I'm not exactly a speed reader, but I am capable of reading fast (150-200 pages per hour in my native language, depending on the typeface and size of the pages). I find it's okay when reading books full of facts (like dry academic books), but when it comes to novels, where nuance of language and subtlety of meaning are often very important, I prefer to read more slowly because I tend to miss those nuances and subtle meanings (not to mention all but the most obvious clues in the mysteries I read) when I read at my top speed. I don't want to learn to speed read if it means losing 50% comprehension.

Thanks for the article. I'm definitely one of the slower readers. I only subvocalize and read fast when I have a deadline, and that's not pleasure reading. I definitely vocalize the sounds in my head when I read for pleasure, and I read word for word, not in visual chunks. Pitch and rhythm have always been important to me, and I'm easily seduced by poetic prose.

I've often wondered about people who read voluminous amounts every year, seemingly non-stop compared to the sloth-like pace of someone like myself. Do they ever get over-stimulated? I know I do. Sometimes I need to take time out to fully absorb the experience of a good book before I can move on to something else.

I've also learned from reading a lot of email at my job that I often mis-read text when I try to skim. Formatting helps, and I think the internet and the constant push to multi-task are setting new trends in encouraging people to skim-read, but I don't trust myself when I skim read. I'm also going through that 40-something eye change which is slowing me down even more. *sigh*

I am a fast reader, but I'm sometimes aware that I have skipped a few words or a phrase. When I go back up the page to read it, I find that it will be descriptive or of not much importance. Funny how the brain works, isn't it?

I took the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course years ago (company paid for it.) Mostly it taught me what not to read. In a pinch I can read very fast but because I mostly read for pleasure, I don't. I was very surprised once, when I speed read a 600 page book club pick I didn't like (and I was the one that picked it) at how much better I remembered parts of it than those who'd read it conventionally. Speed reading focuses the mind. One becomes a seeker.

GeorgiaPeach, I got burned a couple of times when trying to speed read at work. I slowed down or read everything twice.

My thought about speed reading , matches the one of Woody Allen:

Once I took a speed reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It involves Russia (Woody Allen)

Jokes aside, I think speed - reading can be useful for technical stuff, but I can't see any reason why some one should use it on leisure - reading

grelobe

I agree with grelobe...
Speed reading seems to be the antithesis of reading for pleasure.
Sometimes quicker isn't better! ( reader infer :0)
Many novels require a slow, savoring of the passages in order to allow the character or scene to develop.
I know many readers who zip though books and will admit that they omit certain parts , especially descriptions of people and places.
This would seem counterproductive to enjoying a novel thoroughly.

I am also averse to listening to books.
It is too easy to miss important facts and unless your attention is completely undivided , this is difficult to do.

I wonder at those who can actually listen to a book while driving!
The traffic here is so challenging I need all my wits to make it from "h'yar to thar" without incident!