Over the holidays, I decided a fun challenge would be to see if I could read a book in a day. With my busy schedule and being basically a full-time father, being able to read a book that quickly is nearly impossible.
Luckily I had a few tricks up my sleeve, a 3.5 hour block of time to myself, and some strong motivation.
Here is the result of that attempt along with 10 tips I used to read faster (and still remember what I read):
The reaction to the video has been amazing! But, there have been quite a few doubters and nay-sayers. Common negative things I keep reading in the comments are: “Speed-reading is bullshit, you can’t keep comprehension when you read that fast” or “Why would you want to read a book fast?”
Both, valid concerns. Let me address them.
First, about speed-reading.
I agree, speed-reading is mostly bullshit. But reading faster isn’t. It all depends on a bunch of factors: what you’re reading, why, how fast exactly, etc. Reading faster definitely impacts comprehension. I was obviously aware of this. But my goal was to try and read faster without sacrificing too much comprehension. I knew some would be compromised, but I wanted to use some techniques to help limit that.
Would I have remembered more if I read slower? In some ways obviously yes, but in other ways, potentially no.
If I had read it slower, I probably would have stopped a lot more. Put the book down, let some time pass, pick it up again a bit later, etc. So every time I'd break that up, there'd be some loss in remembering details of what I read previously. Especially if it's a book that's not my favorite book in the world (Handmaid's Tale was good, but not anywhere close to my favorite book or anything I would say I really liked). So one could argue that forcing myself to read it in one sitting actually made the consumption of that book a more memorable experience, helping me keep a higher retention of the book.
I always made sure that as I "speed-read," I would never let myself get to the point where I didn't know what was going on. I think of it like this: when I typically read, I'm lazy. My form sucks and I'm not being efficient. What I did here was tighten up the cogs, stay focused, efficient, pick up the pace a little. The result was me reading a bit faster.
To address the second point: Why read faster?
I also agree that reading a book, in some cases, should be enjoyed. Like a fine wine. Why rush it? And while there are books that I would never want to rush through (classics, text books, things I’m trying to really learn from), there are some that I want to read fast - books that I I don’t want to spend an eternity getting through. The Handmaid’s Tale was one of those books. I wanted to read it, but it wasn’t one I was dying to read. I wanted to get through it, follow the story, and remember the plot and key take-aways. That’s all.
If you’d rather slowly read a book and fully enjoy it, then DO THAT! I’m not recommending that you read everything fast. I’m just saying there’s a time and a place for everything, and having some techniques to help you read faster in certain situations is not a bad thing.
Now…stop reading this and go read a book :)