Speed Reading?

[scrapsandsass]

Would you take a class on speed reading?

My local library had fliers about a speed reading course that will be offered this summer (for free). I asked my hubby if he would take it with me (he's a really slow reader). He doesn't like the idea. He got all annoyed and said that I already read fast, so he wondered why I'd want to try to read faster.

To be able to read more books of course. Duh. If I can read about 50 a year now, I could probably read over 100 a year (and it wouldn't cut into scrapping or other fun time) if I was a speed reader. Right now I have close to 800 books I'd like to read (not counting the ones on my shelves). Every year, I just add more to that list. So it would be nice to be able to make a bigger dent into the list.

What about you??

 

[bonnenuit]

Personally, I wouldn't.

 

[michelepixels]

It doesn't sound relaxing to speed read.

 

[Lindzee]

No. I already read very fast. I like my pace now, so no.

 

[fruitysuet]

I already read fast too, it stems from way back when I had so many text books to read. I think in some ways it is a hindrance as when reading fiction I speed read concentrating on the action and not on the niceties of the writing style or atmosphere generated. But, yes, I can get through a whole lot of books, I just don't know whether you would prefer quantity over substance yourself.

 

[Tree City]

I'm with @fruitysuet on this. If it affects my enjoyment of the novel, then it doesn't seem worth it. I read quickly but I don't speed read, and I will go back over passages I like and read them more slowly, to savor them.
There was someone on Good Morning America (I think--maybe another morning show lol) and they talked about how speed reading helps you focus on the important words. Well that's great if you're reading a textbook and you're trying to find mentions of rhizomes or something, but to me a novel isn't about "important words": it's about how all of the words weave a story, or the growth (or degeneration) of a character. But having said that, it would be nice to speed read some boring stuff, like instruction manuals for the washer or something.

 

[Tiff]

I don't have a long list of books that I want to read, so I don't think reading fast would accomplish anything for me. If I had a friend or someone who wanted to do it, it might be fun to do it together.

 

[jk703]

I'm unsure. I think it sounds as if it would take the joy out of recreational reading. It sounds like it would be useful for work though, lol!

 

[bellbird]

some well said responses above which i agree with. i just skim parts i don't care so much for, and i don't consider it cheating to listen to an audio book at 2x speed, some narrators talk so slowly...

 

[Karen]

I actually had speeding reading as a class in Junior high. It was an extra thing that we did a couple times a week. My sister was a grade ahead of me and she was taking it at the same time, so we had HUGE competition to be the fastest. She won hands down and is a crazy fast reader. It wasn't geared so much towards reading novels, although we did that too, it was to glean information quickly. I haven't done it in forever because I prefer to just read all the words at my own pace now.

 

[scrapsandsass]

some well said responses above which i agree with. i just skim parts i don't care so much for, and i don't consider it cheating to listen to an audio book at 2x speed, some narrators talk so slowly...

OMG... I know! It drives me bonkers how slow they go. LOL.

I went to a training course once where the guy came out and was talking super fast. He had people raise their hands if he was speaking too fast. Of course almost everyone raised their hands. He wanted to make a point that your brain can actually listen faster than you think, and that once you listen for awhile, you get used to it, which was true. So he talked really fast and pretty soon it seemed normal. It really made the next training session feel super slow though.

A lot of good points, ladies!

As a poet, I'm drawn to rich language. It is funny because when I'm reading, I do pay attention to it, but it seems like a lot of authors start out with really nice language, but when they get into the meat of the book, they drop it. Or maybe I'm just so caught up in the story I don't notice it as much anymore. I know I do with Stephen King though. He has some amazing metaphors and/or descriptions.

 

[AnneofAlamo]

ooooooooooooh I took it in high school too...and I talk so flippin' fast, and type fast so I was all into it! I love it for textbooks, research and web pages...but I read so fast, I wish sometimes I could go back and just ruminate and discover slower in books, fiction ones.

 

[gonewiththewind]

I've taken speed reading tests before. I'm about 400 wpm. I think I would consider taking a speed reading course if I were back in university and needed to read textbooks and other literature in a short amount of time with better comprehension. Now, I suppose I'm too lazy to invest the time. LOL

 

[Kate W]

I was interested to see how fast I read, as I have always thought myself a fast reader. I took an online test and I read at 1000 words per minute with an 87% comprehension rate. I feel pretty pleased with myself, because I don't really do anything else fast - I am pretty lazy...

It also depends on what I'm reading. I usually slow down for an interesting, enjoyable read; or speed up for something boring...