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Speed reading help!!!!

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DreadfulGravy

New Member
This goes out to all the speed readers out there.

I have have always wanted to learn to speed read, since I was in early high school. I have read a couple books and web pages on speed reading. Basically they all say the same thing practice, but i could never get the technique down to see any progress. So 5 or 6 weeks ago I got the eyeQ program and started to do it everyday. At first I would try to do as much as I could so I could learn fast, but my eyes would tire quickly and I would feel a slight mental fatigue. Which, from what I read that is suppose to happen. I was so happy that it was working. But now i have hit a wall (now that you know the background). This is were I need help. At about 1000 wpm, I have stopped saying the words in my head, but comprehension went to zero. I'm see the words and recognize them, but thats it.
For example, the sentence "the boy went to school" I see "the" then "boy" then "went" then "to" then "school", but in my head all those words don't come together to make a sentence.
Has anyone else had this problem, or am I doing some thing wrong, or am I just not ment to speed read?????????????????????
 
Unless a person is preparing for law school, I have no idea why anyone would want to do speed reading. May I ask why it is of interest to you?:)
 
Well mostly for learning.
For example, say I could read a good sized book on anything , 1/20 the time it would take a normal reader. Now in the amount time it takes to this normal reader to 1 book, I could read the same book 20 times, or I could 20 different books on the subject. Then when a test comes around who's more prepared, the guy that read one book or the one that read 20. My moneys on the guy with 20.
Plus in unlike most people, I have no problems reading fast, weather its harry potter, or a tech manual.
 
I learned to speed read when I was a teenager. I took a course over one summer, mainly out of curiosity. This was a long time ago (you will have to trust me on this, because I'm not going to say HOW long ago it was!). There are probably other techniques by now, but back then the way we learned was that a word would be flashed on a screen very fast - it registered almost subliminally. It was fascinating, because it felt as though I was recognizing the word with a different part of my brain than the way I normally assimilate written words. We then moved to two words at a time, then three, then short sentences. In a fairly short time, most of us could "read" a whole sentence in the microsecond that it appeared on the screen. It's not reading in the way you're used to it, though. As you noted, you can't possibly do this if you are saying the words in your head, which is what most people do. It really is like using another part of your brain, and you have to train it to do this.

I never read this way anymore. For me, part of the joy of reading is the sort of reverie that I fall into when I'm interested in a book, and speed reading demands such total concentration that it pretty much takes the relaxation and fun out of it. Also, if I'm reading something technical I have to think about and evaluate what I'm reading as I read it, and speed reading does not work if that's what you're doing. Overall, I would say it's an interesting skill, but it's a lot of work and in the end perhaps not very practical.
 
I enjoy reading at a normal pace. Speed reading would take that away. Why would anyone want to speed through books or manuals? Takes the fun out of it.
 
How fast can you read? (Who's the fastest reader?)

I heard some people can read really fast and devour books very quickly
(my sister). How fast can you read? I wonder....
 
I can read at 1000 words per minute but i like to read slowly so i get the feel of it actually happening.
 
I like to enjoy what I read so I don't read too fast. I have never tested myself to see what my speed is.
 
Wow. Now that's pretty amazing. But I was talking about people around the forums. 10,000+ words per minute and retain 70%........WOW
 
I read at a snails pace. :mad:

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I view reading (for myself) as having dinner. How so? Well you can eat really fast and be done with it or you can eat slowly savoring eat bite.

At one point in my reading life I realized that fact, so I no longer am ashamed by my slow pace. I read no lower than 275 wpm. It's a comfortable pace for me.
 
I understand what you mean. I sometimes do that after finishing the book the first time and read it again, savoring my favorite moments.
 
I'd say I probably read at the average speed. I don't have a clue about how many word per minute though. :confused: Some books are easier to read fast, than others. There are some that I really have to read word by word to get the meaning, while others I can just read a sentence in one go (if you know what I mean).
 
I like to take my time when reading (don't want to miss anything important). If I'm really enjoying the book It will take me a few days/week to complete, though I remember a book I got into I could not put down when I was a teen. I read it all day from 9am (I think) and half the night until 4am! It was a Point Horror book. Can't rememebr the name though :rolleyes:
 
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