Cover to Cover Challenge discussion
General Discussion
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Increasing your reading speed
I don't, but I would love some. I need to increase my speed a little.
I don't know if this will help, but just find a book that you can "fall" into. You know; where the story just draws you in. If you cannot get into the book your reading at the time put it back and try another. I've never been a fan of having to "finish" a book simply because you've "started" it.I've found that if a story can draw me in as a reader, it goes much quicker simply because I need to find out how the story ends. :)
I don't know if I want to read faster. I think I want to enjoy what i read more than I want to stack up a pile of finished books that I hardly know the plot of. I like to escape into a book not race to the next one. Just my two cents. :)
Does anyone else get tired when they read? My eyes always seem to get "heavy" when reading...without fail. And I find that to be part of my reading speed problem!
I have that same problem Kelly - unless its near the end of the book and I am really excited about how it ends. Then I can stay awake, but it definitely relaxes me enough to sleep.
I don't have the problem of getting sleepy when reading. My problem is one more chapteritis, where I tell myself only one more, then only one more, I think you get the picture. LOLI do agree with Sherry that if you "get" into a book I find myself reading faster because I have to know how it all ends. I also have a hard time putting a book down when it is good. But when I find a book just ok, it seems like I don't care if I put it down to do other things.
Kelly A wrote: "Does anyone else get tired when they read? My eyes always seem to get "heavy" when reading...without fail. And I find that to be part of my reading speed problem!"I get tired when I'm reading. I find it hard lately to read because I get so tired when I'm reading even when the book is good.
I feel better knowing that I am not the only one! =) Thanks guys!
Your right Wendy, I get "Chapteritis" too! :D
Kelly A wrote: "Does anyone else get tired when they read? My eyes always seem to get "heavy" when reading...without fail. And I find that to be part of my reading speed problem!"I have the same problem. I usually take a short break from reading and watch a little TV. Then when my eyes aren't heavy any more, I continue reading.
As for increasing my speed at reading, I don't know any hints. I just read 1 book at a time.
Darcy wrote: "I don't have the problem of getting sleepy when reading. My problem is one more chapteritis, where I tell myself only one more, then only one more, I think you get the picture. LOLI do agree wi..."
I also have chapteritis...especially when it's time for me to go to bed. I always try to read one more chapter but end up not reading it as I am so tired, I read the same paragraph over and over and still don't know what it said. So I give up and go to bed.
When I feel sometimes a book is getting wordy I'll skim certain parts. I still get what is happening And I don't do it that often. But I find I can zip though some books and not others. If it grabs me it's easier. I can read a book in a day or two but if not it takes longer because the book is easy to put down. That is why too I already have more than one book going. 
Tiff wrote: "lol people...should be paper...I hope that no one uses a piece of a person underneath their reading...and if you do...you didn't hear that tip from me!"LOL I don't know... it might be appropriate if you are into Stephen King or Patricia Cornwell. Maybe some Lovecraft ;P
on the "getting tired eyes" thing. Have you tried using some artifical tears or other eye moisturizer? I tend to not blink as much when reading, so my eyes get really dry, which makes me feel tired. If I moisten my eyes, then blink for a minute or two, that usually helps with the tired feeling.
Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "on the "getting tired eyes" thing. Have you tried using some artifical tears or other eye moisturizer? I tend to not blink as much when reading, so my eyes get really dry, which makes me feel tir..."I will have to try that, I have contacts and they get dry a lot. I will have to try that.
Darcy wrote: "I don't have the problem of getting sleepy when reading. My problem is one more chapteritis, where I tell myself only one more, then only one more, I think you get the picture. LOLI do agree wi..."
I often can't sleep until I finish the book. 'One more chapteritis' indeed!
I'm a naturally fast reader and don't know how you can up your speed of reading. I just read everything and the speed has always been there even when I was in kindergarten. I don't know when I learned to read, I just always have as far as I know. I read thoroughly, though, at whatever speed I am reading -- I very rarely skim anything. I have to agree that if a book is really interesting, it definitely becomes a faster read. Boring books can be much slower to read. I wouldn't suggest reading faster, I would suggest just enjoying what you DO read. Speed isn't everything!
Fw2books wrote: "Photojim wrote: I often can't sleep until I finish the book. 'One more chapteritis' indeed!It's also why I am a last chapter reader. Then I can put the book down and go to bed if it's a fav..."
I don't see how you'd be able to do that, lol. For me, most of the time I can't just leave a book as I feel the need to know how it all ends. Although I do have some exceptions to that lol.
When I read I read fast but I still get the whole concept of the book. Like sometimes right after a big scene I'll stop and think about it before continuing
What slows me down most while reading is either 1) I get distracted and can't focus enough to get completely immersed in what I'm reading (and this isn't always because the book isn't interesting; half the time it's just because I'm feeling restless or have other things on my mind) or 2) I'm fighting to stay awake at night so that I can keep reading, but my eyes keep closing and I spend 20 minutes on a page. So from this, I'd have to say that you will naturally read faster if you're wide-awake and able to focus and enjoy.
Darcy wrote: "I don't have the problem of getting sleepy when reading. My problem is one more chapteritis, where I tell myself only one more, then only one more, I think you get the picture. ..."Oh, yes, I get the picture. I don't seem to have trouble staying awake when I read. I have trouble putting the book down.
Someone else said they don't want to read faster, they just want to enjoy the book. I took a speed reading class in college. It has helped in my job as a copy editor. When reading for pleasure, I read at a comfortable speed. There is not a deadline to meet.
Fw2books wrote: "... It's also why I am a last chapter reader. Then I can put the book down and go to bed if it's a fav..."Me too. J.A. Jance is one of the very few authors that I have not read the last few pages. I start at the beginning & read to the end.
I have to read the rest of the book to see why it ended like it did.
:O I tried to read one of J.A Jance's novels and couldn't finish it. I wanted to rip it up. :O lol
LOL, we are all so different, huh? Jodi Picoult is one author I cannot finish. Yet, others think she is the next best thing to sliced bread.
indeed we are, lol. i've only read one book by Jodi Picoult and it was pretty good, I want to read more by her though. Everyone has their own opinions though, which is good. Otherwise it'd be pretty dull.. i would say anyways lol
I do wish I could read faster, but I'm not referring to reading speed per se... I just wish I could move through books more quickly, because there are SOO many that I want to read. I guess that would require: 1) reading more often, and 2) really focusing.Just thinking out loud here. :)
Lynn wrote: I don't know when I learned to read, I just always have as far as I know.Now I DO know when I learned to read. I was 8. Up til then, my teachers and everyone were telling my parents "She doesn't seem to be able to grasp what we are talking about. Perhaps you should have her "tested." Where the tested mean, "We think she might be retarded." But, after Christmas the year I was 8, my Mum finally got an eye doctor to realize that I COULD NOT SEE. I am just this side of legally blind, I'm so near-sighted. I would be seated in the front row in class--and STILL could not see the blackboard. When I went in for my test, they used the chart with all the E's on it--the one where you point your hand in whatever direction the E was pointing. At 20 feet, I couldn't see ANY of the E's. At 10 feet, I could just barely see the 1 at the very top of the chart--the 1 that most people could see at 50 feet. The eye dr had fits at my Mum, wanting to know why she hadn't gotten me in sooner. She told him she'd been carting me to a new eye dr. every 6 months since I was 6. (That's when they got me--I was adopted.) And every single 1 of them told her the same thing--my headaches and vision problems were caused by my teeth. That as soon as the dentists got the massive infections in my teeth and jaws cleared up, my headaches would go away and my vision would clear up. Well, after 18 months on massive doses of anti-biotics (should I mention that I'm now extremely allergic to most anti-biotics?) my teeth and jaw were finally healed. But my vision and headaches had NOT cleared up. After gibbering in anger for about 15 minutes, that dr. demanded the names and addresses of all the others that Mum had taken me to. My parents started getting phone calls from various previously visited dr's AND from the governing board of optometrists. Seemed he'd reported all those previous dr's and wanted them censoured or possibly have their liscenses revoked or something. I don't really know which, and at that point in time didn't really care. Because, now that I could SEE (I walked out of his office that day with my very first pair of bifocals) I'd not only caught up to everyone else in my class--I'd actually PASSED them all. Mum says that after they got me the glasses and I could see and could read, I haven't stopped since. (Then she mumbles something about thanking God that toilet tissue didn't have writing on it or they'd have never gotten me out of the bathroom when I was growing up.) :o) I also remember leaving that office and standing outside and going "Oh my GOD--people have faces--and TREES aren't just blobs." Mum says the whole way home I just kept repeating "I never knew that XXX was there."
The reason I ask is there is so many awesome books and not enough time in the day to read. I would really like to increase my reading speed without skimming and still absorbing everything in the book. I cant imagine skipping the descriptions since I picture the scenes as they are happening.Someone once told me that to increase your speed you have to look at every line as awhole and then just read line for line, cause apparently your brain recognized the characters, you dont need to read word for word....so far I'm just too impatient to try it this way cause it will take some time to get use to.
Denell, I agree, there are way too many great books out there and not nearly enough time to read them all!! I never skim unless I'm fed up with a book and just want to finish so that I can see what happened (which is rare). I read every single word, and I read it at the same pace that I talk out loud, only silently. Does everyone else do this? I actually speak the words in my mind. So, just as it is uncomfortable to try to talk faster or slower than my normal speaking pace out loud, it is just as uncomfortable for me to try to read the words on the page faster. The only exception is, like I said above, if I'm really sleepy - and then you know how it is, you end up reading the same sentence over and over again.
Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "Lynn wrote: I don't know when I learned to read, I just always have as far as I know.Now I DO know when I learned to read. I was 8. Up til then, my teachers and everyone were telling my pare..."
Wow Ann that is such an amazing story!!! Big up to that Doc and your mom!!
I find I read faster when I don't stop and check goodreads after every few chapters! LOL! But seriously I'm pretty fast reader and seriously suffer from 'One more chapteritis'. Sometimes I pay for that at work the next day.
Tara wrote: "I find I read faster when I don't stop and check goodreads after every few chapters! LOL! But seriously I'm pretty fast reader and seriously suffer from 'One more chapteritis'. Sometimes I pay fo..."Tara I am just like you and it catches up to me too. Sometimes the next afternoon it's difficult to stay awake :)
Ann aka Iftcan wrote: "on the "getting tired eyes" thing. Have you tried using some artifical tears or other eye moisturizer? I tend to not blink as much when reading, so my eyes get really dry, which makes me feel tir..."That is a really good tip. I never thought of that! I knew I asked you guys for a reason! You solve all my problems! LOL
Kelly R wrote: "What slows me down most while reading is either 1) I get distracted and can't focus enough to get completely immersed in what I'm reading (and this isn't always because the book isn't interesting; ..."I have to agree Kelly. I notice that I can read faster when I have no distractions. Like if I try to read while I am watching TV, or at work, I find myself doing a lot of re-reading of the same page!!!
Tara wrote: "I find I read faster when I don't stop and check goodreads after every few chapters!"LOL Tara!
I think that it is a matter of making sure of the following;-1) You are in the mood to rea
2) You choose the right book for the right mood
30 you are not tired
4) Maybe after finishing one book try something different
5) Get away from distractons
And finally not put too much pressure on yourself to get it read
Nice list there Afsana - pretty much sums it all up :)
Fw2books wrote: "I usually have more than one book on the go. Dh asked me how I did it... and I asked him how he followed various tv series' week to week... same thing."I hadn't thought of a comparison like that! Thanks -- I'll be using it for my answer from now on when I get asked that same question.
That is an incredible story Ann. Thanks for sharing. I also send a big thumbs up to the doctor for reporting the others and your mom for never ever giving up!
Wow Ann! Kudos to the doc & especially to your mom for trying just one more doctor. I had to laugh about words on the toilet paper. I find if I'm stuck in the bathroom, I read the labels on the lotion jars & anything else that has words on, LOL.
My son took a class to increase his reading speed and also comprehension. One thing they taught, which I use, is to place your index finger in the middle of the page and to scroll down with it as you read. I'm a fairly fast reader to begin with but find for some reason when I do this, I read faster and I don't notice any less comprehension. It has something to do with your field of vision, which they explained to him, but I don't remember what exactly.
Here's that paragraph, for anyone who has never seen it... pretty cool: Aoccdrnig to rseearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
That is very cool and interesting. Guess spelling isn't that important after all. :-)
HAH Jan--don't tell an ENGLISH teacher that. (um, or my Mum either.) :o)
Kelly R wrote: "Here's that paragraph, for anyone who has never seen it... pretty cool: Aoccdrnig to rseearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprm..."
Our library had that one summer and it was funny that I was able to read it with no problem.
I only skim if the particular passage is describing an outside scene in great detail......But with mysteries one must read everything to sort all the clues.....
I read fast anyways without skimming especially if the book is really really really good! I get faster....:-)
OMG Kelly! that is so interesting!
Yeah Kelly, great stuff. I only skim extremely detailed descriptions if I feel they are not important to me or the story. Some authors can get pretty wordy.
Oh, and I skip some of the sex scenes.
Cover to Cover Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Sworn to Silence (other topics)A Is for Alibi (other topics)
The Secret Between Us (other topics)
The Pigman (other topics)
Rebecca (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Barbara Delinsky (other topics)Daphne du Maurier (other topics)
Anybody got some tips on how to increase your reading speed?