Q&A for How to Read Faster

If you read faster, then you can read more books faster, which will lead to more things you'll learn faster.

Where you read is half the battle. Choose a quiet nook away from electronics, other people and anything else that distracts you. Ensure it's comfortable. Have some water by your side in case you get thirsty. Allow yourself breaks every now and then, with a promise to come back to the reading. You could also try to inspire yourself that the book contains some information which could change your world and the best time for it to read is now.

If you have the option, pick another one that you will like better. If it's assigned reading for school or something like that, than find a way to get invested in what you're reading so you can concentrate. For example, decide it will be useful for you to learn about this or that topic, or if it's fiction, choose a character you can relate to and try to predict what might happen to him or her.

You don't have to, but a summary will help you remember the most important parts of your reading. When you read fast, you are more likely to forget certain aspects; a summary will help you remember them later on.

Skimming is forcing yourself to read just a few sentences, randomly chosen. Non-fiction works often have chapter and paragraph titles. If these are well chosen, reading just those should be enough to complete the skimming task. You can also try reading the first and last sentences only of each paragraph.

Yes, but keep it quiet, and turn it off if it distracts you. Some people find music distracting when they're trying to concentrate, especially if it has lyrics.

Whenever you read an interesting idea, write it down to think about and research more later. Even if you think this particular idea is not going to distract you, train yourself to write it down anyway. This way you can head yourself off at the pass before you become distracted, and later you can review what you've written when you have free time and give each idea the thought it deserves.

Yes, because if you need to wear glasses, then it will help you see better, so that you can read a lot faster.

Not if you want to read quickly. However, it will help you comprehend/remember what you are reading better so it might be a good idea if you're reading a book for school or actually trying to learn something.

Maybe you could try focussing as much as possible. This may require a lot of practice, but it'll likely turn out to be working in your favor. You could meditate for short periods for improving your concentration.

Try waking up early if you can, or read at night until you get tired.

First, try to get the main idea of a long passage by using the techniques, and then read the questions to find out what you're looking for. The passage may give you a lot of details that the questions don't require that you know in order to answer them. Never use these techniques while reading the questions and answer choices. People make mistakes in tests because they miss a word.

It is fine to only read in silence. Use noise-cancelling headphones to make a quiet atmosphere wherever you are.

You can create sound in your mind like "ra", "dum", or any familiar sound for every line you read instead of actually hearing the entire sentence in your mind. In that way you can eliminate this habit of sub-vocalization.

Hold a pen or use your finger to point the to text and move your eyes along with your finger.

Read the first sentence of every paragraph. Then go back and look at words like names and places that you see a lot, and write them down. This will program your subconscious to remember the context when you read the material in its entirety. Do this with every chapter or sub-chapter.

If your mind wanders, but you stay on the topic that you are reading about, then let your mind wonder for a little bit. This will help you integrate what you are reading with your own self. If your wandering gets you off topic, then reread that last sentence you remember. This will help you stay focused and will train your brain to stay on task.

You could increase the reading speed by using the word runner option in the digital reading applications.

Make sure you're sitting upright in a bright room. Then try to read things that catch your interest.

Yes, but studies have proven reading speed is higher when reading on paper than reading on a screen.

Yes, but if it's written with nice prose, then it's a waste to scan only the most important nouns and verbs.

Set a goal of reading a page or two of something you like every day.