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i want to speed my reading

For me, it depends on the book. Kiddies books take me a couple of hours. Chick lit fiction takes me a day at most. Fantasy books take me longer - say, 2-3 days. The best effort I've put in was completing 600 pages in five hours :) .

I'm always read fast - I can't seem to prevent myself, even when I want to really completely enjoy a book and make it last. The downside of reading fast is that I don't pick up *absolutely* everything. The upside of that is, I am a big fan of re-reading and get something new from the book every time.
 
Depending on the type, I can read most books in an evening (and frequently do) especially if I have been waiting a long time for them (the one that comes to mind is Jean Auel's Shelters of Stone). It took me less than a day to read LOTR. I read fairly fast but tend to curl up in bed and read a book from beginning to end (it does help having a great partner whose willing to bring me snacks every so often :D ) I've always read like this, I don't like reading part of a book and then coming back to it later. The only exception is when I'm on holiday, and I take books to the beach (and spend a fortune as I buy another copy of the book I want to read so I don't ruin my main copy :rolleyes: ) - then I take a break to go in the sea or the pool but still manage to read the book before the day is out :)
 
It varies tremendously, for example I'm going away to Cumbria for a week and expect I shall read lots, but in the entire half-term that's just finished I have only read Cryptonomicon, Shikasta, The Third Man and Permutation City.

Generally, I read novels faster than I read philosophical/political/history books, I take longer to read smaller print (and not just because there are more words per page...) and, though I don't often read 100 pages per day in school time (too many other things to do,) If I'm reading a book that's around that area (such as The Third Man) I try to complete it in a day, because I feel like it's so short one may as well take it all in at once so that the entire story is fresh in the mind.
 
Unless its an especially complicated (or boring) book, i read 50 pages an hour. I can just about get through a 300 page book in an evening, but this requires grabbing a MD's on the way home to save on cooking time and unplugging the damned TV. So normaly 2 working days per book.

As i've had this week off uni, i've managed to read 6 books this week :D

Somehow i used to be able to read 12 books a week when i was 12/13 yrs old. I would get up early to read before going to school, read during breaks and lunch, read walking home (i don't actually remember doing this but other people do), and fit 8 hrs reading into an evening.
Eventually i was put on report by my english teacher for reading in class, and wasn't allowed to take books to school :( On the plus side it taught me how to hate :) Even today i i get a warm glow when thinking of terrible thing happening to Ms. Dixon.
 
I read fast…
I don’t know why I read fast, I’ve just always read fast. I don’t do it by purpose, it just happens. A member mentioned that some people who read fast tend to miss half the book, characters, subtitles etc.
That has never happen to me. Well… except once, when I had to read 4 novels by an author for a school-assignment. I simply read all his 9 novels in less than 9 days, to see which 4 I enjoyed mostly. (It was holidays, so I had nothing to do those days). After reading I figured I didn’t like any of them, besides one, so when 2 or 3 weeks passed I remember having forgotten almost all the characters in all the 9 novels, I didn’t remember the subtitle of some of them, nor the plot, except the one novel I liked of course, that one I remembered perfectly fine, in fact I could have a long conversation about it even today.
I don’t know if I read them all too fast that I forgot too soon, or because they were simply boring.

I’m very impatient, so if I’ve waited for a book too long, I read all the pages in one turn, it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy what I’m reading or that I’m simply reading fast to get through with it.
It also depends on the book, I used some time getting through for instance “The English Patient”, that was just not a novel, to be read in one turn, therefore I read an other novel in addition, you know, to sort of get a break from the first. That works completely well, I didn’t mix up the stories, is that even possible?

In my opinion I don’t read fast, but if I have to compare myself to others, well then I might do. When I read I feel like I read in a normal speed, just like everyone else. I read fast, but I read every word. I don’t skip chapters, paragraphs or etc. what’s the point in reading then? I love reading; I don’t try to get rid of a book, only when it’s the worse book ever, I do so.
However I also do like to re-read books, only the good ones of course, but that's not the reason I read fast either. I don't think I know why I read fast.

Besides it has also been said that I talk fast, maybe there is a connection?

I think I’ve written too much… :eek:, and what's up with this smiley, it looks as though it’s about to puke. I think we need new smilies. :eek:
 
Sometimes when I'm reading a mediocre book I don't know the title. I don't see much sense in remembering it 'cause it's not good enough. :D
 
Ahh....

after reading all your posts, i'm sufficiently satisfied that i'm not a terribly slow reader. :D

you see, after browsing this forum for a bit, i've found that there are so many good books that i haven't read, but would like to now. case in point: i've purposely ignored _mr. norrell and jonathan strange_ by susannah clarke because i accidentally read somewhere that it's an 'adult Harry Potter' story. somehow that phrase rubbed me wrongly.

then i joined this forum. nuff said.

i began to think - hey, am i missing good books because i take too long to read? the answer i have derived from this thread is: No, it's because i don't have enough money.

i love this forum. :D cheers!!!

ds
 
Maya said:
I read fast…
I don’t know why I read fast, I’ve just always read fast. I don’t do it by purpose, it just happens. A member mentioned that some people who read fast tend to miss half the book, characters, subtitles etc.
That has never happen to me.
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In fact, I said they miss the subtleties, not the subtitles. See?

(Just teasing, but really. . . )
 
novella said:
In fact, I said they miss the subtleties, not the subtitles. See?

(Just teasing, but really. . . )
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Ooops, that was kind of a spelling mistake.. (kidding) :eek:
My english sucks, don't even know what it means in my own language... trying to understand though.
 
It depends on several factors. One being how complex the storyline/writing style is. Robinson Crusoe took two weeks, about as long as the same number of pages of Quicksilver . Yet I can breeze through James Patterson or one of those cheap paperback romances in one evening. It also depends on how much time I have to devote to it. Children, husband, house and other hobbies take up a lot of my time. I frequently read an entire book in one twenty-four hour period if I can sit for a couple to four hours at a stretch. And I have a rather rapid natural reading pace due to the fact that I have been an avid reader since the age of three and the more you read the faster you get (it is a natural progression).
 
It depends how long the book is, the style of the writing, and whether I want to ration myself and not finish it too quickly :p
 
Ice said:
It took me less than a day to read LOTR.
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I think this is what linguists label as 'bullshit'.

As for 'how fast can you read a book?'...It really is a strange question. How can you judge something that is open to so many variables? I can read something trashy like 'The Da Vinci Code' in a few days, but to read AND comprehend something like 'Ulysses' can take years...
 
Martin said:
What?! That's 1200 pages! Or are you talking about one of the three books?

Cheers
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Of course I'm talking about the full version, I read Jean Auel's Shelters of Stone in an evening and that's approx 765 pages long. If I really want to read a book i'll curl up in bed and read it until I've finished :eek:
 
Ou Be Low hoo said:
I think this is what linguists label as 'bullshit'.
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:rolleyes: Well you're entitled to your own opinion, but since you know absolutely nothing about me I'd rather you didn't comment on my reading habits :)
 
Ice said:
:rolleyes: Well you're entitled to your own opinion, but since you know absolutely nothing about me I'd rather you didn't comment on my reading habits :)
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Perhaps I am a little too experienced:

'Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows'

If it is true; do you actually ENJOY reading a book like that? For me, reading is a pleasure, but if I forsake sleeping, eating, communicating and LIVING then it would cease to be an enjoyable activity...

Oh...if you don't want people to comment on your reading habits, then I suggest you don't post details about them in a PUBLIC forum.
 
Ou Be Low hoo said:
Perhaps I am a little too experienced:

'Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows'

If it is true; do you actually ENJOY reading a book like that? For me, reading is a pleasure, but if I forsake sleeping, eating, communicating and LIVING then it would cease to be an enjoyable activity...

Oh...if you don't want people to comment on your reading habits, then I suggest you don't post details about them in a PUBLIC forum.
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Don't get me wrong, I don't mind people commenting on what they perceive to be my habits but when some one turns aroud and says quite frankly that what I said is 'bullshit' with out knowing a thing about me, that's what i'm not entirely happy with. In response to your question, yes I actually enjoy reading like that, for me that's how I read - I hate putting a book down every five minutes to go and do something else, and if you had read my post properly you may have noticed that I don't forsake eating etc at all :)

I certainly do not read as much now as I used to, and I doubt with my current lifestyle I would get the chance to read a book that long in that way again :)
 
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