Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have never read a book before about reading faster with better comprehension. I was attracted to this book because so many people ask me if there is a book I can recommend that helps with reading speed and comprehension.
While I found many things to like that will help you with your reading, I also found many things that I did not like. Graded just on that basis, I would give the book two or three stars.
At the same time, someone with average reading speed and comprehension can probably improve speed and comprehension if the book's advice is followed and practiced daily. Graded just on that basis, I would give the book four stars.
Getting better with reading, note taking, writing, and test taking is all about understanding what needs to be done, implementing those approaches, getting feedback, and practicing a lot. Someone in middle school or high school is in a perfect position to do all of those things. Beginning with college, it becomes harder. Graduate school often causes skill levels to decline in these areas. Those who are working and not taking courses will find that they may not have the disciplined environment needed to improve.
First, let me clear up some misconceptions. Reading faster is not "skimming" in which you skip most of the material looking for the high points. Reading faster is about reading all of the words, but by using better techniques. Also, I do not believe that there is only one way to read faster. I use several techniques for different kinds of material, several of which are not mentioned in this book. This book argues for lots of repetition in reading, writing, and studying. That repetition can be avoided by using methods other than those described in this book. Finally, I think that you will learn more by taking a reading course that is offered daily than by just reading a book about reading. In such a course, you will develop your own methods that feel right for you.
This book is absolutely correct in identifying the major reasons why most people read and comprehend slowly:
(1) mentally "vocalizing each word" slows down the reading process -- just "see" and react to the word instead (when you look at a butterfly, you can appreciate its beauty and identity without saying "butterfly" to yourself . . . so why is a word any different?)
(2) losing concentration and starting to daydream, rather than reading on
(3) losing one's place and having to find the place and then rereading material
(4) not understanding the vocabulary
(5) not having a structured set of questions for bringing reading attention to bear (What is the structure of this book? Where are its arguments valid? Where are they not? What is the evidence? Who can best use this book? And so forth.).
If you work on those five areas, I agree with the author that the average person can easily double reading speed while increasing comprehension.
To get to be really fast, you have to be able to take in and absorb more words with each eye movement. Distance from the words, angle of the reading material, light, corrective power of your glasses or contact lenses, the back support of your chair, and the emotional comfort of your environment all play a role. Here is where I disagree with the book. It argues for using lots of finger movements. In my experience, those finger movements are just a distraction. If they help you, great! But if they don't, relax! I doubt if anyone is going to learn those finger movements, however, without taking an Evelyn Wood course.
The author argues that material with dialogue in it cannot be read rapidly. That is not my experience. He argues the same for poetry. That is also not my experience. Where I do find that you have to slow down is where the material requires lots of thinking to be appreciated. Even there, most of us can think at 50,000 words a minute. Not too many people try to read faster than that. It's hard to turn the pages that fast!
The book doesn't have enough direction on how to reach and drill yourself. A better approach would have been to have put this book into a workbook format that would provide very simple self-guided lessons.
So, should you buy the book, or just absorb the lessons from this review? I suspect that many people can learn all they can use from the book by just reading this review. On the other hand, the book is inexpensive so you don't have much to lose if you buy it.
The book also contains lots of material about conceptual note-taking, faster writing processes, test preparation, and test-taking. I thought that this material was overly rigid. Most people will do better to adopt a style that fits the way they think and like to work.
After you finish reading this review, please do consider that improving your reading speed and comprehension is very valuable. You can either spend less time gathering material, or learn more. In either case, your life should be improved.
Enjoy your reading more!
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