How to read faster?

[Teknikal]

I'm an exceptionally fast reader I always have been even as a child but I really can't explain what I do other people don't it's just a natural thing for me, it's pretty common for me to read a full novel in one sitting which is why I tend to seek out books that have a large series I can spend some time on.

The downside is I'm always thinking about my next read and at this point I've already read most of the things that interest me so I tend to use the reading recommendations forum here a lot looking for future material in a way I actually envy people that can stretch a good book over weeks.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I stated that it takes me around 9 hours to read a +/- 350 page book, but I seem to be one of the slowest people in this thread with a large margin.

When reading a standard size pbook I tend to average around 30 pages an hour, which is kind on par with you. BUT, when I read every word and really enjoy the novel I am reading. I am never in a rush to read a novel as quickly as possible.

Come to study though (back when at uni and now CPA) I tend to read the first sentence of a paragraph for the chapter/section, then go back and re-read but in its entirety. That way I find I can skim over the material quicker and my comprehension is better for dry material.

My wife will read dialogue word for word but skims over other paragraphs as she feels it is more filler and for her she finds it doesn't enhance or detract from her interpretation of the story. Using her process I guess I could have got through the entire Wheel of Time series in an hour or two

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Teknikal

I'm an exceptionally fast reader I always have been even as a child but I really can't explain what I do other people don't it's just a natural thing for me....

It may not be so much what you do, but what you don't do. You may not subvocalize the way many people do. Although they helped initialized a lifelong love of reading for me, comics may have inadvertently put a permanent damper on my reading speed. I remember around the age of 10 learning to think in words from seeing other people's thoughts pictured as words in thought balloons in comics. Of course, memory is a construct and a very flawed one at that, so I'm not saying what I'm describing is the undeniable reality, but simply saying that's how I remember it. Learning to vocalize thoughts may have led to subvocalization during reading.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

It may not be so much what you do, but what you don't do. You may not subvocalize the way many people do.

From (which agree with what I have read about the subject):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization

Advocates of speed reading generally claim that subvocalization places extra burden on the cognitive resources, thus, slowing the reading down.[3] Speedreading courses often prescribe lengthy practices to eliminate subvocalizing when reading. Normal reading instructors often simply apply remedial teaching to a reader who subvocalizes to the degree that they make visible movements on the lips, jaw, or throat.[4]

No evidence exists that normal non-observable subvocalizing will negatively affect any reading process.[1] At the more powerful rates (memorizing, learning, and reading for comprehension), subvocalizing by the reader is very detectable. At the less powerful, faster rates of reading, (skimming, and scanning) subvocalization is less detectable. For competent readers, subvocalizing to some extent even at scanning rates is normal.[4]

[donpapachino]

there is a method which i forgot what it's called. it's something like scanning the book page in a Z pattern.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

That would mean a full work week to read one book. It would be quite tough to put 4 work weeks of reading into a month, next to a normal job. (I know; I've recently put in 2-3 work weeks of studying while having a normal job, and it's not funny.)

Maybe I was a bit optimistic. But if you really concentrate on reading and do not watch TV or do other things I thought that 4h per day during the week and 15h during the weekend was possible. When I was in more intensive reading periods I used to do that.

[Tarana]

I used to be a very fast reader, roughly like your wife. However, I suffered a brain and vision injury. I applied some old techniques that I knew from high school (I attended a speed reading course) and some new ones (which address the short term memory issue). One thing that had been mentioned in the course is that a lot of slow readers 'read out loud' in their head. This really slows them down. However, you could also have some kind of learning disability that I know nothing about.

Here is my suggestion. Get an audiobook and etext of the same book. Follow along. Use an audiobook app, if possible. Most audiobook apps have the option to have the reader read faster. I would increase the speed and continue to follow along. You are going too fast if you are not enjoying the reading or losing the thread of the story.

Why would this help? You use a different part of the brain when you read vs. when you listen. Sometimes, by both listening and reading, you can 'fix' the reading part, at least to a point. This is how I progressed. This may not eliminate the problem at all, though, if the plot or the writing is quite complex. I have actually found fantasy novels harder to read than science fiction. Not sure why.

Hope this helps. I know it can be frustrating. I lost 10 years of reading because of my issues, so even if all you can read is one book a month, that's more than a lot of people read.

[danskmacabre]

I'm a pretty fast reader, I can't put a number on it, as I've never bothered to measure it.
It does vary though. If I'm reading a quite "light" book plotwise and complexity wise, I could read say a 250 page paperback in a couple of hours, maybe less.
For something intense/In depth, it might take an evening to read.

Still, it varies on my mood as well or sometimes I deliberately re-read parts, right after I have read them or go back to re-read a part if there's a significant reason to do so, such as a revelation in a story that makes something that happened earlier more meaningful.

I don't subvocalise at all and don't hear the words in my head either.
The best way I can describe it is I kind of immerse myself into the book very far.
I see the events happening in my head as if it's a real life conversation and the events are actually happening.
but it's all very abstract and hard to explain.

Sometimes if a part of a book is pretty boring, I skim read very fast.
I'll take in all the information, but I don't get that immersive feeling and it's not really enjoyable.
However I do it just to get past a boring part.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Interesting. I don't think many of us read at 1500 WPM but what do I know. My mind is still boggling from the idea of reading 1000 pages in 8 hours while subvocalizing and appreciating the nuances.

Helen

Helen:

Nope, you're right, s/he said "1,000 pages." That is uber-fast. I'm an extremely fast reader, by anyone's standards, and I couldn't do that. If that's printed pages of the average fiction novel, that would be 325,000 words in eight hours, or 40,625 words/hour or 677 wpm. However, I don't think I've ever finished a thousand-page novel in 8 hours, but according to alleged tests, I read about that fast. So--who knows?

I previously and wrongly said:

S/he said, "1,000 lines," not 1,000 pages. A "line" could mean anything. I mean, a Kindle "line?" (60 chars on average, including spaces), a printed 6"x9" line? I'm sure this gets discussed somewhere later on this thread, but as I've just dropped in, I thought I'd mention that as I just read it, it's lines--not pages. Not remotely the same thing.

Hitch

[iirisa]

I have noticed I read much slower in languages, other than my mother tongue (which is not English). Normally I read fast. But often I have to forcefully slow down because ability to read and understand a text seems to have two different speeds.

[thymaster]

I was exactly like you a few years ago. Slow and read out loud. What changed about me is that I tried to change my habit from reading out load to inside your head.

I have three advice that might help you read faster and that is time, place and trance.

Time - Dedicate a few hours in a day to reading everyday. I recommend for starters 2 hours or more. You can take a break between the hours but not too long.

**** Clear your mind before reading. You're reading out loud because you're mind is thinking of something else or is distracted. If you can't summarize the last 10 pages you just read, then that means something is bothering you. Try mediating for 10 minutes or 10 slow deep breaths before starting. ****

Place - Find a quite place to read. Not to comfy like your bed or laying on the sofa. Not to distracting. No TVs, radio or any kind of distractive noises.

Trance/Focus - When you start a book you can't stay focus on the first 20 pages because most likely you're bored and your brain might either already dosed off or thinking of something else so your lips are moving instead. Stop at every 10 pages and summarize what you just read really quick and continue on. Keep doing this until you're lost in the book.

When you feel the story gets interesting just keep on reading until you are tired and can't read anymore. Just before you call it quits, quickly summarize everything you just read in those hours as much as you can. You can also ask yourself questions about the stuff you just read. keep doing this for 2-3 weeks and I'm sure you'll finish a novel in less then 15 hours which my standard is good.

Thanks to my electronic eReader it tells me I average out 7 to 8 hours per 400 pages. Of course I don't read 7 hours straight so I break it into 4 days and that's how long it takes me to finish a book now. Sometimes I can do 3 books in a week.

[arturg]

Well, since last post I have completed two books of about 470 pages each. I read during my way to work then back home. So now I don't complain about the speed anymore, it gets faster the more I read and the more I enjoy the story

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by arturg

Well, since last post I have completed two books of about 470 pages each. I read during my way to work then back home. So now I don't complain about the speed anymore, it gets faster the more I read and the more I enjoy the story

That's great!

[applesauce]

This has been an interesting read. I read at about 100 pages an hour; I also read with music and or tv on. I can these days get distracted and find I have read half a dozen pages, and took nothing in. This is only just started to happen with my illness. I also can not listen to audio books full stop. They drive me nuts how slow they read. Now my husband reads really slow, and he can read out loud. I have smacked him in the head with my book a few times to make him stop when he does it in bed hehehe He loves audio books.
As I said this was interesting, and explained a lot.

applesauce

[Ranny]

Interesting about audio books, I can't just sit and listen, have to be doing something with my hands at same time. I also run at 2x speed and would like a 2.5x. The 3x becomes a tad squeaky.
Normal reading I find speed is dependent on how much I'm enjoying the book, the less I'm enjoying it, the faster I tend to read.