Initial Thoughts on How to Read a Book Faster
I learn something new every day. A few years ago, I learned two techniques (one is not really new, but I needed the reminder) to read a book faster. This blog post is inspired by “Read a Book Faster by Listening to the Audiobook at the Same Time” and “The Methods I Use To Read A 300 Page Book in 2 Hours Without Speed Reading.”
Although I absorb the contents of a book faster than the average reader, I am always looking for ways to be more productive, and these two blog posts seem to be able to do that.
UPDATE: First Published June 2015
Have you read?
Selective Reading: What Books to Read and Which Sections to Read
Related Posts
Read a Book Faster by Listening to the Audiobook at the Same Time
The Methods I Use To Read A 300 Page Book in 2 Hours Without Speed Reading
I would never have thought to read a print book while listening to the audio, why? I hate audio books because they put me to sleep. With that kind of attitude, there is no way that such an idea would come to me.
In the blog post, “Read a Book Faster by Listening to the Audiobook at the Same Time,” Kristin Wong writes that she got the idea from YouTube user FightMediocrity. If learning how to read a book faster is something that interests you, you may want to try this technique.
My New Favorite Way to Read
One important point I would like to make before I write about the two techniques, is that before you read any book, be clear about why you are reading it. What is your purpose for reading the book? Are you reading to be entertained, or to gather information, or to further your knowledge on a subject? When you are reading for entertainment, you do not want to speed up your reading too much. You want to savor the moment and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
Increase Reading Speed by Reading and Listening to the Book at the Same Time
FightMediocrity doubles the speed of the audio book while reading the print version, and that’s how he completes books in half the time it usually takes. Because two senses – seeing and hearing – are engaged, reading comprehension and recall goes up. I learned about doubling audio speed, in a course – HyperLearning: A Revolutionary Approach to Learning in the Integral Age by David Rainoshek – that I am currently taking. According to Rainoshek:
“Most people speak at 120-160 words per minute (WPM). Book publishers usually recommend that books on tape be spoken at 150-160 WPM. Here is the amazing EDGE: we can comprehend up to 600-700 WPM. This means that we can put the technology of recorded speech (video or audio) and high-speed playback technology to our extraordinary advantage. For both video and audio, what this means is that you can listen once at a fraction of the time, or twice in the same time as you would have spent at normal speed.”
I like to take notes while I am reading, since I often write a summary for this blog, so my concern is what would happen if I am taking notes while reading a book and listening to the audio at the same time. Besides listening and seeing, I would now be doing, which is adding another dimension to the process. All three would aid in comprehension and recall. I personally think that I would have to stop the audio and put down the book so that I can interpret the information that I am taking in.
Therefore, using this technique, although I am reading and listening at the same time, because of the breaks I take to write notes, I wouldn’t double my reading speed. Rainoshek states that we listen at the rate of 600 – 700 words per minute, so this means that at some point I could speed up the audio further, after I have grown accustomed to reading and listening to a book at the same time.
Here is what David Rainsoshek does while watching a video or listening to audio:
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“I watch/listen at 1.3 to 2x speed usually, while taking notes on my computer (usually on a simple text file, but you could use Word or another word processing document). If I need to pause the playback to reflect or take further notes, I can. I can also easily advance back and listen again.
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I take a break for a few minutes, hours, or even a day.
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If need be, I listen/watch again at twice speed, or just the sections I know I want to return to.”
If you are interested in slowing down audios and videos, David Rainoshek recommends the software, MySpeed. I purchased a copy of the software program, so I will let you know what I think about it.
Financial Barrier to Reading and Listening to a Book
Most of the books I buy are print books because I like the feel of a book in my hand, and I also like to write in them. Since my piles of books to read are getting higher and higher, I am keen on trying FightMediocrity’s technique to get through them faster. But when you already have the print book, it is not cost effective to purchase the audio book. For me, downloading one book a month for $14.95 isn’t a viable option, what I need is a service that gives me access to all their books for a monthly fee.
After I conducted a search on Google, I discovered that some of the services do offer unlimited audio books, but they do not advertise that level of membership, which means that you will have to contact them to get pricing. I called Audible and learned that you have to sign up for a regular membership then upgrade to a yearly unlimited membership for $225. Depending on your purpose for reading, it may be worth the financial investment.
For classic literature, Open Culture has over 600 audio books for free download, which is fantastic.
Read a Book Faster by Inspecting It
In the blog post, “The Methods I Use to Read a 300 Page Book in 2 Hours without Speed Reading,” Jeffrey Manu writes that he uses, inspectional reading, a technique he discovered in Mortimer Adler’s book, How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading (A Touchstone book)
. I have written about How to Read a Book many times on this blog. If you remember, there are four levels of reading:
- Elementary Reading: Level of reading that you learn in elementary school.
- Inspectional Reading: Getting the most out of a book in the time you have. There are two typesofinspectional reading.
- Systematic skimming or pre-reading – you want to know if the book is worthy of your time investment.
- Superficial reading – reading the book through once without stopping to understand difficult concepts.
- Analytical Reading: Deals with classifying the book, coming to terms with it, determining the book’s message, criticizing the book and the author. Analytical reading is a very active type of reading.
- Syntopical Reading: Syntopical reading or comparative reading, the most complex form of reading, is the reading of multiple books on the same subject and placing them in relation to each other.
In his blog post, Jeffrey Manu focuses on the first type of inspectional reading, systematic skimming, and he even includes a template that he created based on the information in How to Read a Book. You can find an alternate process I outlined in “Cheat Sheet: Getting the Most from Reading Books to Problem Solve.”
Related Post: Cheat Sheet: Getting the Most from Reading Books to Problem Solve
I took out my copy of How to Read a Book to remind myself of its content, and here is what Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren recommend for systematic skimming.
How to Inspect a Book: Tips from How to Read a Book
- Read the Title Page and Preface quickly.
- Note the Subtitles and any other information on the scope and aim of the book.
- You should now have a good idea about the subject.
- Study the Table of Contents.
- Look at the Index if the book has one because you will recognize key terms.
- Read the Publisher’s Blurb about the book.
- Look at the Chapters that are important to the book’s argument.
- Flip through the book, dipping in here and there, reading a paragraph or two or maybe a few pages at a time.
- Read the last few pages of the main sections of the book and also read the Epilogue.
- At this point, you will have a good sense of what the book is about.
In some speed reading courses, there is a stage where you skim the book, which takes about 20 minutes. What would happen if you inspected the book for 20 to 30 minutes, then read it while listening to the audio? I am going to test it and let you know what happens.
I like both techniques, but I have some concerns with each one. With reading the book while listening to the audio, I do not think I would be doubling my reading speed because I have to take notes. And with inspectional reading, because of my detail orientation, I will think that I am missing out on critical information. Both concerns I think I can overcome.
Concluding Thoughts on How to Read a Book Faster
Are you receptive to trying the two techniques? Let me know your thoughts and the results you achieve if you decide to give them a try.
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
How to Read Literature Like a ProfessorHow to Read and Why
