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Speed reading help!!!!

saliotthomas said:
hardly ! listen i though you were a nice guy and all,but now the fun is wearing thin!
why don't you keep to the general chat?
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Hi Saliot, what's up? If you mean me with this, I have to say I'm trying to be more sensitive about and it seems it is not realized. I promise I'll try to keep on the subject.
 
79dougb said:
I have been an avid reader of airport novels (ludlum, child, kernick etc) for about 10 years and normally finish a book within 5 days.
I have recently decided to get some classics under my belt but due to the intricacies of these novels my reading speed has halved almost! Can anyone speed read classics (and still maintain sound understanding of the story) or do you prefer to go slow and savour the images as you go?
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Do you get more enjoyment of reading two ludlum books in 10 days or one classic in 10 days?
 
I'm not a speed reader, but I do find the pace at which I read depends on the book. A thriller is easier to read fast, but something a bit deeper requires more time to digest.
 
Actually, it's not about reading the words fast, it's about in what way you understand what you read. If you haven't much time to read, you'd better to read as fast as possible so you can get familiar with it.
 
mdragon159 said:
Last year, I read about 4 books in one night but they weren't so big but big enough that it would equal to about 400 and something pages. AND I retained about 86% of it (or more).
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4 books and 400 pages? Novellas? What did the font and spacing look like? How do you know you "retained about 86%" of what you read that night? It sounds arbitrary.
 
I study english literature at uni, so unfortunately I'm forced to read my books fairly quickly in order to keep up. This semester I've needed to read 18 novels, great and small but I do find it really difficult to pick up the story and information I need when reading under pressure or to a set date. I don't know how many words I read per minute, but I'd say I'm average (the slowest of my fellow students!)
 
A good 500-600 page book to can take me from a week and a half to two and a half weeks

but i like to enjoy what i read.
 
I have friends who say they can read a harry potter in 4 hours or so. To me that is crazy. I'm a slow reader, and it takes me a week or more to read those books, even if I try and focus most of my time with them. I have trouble with my eyes hurting if I read for more than a few hours at a time, They just get tired. Another thing is that if I try and read quickly, then I miss alot! (Im also a bit dyslexic)

Point of Post..... I read slow!
 
I can usually read about 450wpm with 95% retention, but I often catch myself skimming through parts that don't seem that interesting to me.
 
It depends on the book. Most books (around 300 pages, small print), i will read in a day. I have read books that are 550 pages, small print, and finnish it in a day. It depends on my scedual and the book.
 
I speed read. Only when I am reading boring text books for my grad. studies. I don't miss on the comprehension. I find that the texts become repetitive anyway. I don't speed read books I read for enjoyment or interesting fiction. I like to enjoy every word.
 
If you just want to get the plot, speed reading is valuable. However, you'll absorb so much more if you slow down and reflect on the passages you just read.

My parents employ the "speed reading" method of visiting art museums. They race through the exhibits, glancing at each painting one by one, until they've canvassed the entire building(s). This takes about an hour, at the most. Then, they say to me, "Well, we're done. Let's go."

When I ask them various quiz-like questions about the exhibits, they can't answer them at all, even the most general and rudimentary of questions. So, can they say they've really visited that museum? Yes and no. Me personally, I think they just wasted their time.
 
I think Ludlum is very good at what he does. I cannot make sense of people who snobbishly "look down" upon a writer because he is very skilled plotting a fast pace story as opposed to a character study.

That said they do not compare to "classics" like Dostoevsky or Gogol.
 
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