In answer to this week's BTT questions (What do you think of speed reading, and do you do it?): I'll say not much, and yes and no.I do know how to speed-read. Back in the 1970s when speed-reading was a hot topic, I read one of those early how-to books. Not, I believe, Evelyn Wood; but something along the lines of Teach Yourself to Speed-Read in However Many Lessons. And it worked. I did learn to speed read, and I can still do it when necessary.
But when I look back at the books I read during the two or three years when I was actively using the system - I find that those works are mostly just a blur in my memory. I know I read the books because the titles are there on my lists of "books read" during the period. But I remember very little if anything about almost all of them. Books like Watership Down and A Wrinkle in Time and The Source (among others) - perfectly readable and probably very memorable books. But they're just gone - whoosh! Disappeared!
Bummer.
So I guess I'd have to say that I'm not really a fan of speed reading. It probably does work for some readers (or at least they say it does), but apparently not for me. I have noticed, though, that the more I read, the more rapidly I seem to be able to read. So I think, for me, the best system is to read at my own slower pace, but to just keep reading.
I am not a speed reader, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteI am a fast reader, always have been. Some books read faster than others as well.
ReplyDeleteI love it- just keep reading :-) Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree, just keep reading, no matter the speed!!
ReplyDeleteWhat you say about speed-reading is what I suspected. I also read quickly, but I do not speed read, and often I intentionally slow myself down, especially if I am reading something I want to write about on the blog.
ReplyDeleteReading fast and speed reading are two different issues.
ReplyDeleteBooking through speeding