msrealdoll Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I love to read. I'm not a speed reader, but I read fairly fast. I have a fairly large vocabulary. I want to be able to read faster. Not necessarily speed reading, just more efficiently. I want to ask y'all about your reading experiences. I've heard that you're not supposed to pronounce words in your head as you read them. I cannot imagine not doing this. It's very hard for me to read books with lots of words I can't pronounce, even if I know their meaning or they are names. I will read the word over and over in my head, sounding it out verbally sometimes. I think this little quirk decreases my comprehension. I'm reading the book One Hundred Years of Solitude right now, and it's giving me fits. There are so many Spanish names in it-it's taking me forever to read it. It seems the longer it takes, the less I can keep track of what's going on in the book. I should have just gotten the audible version. Do any of you have problems reading? Any suggestions on how to become a more proficient reader? Any particular books or methods you can suggest? Taking a class (unless it's online) is not an option. I don't get out much. To anyone that got this far, many thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted August 8, 2004 Share Posted August 8, 2004 I took a speed-reading course with my Dad when I was very young. It was a home kit and it taught me how to absorb groups of words rather than read word-by-word. It sounds as though it would prevent you from understanding, but in fact you understand more. Stopping at each word actually stops your flow of thought. I can polish off a couple of books (well, not two Harry Potters LOL) in a day if I want to. It helped immensely when I was in school. I understand there are commercial self-taught courses you can buy online. It might be worth trying one. Link to post Share on other sites
Author msrealdoll Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Thanks, moimeme. My sister took speed reading in 2nd grade. It was an experimental project back in 1964. She can read much faster than I can, and her comprehension is through the roof. She doesn't read each individual word-I think she does it like you. I hope I can find something that works. There are just so many books I want to read and so little time! Again, thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
faux Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 You may find this link to a "speed reading test" interesting: http://mindbluff.com/askread.htm On those tests I scored above average. I notice that, when I do read, I tend not to pronounce anything in my head. It is the meaning of the word, or the recognition of a name and what it represents, that I focus on while I read. I cannot say that I have ever really pronounced anything in my mind, save for when I found a particular word or phrase quite beautiful. I'm uncertain if there are any techniques one can practice to speed up ones reading. I had seen, years ago, midnight infomercials claiming to teach photographic memory, but nothing about speed reading. My girlfriend reads very slowly, to such an extent that it annoys me to no end. I write quite frequently, and she loves to read my work. I cannot bear to watch her do so, however, and I often end up reading it out loud to her. I assume that she pays close attention to every word. As Moimeme mentioned, I not every word needs to be worshipped. I have never taken any sorts of classes to increase the speed of my reading comprehension. I have noticed that I have always been fairly quick to read, and retain knowledge about things that I have read. I'd be very interested in hearing more about what these courses are like from persons who have been involved in them. It sounds very neato Link to post Share on other sites
EC Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 You read between 550 - 600 words per minute. Highly efficient reading level. (The average rate is between 200 - 250 words per minute.) It is assumed that you did not skim the words nor fail to understand the meaning of what was read. I was bored so I went to the website. Who knew I could read so fast and still understand everything? Yay me! Link to post Share on other sites
Author msrealdoll Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Thanks for that link, faux. I read between 300-350 wpm. But, there weren't any words in that speech that I didn't understand or know how to pronounce. Not so great after all, huh? Perhaps I'm just surrounded by very slow readers. Another thing I do that slows me down is that I pause at commas and periods. It's like I'm reading out loud in my head. I also put emphasis on bold words. I noticed I slowed up at the word 'colour' because of the spelling-I thought about 'color' in my head. I've always loved being read to. I really enjoy audio books as long as they're unabridged. Does anyone else do this when they read? Link to post Share on other sites
Papillon Posted August 10, 2004 Share Posted August 10, 2004 I've tried speedreading tutorials but never really met any astounding success. I guess it's because I like pronouncing the words in my mind, i.e. the sound of the language is more important than the meaning. That said, I find that my reading comprehension is much better than my aural comprehension. Go figure. Link to post Share on other sites
faux Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Msrealdoll: I can't say that I pause at certain types of punctuation much. I actually scored the same as you did on the test. I could go faster, but I don't retain much of the knowledge. Eternallyconfused has me totally beat, and I think that's quite impressive Still, I think that being able to type fast is much more fun than being able to read fast. Link to post Share on other sites
EC Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Thanks Faux! And I did Data Entry for a while so my typing is much faster than my reading abilities. I just love the noise of typing super fast. IDK, I'm weird. Link to post Share on other sites
Papillon Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 That is pretty odd. But then, I like colonic irrigation, so my weird-o-meter constantly shoots into the red Link to post Share on other sites
Fayebelle Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 We tied! (must be the bunnies ) Cool link Faux! MisReal- have you always loved to read or is this a new hobby? Just wondering b/c I think reading really is one of those things where practice makes perfect- the more you read the faster you get. Also do you read about certain subjects more than others? Knowledge of the material will obviously help speed you along- that's why you can reread a book faster than the 1st time you read it. Out of curiousity- Why do you want to read faster? I love reading too but it's my relaxation time so I'd hate to turn it into a timed sport and rush myself. Link to post Share on other sites
EC Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 Faye it has to be the bunnies. lol Link to post Share on other sites
Author msrealdoll Posted August 12, 2004 Author Share Posted August 12, 2004 Faye, I've always loved to read. I just can't get enough of them. I've recently wanted to increase my reading speed for two reasons. One is that there are so many books I want to read-I want to get through them faster so I can read more. I want to improve my comprehension because it's never been where I want it. I was diagnosed with a neurological condition (Chiari malformation) a couple of years ago. It's had a big impact on my short term memory-I have a lot of trouble with it. When I read, I find I have to go over some passages twice. If I lay a book down and come back to it the next day, I have to go over the last couple of pages I read to keep up. Well, there's a third reason, too. A number of years ago I read about pronouncing words in your head being an improper way to read. Since then, I've wondered why I read this way and if my comprehension would improve if I read properly. Since most speed reading courses I've read about seem to emphasize better comprehension, I thought it might help me to take one or read a book on it. Faux, I agree that typing fast is important. But I don't type nearly as much as I read. Link to post Share on other sites
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