Reading speed

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by ST-One

"claim", "say", "state", "write" take your pick.

I don't doubt that people can read that fast. I explained above why I don't think that reading that fast can be satisfying. YMMV.

I'm genuinely curious though - what, in your opinion, makes sitting down on a nice Saturday and spending five hours reading a 300-page novel (from beginning to end) less satisfying than spending 1.5 hours on that book on a Wednesday evening, 1.5 hours on a Thursday evening and 2 hours on a Friday evening? What about reading that book in one day as opposed to three evenings makes it more difficult / impossible to notice the subtleties and nuances or to enjoy the language?

My reading speed doesn't really change much from one day to another (although it can vary according to the book; literary or non-fiction tends to take more time per page compared to genre or YA/children's books). I've really not noticed any issues when I have the time to read an entire book on the same day as opposed to reading a similar book (similar length, same genre, about the same "level of writing") over the course of several evenings.

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by HarryT

... you really can't compare your own experience with that of most people, ...

Indeed, I can't. One's reading "experience" is so very much subjective that I shouldn't have said anything in the first place.

[rdfry]

Originally Posted by Froide

The number of words per book can vary widely. Consequently, your statement would be more informative if you provided further quantification.

OK I don't think of books in terms of word counts but I would estimate up to 180,000 words.

[Tarana]

I think adding the word 'acceptable' in your question is what throws people. There is no right or wrong. However, the average college student would be really struggling reading at only 200 wpm. You can do it, but it will be a lot tougher. I read somewhere that the average college student reads 350-450 wpm. Very few read over 600 wpm.

That said, I would agree with others on this thread that you will read differently on different devices. As far as speeding up, you can do this using Moon Reader and setting the scroll one step faster. It's uncomfortable at first, but if you don't have comprehension issues, then it does work to speed you up. I'm not sure that it's going to be very effective on such a small screen however.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I think adding the word 'acceptable' in your question is what throws people. There is no right or wrong. However, the average college student would be really struggling reading at only 200 wpm. You can do it, but it will be a lot tougher. I read somewhere that the average college student reads 350-450 wpm. Very few read over 600 wpm.

I'm a fairly slow reader (it takes me about 2 minutes per page when reading fiction). However, I did pretty well in university in the sciences. My reading speed wasn't a bottleneck when studying. I suppose it might be different for someone studying literature. So, yes, 'acceptable' is a very elastic term in these cases.

[tompe]

There ought to be a limit on the speed you can read to experience a book fully. But it is not so low as one book a day. Reading 100+ pages per hour and experience them fully seems pretty common (have at least a couple of friends that do that).

Harold Bloom is claimed to have read 1000 pages per hour. And I have a hard time believing that he could do that and fully experience the book.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by tompe

There ought to be a limit on the speed you can read to experience a book fully.

Harold Bloom is claimed to have read 1000 pages per hour...

This guy was allegedly able to read two opposite pages in an open book simultaneously, one with left eye the other with the right one. He was able to recall numbers, dates and huge number of other things he has read years later.

https://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety....real-rain-man/

There must be a limit. But it is *very. far from what an ordinary person can routinely perform.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by tompe

Harold Bloom is claimed to have read 1000 pages per hour. And I have a hard time believing that he could do that and fully experience the book.

That might explain his "As I read, I noticed that every time a character went for a walk, the author wrote instead that the character stretched his legs’. I began marking on the back of an envelope every time that phrase was repeated. I stopped only after I had marked the envelope several dozen times." claim about the first Harry Potter book, considering there's absolutely nothing of the sort in the book itself.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by kacir

This guy was allegedly able to read two opposite pages in an open book simultaneously, one with left eye the other with the right one. He was able to recall numbers, dates and huge number of other things he has read years later.

https://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety....real-rain-man/

There must be a limit. But it is *very. far from what an ordinary person can routinely perform.

Yes, but recalling is not the same things as experiencing the book.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by tompe

Yes, but recalling is not the same things as experiencing the book.

That is a pretty nebulous statement. How would I know what someone else experiences? Their are many things in life I don't appreciate or value or experience in the same way as some people I know. My mother will go on for hours about the intricacies of needle work in a quilt, a friend goes out and watches the sunset most nights until the sun goes down, while other friends spend a fair chunk of their free time watching movies, sports or even soap operas.

One of my main sources of enjoyment is reading and while I may not experience books exactly as you or anyone else I do experience them. Why else would I read several a week every week. My enjoyment is high enough that I experience an endorphin release prior to even starting a book I am looking forward to.

Many people read more and faster than I do, but I am not presumptuous enough to think that they are not deriving as much pleasure and/or experiencing the book as much or even possibly more than I am. Why else would they read so much? Just to store meaningless streams of words in their brains perhaps? Not like reading fast or a lot will win any popularity contests. More than likely it will only earn them thinly veiled contempt from the very slow and therefore 'better' readers.

Helen

[tompe]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

That is a pretty nebulous statement. How would I know what someone else experiences? Their are many things in life I don't appreciate or value or experience in the same way as some people I know. My mother will go on for hours about the intricacies of needle work in a quilt, a friend goes out and watches the sunset most nights until the sun goes down, while other friends spend a fair chunk of their free time watching movies, sports or even soap operas.

One of my main sources of enjoyment is reading and while I may not experience books exactly as you or anyone else I do experience them. Why else would I read several a week every week. My enjoyment is high enough that I experience an endorphin release prior to even starting a book I am looking forward to.

Many people read more and faster than I do, but I am not presumptuous enough to think that they are not deriving as much pleasure and/or experiencing the book as much or even possibly more than I am. Why else would they read so much? Just to store meaningless streams of words in their brains perhaps? Not like reading fast or a lot will win any popularity contests. More than likely it will only earn them thinly veiled contempt from the very slow and therefore 'better' readers.

Helen

I commented an example about recall. And the comment was something that is nearly trivially true. The example did not say the pages was read. It said that the person looked at pages and could recall them.

And also note that I wrote fully experience a book. Some people here seems to read only for the plot and of course they do not fully experience the book if they ignore everything but the plot. But nothing wrong with that if you like to read that way. Why do you think I had some value judgement about different ways to read?

Except that a person like Harold Bloom that writes about book could be expected to fully experience them before writing about them.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I think adding the word 'acceptable' in your question is what throws people. There is no right or wrong. However, the average college student would be really struggling reading at only 200 wpm. You can do it, but it will be a lot tougher. I read somewhere that the average college student reads 350-450 wpm. Very few read over 600 wpm.

That said, I would agree with others on this thread that you will read differently on different devices. As far as speeding up, you can do this using Moon Reader and setting the scroll one step faster. It's uncomfortable at first, but if you don't have comprehension issues, then it does work to speed you up. I'm not sure that it's going to be very effective on such a small screen however.

And doesn't the comprehension of what you read decrease as your reading speed increases? I mean generally speaking for the majority of people of course. I'm sure there are those who claim they fully comprehend what they read even at higher speeds, but I think it's easy to trip over concepts that are being talked about in a text if you read too fast. Like the old "A dog is man's best fiend" example for instance. Most people if they are reading quickly assume it reads "A dog is man's best friend" and only if they go back and read slower do they notice the change from what they thought they read.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by crich70

And doesn't the comprehension of what you read decrease as your reading speed increases? I mean generally speaking for the majority of people of course. I'm sure there are those who claim they fully comprehend what they read even at higher speeds, but I think it's easy to trip over concepts that are being talked about in a text if you read too fast. Like the old "A dog is man's best fiend" example for instance. Most people if they are reading quickly assume it reads "A dog is man's best friend" and only if they go back and read slower do they notice the change from what they thought they read.

We tend to see what we expect to see. Sometimes I think I know what the author is trying to say, but once in a while there will be a phrase that doesn't fit in with my idea of what's going on. If I'm in a hurry, I just keep on reading. However, if I pause to reread the passage to try to understand why that phrase doesn't make sense, I'll usually figure out that the author's message was something entirely different from what I expected it to be. Maybe I'm just bad at getting the message in my first go, but I wonder if people who just motor through the text at speed aren't finding out when they get it wrong? It doesn't really matter if you don't get it right when reading fiction, but it does seem like a lost opportunity to me.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by tompe

And also note that I wrote fully experience a book. Some people here seems to read only for the plot and of course they do not fully experience the book if they ignore everything but the plot. But nothing wrong with that if you like to read that way. Why do you think I had some value judgement about different ways to read?

Can you explain what you mean by "fully experience a book", please?

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by tompe

I commented an example about recall. And the comment was something that is nearly trivially true. The example did not say the pages was read. It said that the person looked at pages and could recall them.

And also note that I wrote fully experience a book. Some people here seems to read only for the plot and of course they do not fully experience the book if they ignore everything but the plot. But nothing wrong with that if you like to read that way. Why do you think I had some value judgement about different ways to read?

Except that a person like Harold Bloom that writes about book could be expected to fully experience them before writing about them.

I am perhaps wrong in assuming you feel that those who read faster do not experience the book as well as you do? This is the impression I get and if it is completely untrue I certainly am glad to hear it.

I actually used to wish I read slower before ebooks so I would not have to go to the library as often or buy as many books and I am not a spectacularly fast reader. Average I would say.

I am not sure why anyone would read just or the plot, any more than why anyone would read words so they can recall them. Most people read for enjoyment or to gather information.

I read for both reasons, but I prefer enjoyment reading, although when the two can be combined it is even better

I am sure I don't fully experience some books, as I am not big on long descriptive paragraphs/pages on the scenery/sunsets, and I tend to skip excessive sex and violence and I hate reading about torture. Of course generally I steer clear of those type of books. Basically if I am not liking a book, I prefer not to experience it and usually stop reading it although I know some people can't.

Anyway I would appreciate your description/definition of fully experiencing a book. Some people seem to think they have to read each word in their mind as if reading aloud, while others seem to think it must be read more than once and some feel each paragraph/section should be reflected on. I am genuinely curios here.

Helen