Full disclosure: I was drinking one night and accidentally signed up for Kindle Unlimited. My motor skills and reading comprehension were such that I tapped on a wrong button and ended up with a service that I didn’t intend to purchase. However, I went down the KU rabbithole with glee. My first book rental was a Wonder Woman history that I previously reviewed. My second and third downloads, records show, were books on speed reading. One of the books that I downloaded was garbage. It seemed to be copied and pasted SEO language about speed reading. Armstrong’s book, though, provided some useful context and resources for those who feel the need for speed. If you are looking for an inexpensive resource on speed reading, this book may be useful to you.
Reading and writing have been lifelong habits of mine. I don’t know if that is because that I am a naturally quick reader, or if I am a quick reader from practice. However, I just listened to some personal productivity webinars and they suggested that everyone take a speed reading course because you can absorb several more books annually if you have the skill. (I just realized this is probably why I downloaded multiple speed reading books. The pieces are coming together!)
In Speed Reading, Armstrong provides some context of how reading works, methods and drills to read more quickly, and resources that readers can use to measure skill levels. My biggest takeaway was this:
The first part of your reading plan is purpose. Why are you reading the text and what do you hope to get out of it? Do you simply want to get key facts and figures or do you want to understand a process that’s discussed in it? By knowing your purpose for reading a text, you’ll be able to read faster and with more comprehension.
My second biggest takeaway was that mindbluff.com has some speed reading tests available both for speed and comprehension. I will check that out shortly, maybe after some champagne. My starting speed is about 415 wpm. If I try the techniques in the book and it helps, I will share. Does anyone have any tips?
10/10 for the image choice to accompany this review. Please write a review of the garbage book you downloaded!
Great post. In terms of tips you might also want to check out http://www.speedread.io.
It uses a technique called “Rapid Serial Visual Presentation” (or RSVP for short). By presenting words one after the other in the same place it removes the need for the eyes to move from left to right and can increase the speed at which you can read