Reading speed

[dmaul1114]

Some light fiction, in whatever genre you enjoy. For me it would be fantasy. Something modern too so you don't run into words not in common usage today to slow you down etc.

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

I found this on-line test which is interesting. It measures reading speed and comprehension, and gives a kind of scale to measure against.

That was interesting but I don't know how accurate it is, because it is designed to sell the company's software.

It did remind me of something I once read, that the difference between fast readers and slow readers is that slow readers hear each word in their head when they read and fast readers grasp the sentence/paragraph visually as a gestalt.

I'm usually a visual reader. I never hear or say the words in my head. But, when I force myself to read, or try to speed read, suddenly I do hear the words and slow down significantly. I scored 562 wpm on the reading test, but I definitely wasn't in my reading groove, since I was hearing the words and read a couple of the math-y sentences twice to grasp exactly what was being said.

Still, interesting.

-Marcy

[PKFFW]

From what I understand the number one reason for "slower reading speed" is because the reader continually re-reads sections for some reason. The most common reason for this is because the reader feels they have mis-read a word or two or they feel they have not correctly understood the sentence. Of course they may have actually done either of those things rather than just feeling they have but studies indicate it is more often just a feeling and they have actually understood everything correctly. So re-reading the sentence or passage is just wasted time. Often they are doing it without even being concious of it.

I used to do it all the time and had to train myself to stop. Once I did my reading speed increased remarkably.

Something to be aware of anyway but may not be relevent to your particular situation.

Cheers,
PKFFW

[kacir]

There is a special software for Rapid Serial Visual Presentation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_S...l_Presentation
It flashes chunks of text rapidly on the screen. You can set the speed of flashing and the length of text. Using this software you can achieve remarkable reading speeds. At high speed reading can be quite tiring.

[Kevin2960]

I read very very quickly, and certainly have NO special intelligence, Having had my reader 3 days, and am on my 4th book, but I will doubtless read them again, usually more slowly,

Just as others have said, ENJOY Reading, whatever your speed, that truly is all that matters,

Regards and Best Wishes

Kevin

[FireRunner]

Oddly, I read faster on my eReader than I do a paper book. I think it's because of the font and display options. The font in paper books are actually pretty small.

[Kevin2960]

Originally Posted by FireRunner

Oddly, I read faster on my eReader than I do a paper book. I think it's because of the font and display options. The font in paper books are actually pretty small.

I'm sure your right, I've only had my reader a few days, but I've noticed the same, and BOY does the larger print help, I had ALMOST gone off of reading, simply because I struggled so much with books on Paper !

[Dusty]

The way it was once explained to me...
The eye sees symbols that are passed on to an interpretor. These are analyzed and passed on as images you can understand.
An avid reader eventually skips the interpretor and sees the image on the written page thus speeding up the reading process.
(please excuse the complex medical terminology)

Some books are so well writen I often don't remember if I read the book or saw the movie

[charleski]

Originally Posted by Dusty

(please excuse the complex medical terminology)

The correct terminology is "chunking" .

[A4-]

I used to read a lot and pretty fast when I was young. But since I've started reading in English, instead of Dutch, my reading speed dropped dramatically because of what Dusty said above(word recognition). I'm still not reading as fast as I used to tho it's getting pretty close to what it used to be.

Some other things that influence how fast I read:
I find myself reading at least double the speed when I'm reading exciting parts of the story, or when I'm visualizing it. (Compared to boring parts.)
Typo's and wrong or missing punctuation usually result in me getting thrown out of the story.
Books which I really like usually leave a more vivid impression than a movie.

Another thing I notice is when my mind starts to wander my eyes still keep reading the words but it doesn't register. Sometimes I read an entire page that way before I realize it.

[njm]

I don't know if I'm a fast or slow reader. I try to read 50 pages a day of whatever it is I'm reading, along with some supplemental reading, short stories or essays or maybe skimming a non-fiction or reference book.

[Belmana]

I have always been an extremely fast reader and at school I always excelled in comprehension. In my case it seems to be a natural ability as I have never taken any speed reading lessons. I find that if i try to slow down my reading I have trouble understanding what I am reading. I also find that poor formatting or incorrect spelling etc can interrupt my reading similar to what A4- describes as "getting thrown out of the story".

I scored 1286 wpm in the online test and the description of visual reader fits well with what one of my cousins was told when she was tested at school.

I believe that everyone has a natural reading speed that is correct for them and that when you try to change it you can end up missing out on detail etc.

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by tsantsa

Thanks for all the replies!

Back in schooling whenever I had to be tested (state, regional, whatever) I always excelled at comprehension. It never dawned on me that it may be because of my slower reading speed. Though I do remember now that at one time, I did read rather quickly. One time I read Stephen King's The Stand in about a single 24 hour period. I was about 14 or 15 at the time...

What sort of material should I begin with (other than pleasure reading) to increase speed while maintaining comprehension? Start simple I presume, but what? Hamlet? ;> j/k!

I'm like you tsantsa. I read fairly slowly but do very well on comprehension tests. I took the test to which someone linked and scored 150wpm and 100% comprehension. I've tried speed reading but didn't stick with it -- it definitely had an impact on my comprehension and more importantly my reading enjoyment. I just don't worry about slow reading anymore.

However, I'd be interested in hearing about other readers that have started out as slow readers, but now read substantially faster while maintaining comprehension and enjoyment.