I don’t know if you guys know what “speed reading” is exactly, or if you have a different name for it, so let me explain. Speed reading is like a reading shortcut, when you read a book fast without reading every single word the author has written. Everyone uses a different method when you speed read. When I speed read a page, I personally read 70% of that page’s dialogue and two to four sentences from a blocky paragraph.
I don’t speed read often; I probably speed read like five times a year (but in my defense, I read a lot of books. As of today, I’ve read 167 books so far this year and I’m in college and I have a job). I only speed read when I’m reading a very slow book or if I’m deep into a book that I want to DNF, but don’t want to DNF that book because I’ve already spent too much of my time reading it. I keep speed reading until I reach a part of the book that would grab and hold my interest or until the book picks up since most books usually picks up at the end.
How about you guys? Do you speed read? Why?
I seriously can’t speed read/skim books if my life depended on it. My skimming is basically reading every word super fast, not obtaining any information.
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I have never tried to speed read. I am one of those that prefers to just put the book down and give it another go later.
Do you miss anything important when you speed read? Do you have to go back for missed details?
I want to give this a try next time I’m reading a slow book.
Olgia recently posted…The Dark Lady Review
I usually never speed-read an entire book. That is a big no-no according to me. If I read a book, I want to savor each delicious word. However, suppose there is a tense part which may contain a shocker or a reveal, then I skim over the words until I reach it (I am too impatient, yes) and then after my anxiety has been alleviated, I read back the skimmed part. About an entire book, well, I normally have a good reading speed even when reading carefully so I don’t need to speed read.
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I’d like to speed read but I always end up missing the important points and I. Do not. Like that. It’s like a gap that I’d like to fill in my mind. I do agree on the part about wanting to DNF and then not actually wanting to DNF.
The same for me! When I feel like the book isn’t bad enough to DNF, I like to speed read it. This way I can finish it, without taking too much time or effort. I must say that I’m pretty good at reading with a high speed in the first place :) 167 books is awesome by the way!
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Review 222. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy.
I don’t speed read unless I don’t like the book or when I get bored. But it does not happen often…. I usually just don’t finish the book. Also, you read 167 books this year? Impressive :D
-Dannielle
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Interesting idea! I’m not the slowest reader, but I’m not the fastest either, and usually unless the book is horrible-teeth-gnashing inducing, I’m pretty fine just reading. I guess I speed read, if I’m trying to just skim to find out the ending, like you said, or if I’m SO invested that I just can’t stop. Really depends on the hook of the book and my attention span. Haha.
Inky Away!
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I like to enjoy reading so no I don’t speed read. However I do speed read through the ACT. Its the only way to finish the reading section.
Oh gosh, I can NEVER speed read when it comes to young adult books. If it’s a school book, pshhhh I’d FREAKIN SPEED READ THAT WHOLE DAMN BOOK LOL. For young adult books, I want to read every single word because I think a word makes a difference to the meaning of a sentence.
Leigh @ Little Book Star recently posted…Review Slumps {Discuss #8}
I don’t like speed reading. I do it sometimes, and I mainly did it when I had to get reading done for classes. It’s like the worst because and every time I do it, it makes my head hurt. I feel like I’m missing a big chunk of what’s happening. :\ I like to know everything. I wish I could speed reed and remember everything that happened. Usually, I tend to forget about it instantly.
I don’t think I’ve speed read through YA books, especially ones that are absolutely horrible, because I’m not on a time-constraint and it’s much easier to read than boring required reading.
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Yes! But only because I’m trying to get through a book or it’s pretty boring.
Ashley recently posted…The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen
Same for me. I normally speed just because it’s not my normal “setting” or whatever.
I speed read more then I use to but I read like 2-4 books a week and not each and everyone is super amazing. I always try to read at least the first 60 pages normally before I speed read.
But if I do speed read, it’s the same as you. They’re kinda slow or I’m just not completely digging them but I want to know what happens in the end.
I skim / speed read only if it’s a book I’m not getting into, and I would probably DNF otherwise. It’s not in me to not inish a book, soI try to skim a few pages here and there first. If I’m still then gagging at the thought of reading anymore, then I’ll DNF it.
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I can speed read, but I don’t like to. I tend to do it almost unconsciously when I get to an exciting part of the story and I just have to know what happens!
I don’t like speed reading because I feel like I should appreciate the book and it’s carefully crafted words. I feel like I won’t be getting the full experience If I speed read. So when I do, I put the book down , take a moment, then purposefully start again and slow. down.
:)
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I agree, if it is a boring book, or has unnessesary “filler fluff” to make it a novel instead if a novella, I will speed read.
I think I speed read books that I find super slow and am not particularly enjoying. It’s how I avoid adding to my DNF pile, which currently only has 1 book. I kinda just skim all the huge descriptive paragraphs getting to parts that I’m somewhat interested in.
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I can’t speed read because I HATE missing things. But I am a pretty fast reader anyway so I get frustrated when it takes me a while to get through a book. I will usually just take a break and try to read it later if my brain is no into what I am reading right now.
Michaela @ Will Read for Coffee recently posted…Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
I don’t speed read as a practice, but occasionally I’ll quickly skim through certain parts of a book…like the author is being really descriptive and it’s starting to bore me. Or if I’m feeling “eh” about a book and want to get through it faster.
Miranda @ Tempest Books recently posted…Weekly Wrap-Up (#13)
I hate not finishing a book, but if I’m not enjoying it and don’t want to waste my time reading it then I will speed read. I think I’m the same as you in that I most read the dialogue and a bit of the descriptive bits. Sometimes when I am loving a book so much and I’m really excited and really want to get to the end so I know what happens, I unintentionally speed read, but then have to stop myself and go back to read over it again because I have missed good bits! :)
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Hmm, I don’t think that I do speed read but I do skip sometimes sentences. For instance if i’m not particularly enjoying a book and I can’t be bothered to really read it (but I feel the need to finish it) I just end up reading the dialog between characters, sometimes I do miss things and if I felt that I have I do a quick skim so see what I have missed.
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I usually skip scenes that I don’t like and if I’ve spent too much time reading a book and want to finish it to move to another one I speed read but in my case I read every single word but super fast.
I do speed read to agonizingly slow story line. Sometimes the books that I speed read get a 1-2 star or a DNF rating from me. I hate to do it, but I’ll die with boredom figuring out how the hell I’ll finish a particular book (maybe 10 years).
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I definitely do. There are VERY few books I don’t finish. I can’t even name one of the top of my head. Now, there are series that I didn’t finish, but I feel like that’s different. And with those, I just skipped to the last few pages, got my answer, and was glad I didn’t waste my time.
I speed read books I have to read for school- the ones that aren’t as exciting.
When I’m running out of time, when I’m not too invested…. That’s when I read dialogue until I can convince myself that the stuff in between is interesting, too. Like you said, books usually pick up towards the end.
When I reread books, I speed read. Usually I just read the dialogue, and a few paragraphs that I remember loving.
It really depends!
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I don’t speed read, but I have practiced. Apparently there is a fine art to speed reading which is what I discovered while watching The Newsroom. A lot of business people do it when they have stacks of papers to go through. Or in my case, a lot of college reading material. In my college career I think I only read about 1/10 of what I was supposed to. I mostly just skimmed and did a little speed reading through novels. I’ve only tried it once for a casual read; when I read Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, I actually enjoyed reading like that! But it was in the summertime and I seemed to have lost my mojo.
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Hmm. this is interesting because I haven’t actually thought about this! I don’t think I’ve ever speed read and I don’t know if I can! When I read, I like to take in every single word. It takes more time, I bet but it’s the only way I know how to read.
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If I’m really into the book then I usually don’t speed read but if it gets slow or if it’s a book that I’m not really enjoying most of the time I will just read the dialogue (if it’s just a slow part) or just skip to the end and see what happens (if I’m not liking it).
Christy @ Christy’s Book Addiction recently posted…Top 10 of 2013 | Best Books I’ve Read in 2013
For me, speed reading is such a painful process that I only do it if I’m desperate, like if I left a paper till the morning of journal club or something like that. BUT even then, I only retain ~50% of the content. :( (I sometimes even mouth the words on a page, that’s how slowly I read!) If it’s a very slow book, I end up glossing over the pages, but I don’t really speed up. I think part of the reason I don’t speed read is because I don’t actually know how, but I’m making that a goal for the new year since I think it’s an essential technique for any reader.
Sophie recently posted…Review: Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
I don’t think my brain capacity allows me to speed read. I read aloud in my head, because I’m always afraid of missing something. Oddly enough even as I type this I’m speaking it.
– Krys
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I speed-read when I’m trying to finish a book I don’t like all that much (I usually try not to DNF books unless it’s absolutely necessary), but other than that I prefer to read at a slower pace so as to take in the contents of the book more and understand it better.
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I speed read my way through high school. But I never retained much that way, so I always got Cs on my pop quizzes. Since high school, I’ve speed read once, and that was when I was trying to finish the last Twilight novel. Actually, I skipped an entire chapter in the last Twilight book because I was so not into it. But, I’d already made it to book four, so I insisted on attempting to finish it. It’s been two years and I’m still only half way finished with it. Ugh.
I don’t really speed read now. If a book is engaging, I shouldn’t have to (and I’m not as busy as you, so I have extra moments to spare). If I’m not that into a book, I don’t usually have qualms about putting a book down. Sometimes I return to it, and sometimes I don’t because I’ve picked up a more engaging book.
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Speed reading. I’m pretty sure I have done it with books I want to finish but really dislike. Sometimes I am unfocused when reading and then I read everything, but I don’t obtain information and I have no idea what the few pages were about and then I miss important information *I do reread those pages if it was a nice book of course*.
Sandra @Sandra’s World of Books recently posted…Bout of Books 9.0
I speed read… not all the time, only when a book is slow and I have to get through it.
I also am in school and work, which I’m sure has a ton to do with it. I have limited time and can’t spend forever reading a 3 star book. If I am in love, however, I am savoring it all.