Uncovering the Mystery of High Reading Speeds

[heman]

Well i read somewhere that reading speed is directly proportional to comprehension...and the reason pointed was that mind also becomes fast processor,,i think that may be true for the case of Peek... ,,what do you think about the truth of this,,is it really that way...

 

[AngelShare]

AngelShare, good point. I definitely read a lot faster when someone has written things using correct grammar and punctuation. I hate when I start reading a sentence and have to backtrack 3 times because a comma is missing somewhere. And, of course if I'm enjoying reading something, I just breeze through it in no time, while something that's not much fun to read takes forever. Part of that is the ease of becoming distracted by other things. If I'm really enjoying something, I'm not noticing anything else around me, and am completely focused on what I'm reading, so it goes quickly. If I'm not enjoying it, I start thinking about other things mid-sentence, so have to go back and re-read, or I find myself staring out the window, etc.

I know exactly what you mean. Just today I was reading Fahrenheit 451 and I was amazed at how well I was doing despite everything going on around me. However, I was reading it in a rather odd fashion...I took to one character in particular so I looked forward to her parts-- literally. I started skipping around but, despite that, I understood what was going on and enjoyed it.

My environment greatly effects my ability to read as well. For example, at home, I can sit pretty much anywhere and be distracted by family members slamming doors, talking, turning TV's up, etc. However, I can sit in the library and almost completely ignore people coming in and out and the hum of people talking two rooms over. I've done some of my best reading in the library but going home seems to "reset" what I've read so I have to start over. Bad habit with me...

I can read at my Gram's despite cars passing by on the street (I live in the country, she lives in a medium sized town near here so it's definitely a change of scenery.) and even people talking as they walk by her house. My family drives me absolutely crazy though.

I've never cared about reading speed since the 8th grade when they tried to teach us all speed reading. I was always one of the slower readers, but my comprehension was 100%. I prefer that over being a faster reader and missing things. Then again, the thought of trying to speed read slows me more than anything else...I'm focused on remembering all the tricks rather than what words my eyes are scanning over.

The only time I worry about reading speed is when homework is involved. Since I'm slower than the average person (Even slower than what my test results said I am-- I tend to reread some sentences several times which takes up a lot of time. ), I struggle when trying to keep up with the rest of the class.

I thought ahead this time though. Instead of choosing one book from the list using the information posted on the lesson page, I went to the library and found as many of the books (There were about six on the list.) as I could and checked them all out so I could get the feel of each one before choosing which I'd read (Since my ability to read changes from place to place-- something that works at the library won't necessarily work at home.). It definitely helped as I think I may get done ahead of time this time around.