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How to Read Faster and Remember More
Learn how to improve your reading speed and comprehension without spending extra time or money on a speed-reading class. This is a program designed by Morris and Chesley Young, and husband-wife team of an ophthalmologist and a teacher. From their combined expertise, you will learn to read faster and remember what you read without straining your eyes. A special feature of the program is the useful "Read-O-dometer" device. It comes with the book and will help you on your way.
Paperback
Published January 1, 1979
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June 26, 2014
Unlike some speed-reading books, Young takes a holistic approach to increasing reading speed and retention. He explains that in essence, reading is memory, and the two are inseparably intertwined. While writers strive to clearly express their ideas, readers generally attempt to take it in as quickly and completely as possible (or rather, as desired).
In the first half of the book, many of the points that Young will likely seem like obvious facts. However, awareness of the myriad "trivial" factors affecting reading speed and comprehension allows readers to work towards improvement by maximizing individual aspects of each. For instance, paying attention to lighting, posture, time of day, vocalization of words, pace, and reading in duplex/triplex/multiplex (i.e. number of words read in a single glance) may seem straightforward to the average casual reader. However, awareness of the existence of such factors may help a reader strive for ideality, and with it, faster and more effective reading.
In the second half of his book, Young focuses on various memory techniques that may assist a reader in remembering content from books. (What is the purpose of reading if you can't remember what you read?) He provides guidance on various categories of reading, such as "1. Pleasure, 2. Cultural, 3. Informative, 4. Self-Help". The variety of techniques and games may seem excessive, but his purpose is to arm you, the reader, with enough tools to serve your purposes.
The chapters and text are wonderfully organized in a most readable fashion. Each section begins with a half-page box summarizing what is to come, and Young laces imagery and analogies into the text, allowing the reader to practice visualization (as opposed to mental vocalization) while reading. Thus, one kills two birds in one stone by practicing to speed-read while reading about speed reading!
Personal highlights of the book:
1. Remembering to ask key questions before reading anything, and to seek the answers while reading.
2. Reading chunks of three or more words at a glance as opposed to reading letter by letter, and consciously speeding up (skipping from keyword to keyword) or slowing down the pace (reading fewer words at a glance, and possibly reverting to vocalization) depending on the text.
3. Knowing to pause at the end of sections to briefly reflect.
4. Having a few memory tactics under my belt, such as the "room method", "chain memory", and "skeleton keys" for times when maximizing retention is important.
In the first half of the book, many of the points that Young will likely seem like obvious facts. However, awareness of the myriad "trivial" factors affecting reading speed and comprehension allows readers to work towards improvement by maximizing individual aspects of each. For instance, paying attention to lighting, posture, time of day, vocalization of words, pace, and reading in duplex/triplex/multiplex (i.e. number of words read in a single glance) may seem straightforward to the average casual reader. However, awareness of the existence of such factors may help a reader strive for ideality, and with it, faster and more effective reading.
In the second half of his book, Young focuses on various memory techniques that may assist a reader in remembering content from books. (What is the purpose of reading if you can't remember what you read?) He provides guidance on various categories of reading, such as "1. Pleasure, 2. Cultural, 3. Informative, 4. Self-Help". The variety of techniques and games may seem excessive, but his purpose is to arm you, the reader, with enough tools to serve your purposes.
The chapters and text are wonderfully organized in a most readable fashion. Each section begins with a half-page box summarizing what is to come, and Young laces imagery and analogies into the text, allowing the reader to practice visualization (as opposed to mental vocalization) while reading. Thus, one kills two birds in one stone by practicing to speed-read while reading about speed reading!
Personal highlights of the book:
1. Remembering to ask key questions before reading anything, and to seek the answers while reading.
2. Reading chunks of three or more words at a glance as opposed to reading letter by letter, and consciously speeding up (skipping from keyword to keyword) or slowing down the pace (reading fewer words at a glance, and possibly reverting to vocalization) depending on the text.
3. Knowing to pause at the end of sections to briefly reflect.
4. Having a few memory tactics under my belt, such as the "room method", "chain memory", and "skeleton keys" for times when maximizing retention is important.
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