Speed Reading

carterw65

I can't vouch for this, but here is a free, 4 CD, speed reading course with a workbook that you can download:

Speed Reading - RON WHITE

OctalDump

I'd take it with a grain of salt. The Truth About Speed Reading

You can read faster, but generally comprehension falls. The best way to get faster at reading is to just read more.

beads

There is a forgetting curve as well. Basically you forget or decay at a predictable rate but relearning the same material much faster. See link for a really good discussion on this subject.

The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve - And How To Overcome It

I only recently learned of ebbinghauses' research, myself. Fascinating stuff.

- b/eads

lavidicus

I use an program called Spritzlet speed reader for books and web sites. I can read and comprehend at about 300wpm using it. If your interested it can be found at Spritzlet: Spritz Bookmarklet

koz24

I entertained this speed reading idea when I first began my CCIE journey and realized I'd have to read more than a dozen of books to prepare.In the end I concluded that it just isn't for me. Maybe it works for some, but not me. If I read too fast I just end up "reading words" and miss things. So I just do it the old fashioned way with no shortcuts. I read and take notes, then lab to reinforce what I read, and finally I do spaced repetitions of my notes so the core topics stick. There we go, no shortcuts needed

OctalDump

Skimming is a useful skill when you are looking for something particular in what you are reading. But when you need to read and understand whole books, there isn't much you can do but read it at a pace that allows you to understand. And sometimes that means re-reading the same sentence over and over, or stopping to think. And needing to slow or stop is much more likely with new material.

So... things like spritz aren't great for learning new things, since the speed is fixed, and if you hit something hard it can distract you from the whole text and it all breaks down.

But you usually pretty quickly figure out what works and what doesn't.