My method of reading and understanding books faster
Just to build a connection, if you are a slow reader, then don’t worry. I am a slow reader myself. English is not my first language and it has always been hard for me to read fast. Since childhood, I never paid attention to my language skills as I had very little interest in that area. But now after crossing 28 years of age, I realized, reading is a tool just like other tools you use to succeed in life. My reading is so slow that I can hardly read 10 pages per hour.
Things I tried to read fast and their results:
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Audiobooks: Audiobooks worked great for me to read books fast. I could control the speed that works for me. Slow down or increase the speed at which I felt comfortable. Audiobooks help us to read fast as we don’t have to spend time figuring out how to read a word. Try reading a text with not-so-popular words, it would be a bit hard. But you still wouldn’t face many issues while listening to it. The reason is we have been listening to those words and the rate at which we listen and understand is much higher than we read and understand. But the problem with audiobooks was could never retain what I read. Going back to see what I read before was the biggest challenge. Another problem was since my other senses, especially the eyes were not engaged in the reading, I quickly got distracted. Hence, I quickly gave up audiobooks.
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Practicing Reading hacks: I searched the internet for various reading hacks that I can do to read fast. Like not focusing on pronouncing words, pushing myself to read fast so that it comes naturally, not keeping a pointer to read, etc., etc. But such hacks never worked for me. I felt that there is no shortcut to read faster. It takes time and like all other skills, it will also require time to master.
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Audiobooks + Physical book: I finally solved my problem by using a combination of audiobook and a physical book in my hand. When I have to read a book I buy both the audiobook and its physical copy. Listening to the audiobook helps as I can now read much faster, from 10 pages an hour to almost 35 pages an hour. And having a physical copy helps as I can highlight my favorite parts, make notes in the book, go back to previous pages to relate something that I read. And most of all since I am highlighting my book, it is easier for me to come back again and recollect everything that I read.
I take highlighting my books very seriously as after highlighting they become an asset for me, as I would come back to this book again and again in the future as soon as I start forgetting things. Some people like to keep their books neat and clean, I am totally the opposite. For me, if I have to read the book again page by page, it doesn’t feel like the most optimal way.