[kiwidude]

I've got a big wish list of books to read, some of which has come from many of the kind folks here - all good but for the fact that it it is going to take a darn long time before I will get to experience some of those books!

Every now and then you see someone mention "speed reading", such as a thread in the reading recommendations forum currently (which I am trying not to hijack with my question).

It is something that has long intrigued me - but under the belief that nothing comes for free in terms of the quality of the reading experience I have never tried it myself or now how it "works".

I can understand if as part of your job or whatever you have a huge amount of "stuff" that you have to "skim" through then it would be very useful.

However when it comes to reading good quality fiction, where the author/editor have slaved away carefully constructing sentences and paragraphs - does it not defeat the point somewhat to skim through it? I understand the "well I can still get the gist of it from a comprehension" perspective argument - if that is all you want from reading fiction then fair play to you. But when I think about the total immersion I can get from some books where every word draws you deeper in, or how the most subtle black humour comments bring a huge grin to my face - does speed reading not reduce the experience by missing out on that subtlety?

Please note this is merely a question based on ignorance on my part. Do those of you who use speed reading techniques apply them to your fiction reading, and if so do you recommend it or not?

After all with so many books I want to read and not unlimited time, then being able to experience more authors/books sounds a good thing. But is the "cost" worth it, and does it just "average out" the enjoyment of the books read?