5 Tips for Faster Reading
By Trevin Wax on Dec 19, 2006 in Reading | 
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I didn’t quite make my goal of reading 100 books this year, but I got close enough. The more you are in school, the more you have to read. Here are some tips that have helped me read faster.
1. Use a bookmark or your finger.
Studies show that the split seconds it takes for your eye to find the next line on the page add up and eventually slow you down. By reading with a bookmark going line by line, or with your finger at the start of each line, you can increase your speed.
2. Read the Introduction and Conclusion first.
This doesn’t work for novels and works of fiction, but it is very helpful if you are tackling an academic book. By knowing where the author is going, you can fly through the material at a much quicker pace.
3. Read blocks, not words.
Most people who read slowly are still reading word-for-word like a child who learns to read in elementary school. Faster readers are able to take in whole lines at one time. This is easier on the eyes, and it also helps one hurry down a page and still retain all the information.
4. Concentrate.
Don’t try to do two or three things at once. Turn off the stereo. Turn off the TV. Shut out the noise, and focus on what you are reading. The faster you are able to read, the more you can concentrate. And the more you concentrate, the faster you can read.
5. Read a lot.
Don’t get out of practice. Always have a book in your hand. Don’t waste the time you spend in the doctor’s waiting room, or stuck in a traffic jam. Have a book handy, and keep the habit alive.
And I have one more (unofficial) tip to add. Learn a new language. For some reason, I began reading much faster in English after I had become completely fluent in Romanian.
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Really helpful, thanks for this!!!!
Quick Question. Reading blocks & not words . . . . well, i read words, so now i feel like a little kid.
How do I read blocks & not words?
Mark Combs | Dec 20, 2006 | Reply
I’m not an expert on speed reading. I can only speak from experience.
First, make sure you’re not reading out loud, moving your lips, or even “hearing” the words in your mind as you read a book. You have to be able to comprehend the words and sentences without having to “hear” them in your head.
Secondly, try reading a book by taking in a full line of text at a time. As you look left to right, let your eye take in the entire line and not simply the words. Use a piece of paper and go down a page line by line until you force yourself to read faster, in order to keep up with the bookmark.
These tips helped me, but they might not work for everyone. Reading fast doesn’t happen overnight, but it is well worth the effort.
trevinwax | Dec 20, 2006 | Reply
How asinine. Read blocks instead of words. Not surprisingly, there’s no advice for this poor chap on how to do that…
Perhaps this is why writing by evangelicals (and Reformed evangelicals) is so poor? They’re attempting to write “blocks” for people who like to speed-read their prose diet like some Gnostic who would be content to “eat” his meals through an IV, thinking that it would simplify things SO much!
How old are you, anyway? Are you 30 yet, Mr. Associate Pastor of Christian Education, and you’re giving writing advice to the masses?
I wonder how an author with a real talent and established reputation (maybe even one OUTSIDE of the Reformed ghetto we live in?) would feel about your advice? Maybe you could ask?
Matt Beatty | Feb 4, 2010 | Reply
As a software developer, I’ve noticed that on a computer my eyes have been able to notice patterns of whole paragraphs a lot faster as I’ve matured as a programmer. Not sure if that would be in the same vein as your language idea but, anyhow.
Veretax | Feb 8, 2010 | Reply