, it doesn't allow me to enjoy a book. My method of speed reading is skimming through junks of words to find keywords or sentences to find what I'm looking for.

Another problem of me reading too fast is sometimes I lose comprehension of what I'm reading and usually have to re-read a whole sentence or paragraph.

My advice is just to read at your own speed and enjoy the story. And as others have already point out, the more you read the faster you'll become.

[Shanti]

I can read like 140 pages and hour-but it is not your speed but your enjoyment that matters. Everyone reads at different speeds I guess. Enjoy Harry Potter.
Also, reading more makes you faster.
I often skip words, sentences, paragraphs and sometimes pages when I read exciting books and then I'm like whoa what happened and have to read it again.
I do like re-reading good books though :)

[Andrew]

I'll speed read through a book I don't like if I'm just curious enough to know what happens in the end. Otherwise I read pretty slowly, so I can picture everything going on inside my head. I think it took me a couple weeks to get through the first Harry Potter, and I'm OK with that.

[Hannah]

I think you don't necessarily need to be fast. Some people are slow, but they are the most deep thinkers I know (then again, some people are fast and deep). But still, you shouldn't worry too much. It might also be something you're born with. But I actually think Kristen is right... I've read the HP series seven times (I counted!) so far, and the first time it took me, like, a few weeks, and the seventh time, it took me around one week, so it was basically a book a day.
Hope you find this helpful:)

[Wolfme76]

The ability to speed read is not about reading at a thousand words a minute constantly, it is more about taking the sections at the right speed. You don't maintain a fast speed whilst going round the corner. Just like you wouldn't read through a particularly sad death scene in a couple of seconds. There are apps out there like Acceleread, which you can try for free, then cost a small amount to continue. I have been looking at some courses online, some of which can be quite expensive. If you are still interested in learning to speed read and haven't done anything about it yet I suggest that you shop around and find out what works best for you.

[Wolfme76]

Doskoi wrote: "Speed reading is great for looking for information. It gives you the ability to scan through text at a fast pace if you know what you're looking for.

But in my personal experience, it doesn't allo..."

There is a difference between speed reading and scanning. What you appear to be doing is scanning.
We all have the ability to take in multiple words at the same time and this is what speed reading is all about. It is retraining your eyes and brain to take in information in a way that we are all capable of doing.

[MakayK]

Speed reading would be like an amazing nerd superpower(no offense to any nerds out there :p) But seriously, it'd be pretty cool. I think it can be overrated too though, personally because I like to experience what I'm reading, not just whip through it.

[Girish]

Why would you speed read HP?? When I read a book I like to enjoy it slowly and indulge in it completely, However if you're one of the guys how enjoy to have superpowers just try reading while pointing the words with your fingers and gradually catch up the speed at which your eyes can't catch words you could also trying skip words if you're motto is just to speed read and understand the text but as I said earlier it would just spoil the fun...Goodluck anyways