This book simply did it for me. A year ago I didn't even know there was such a thing a speed reading around. As soon as I heard about it, I wanted to become a speed reader. I love reading, and I always have dozens of books around my desk I'd love to read, but it just takes so much time. So, to become a speed reader, I simply went to Amazon and entered "speed reading" in the search function. I bought this book cause of the good comments. After two weeks I red the first chapters and started to do the exercises with my hand going through the words. My reading tempo increased significantly. My speed reading skill come in very handy to read books in my free time, but also at my work when I have to read long texts.
To anyone out there who is interested in speed reading: this book is highly recommended. I don't think you can do anything wrong if you just follow the author his guidelines.
Wonderful content, but format feels more like class notes turned into a book
The book has helped me save time on my reading. However the content is sometimes ambiguous and confusing, leaving me wondering which drill exactly it was talking about. If there's a more updated version, get that.
If you're willing to deal with a little ambiguity though, it is worth your time to read and run through the drills. The approach seems more comprehensive than several others I have previewed prior to choosing this book.
Topics covered include: linear reading, visual reading, strategies for understanding and structuring different kinds of content. The main value is in the week by week drills, which step you through practicing comprehension and speed independently, then bringing them back together.
Although the format could use some revising, the content has been invaluable. Good luck!
Do a Google search on speed reading and you'll get bombarded w/ hits. Speed reading books and software seem to be as ubiquitous as weight loss titles. I've applied speed reading techniques for years and have found the subject title to be one of the best books available. If you've never applied speed reading techniques before, the use of the hand as a pacer will come as a revelation and will give immediate results.
Most books on the subject of reading improvement try to grab you with some variation on the term "speed reading". What you should really be after is "optimal reading". A lot of reading material can be read rapidly (magazine articles, newspapers, some biographies, etc.). However, speed reading techniques aren't generally relevant to highly technical books, most academic textbooks, poetry and pretty much any fiction or non-fiction book with a lot of dialogue, where you'll want to read at the cadence of the actual conversation.
Woody Allen had a joke: "I took a speed reading course. We read "War and Peace". It was about Russia." He makes a great point. Your goal should not be to read fast; it should be to read w/ comprehension as efficiently as possible. Anyone can read 3,000 WPM w/ 0% comprehension.
This is a good book. If one follows the rules in the book they will definitely increase their speed.
A previous National Director of Education for Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics presents his do-it-yourself program for increasing reading speed and boosting comprehension."Speed reading is one of the truly useful educational ideas of the last few years, and this book can be the least expensive and most efficient way you can learn it." --William Proxmire, United States SenatorThe perfect answer to today's information explosion, Peter Kump's rapid reading method has already helped thousands of people to read up to eight times faster, with better concentration and retention.This program brings together the best of what classroom speed reading courses have to offer, and distills fundamental principles and skills that can be learned at home with the help of the drills and exercises provided. And because it lets readers choose their own material and set their own pace, it's the ideal method for busy people juggling a full schedule.Breakthrough Rapid Reading makes conquering information overload a reality. So whether it's cutting down on that backlog of business reports and technical matter or scaling that mountain of newspapers and leisure reading, getting up to speed is only a matter of time and practice.
based on 56 reviews
