Speed Reading Doesn't Work - Do This Instead
This simple trick helps me finish any book in a week.
I’ve tried many methods to help me read more books and do it faster.
Most of them didn’t work:
Speed reading sounds amazing, in theory. But you barley retain information reading this way.
Reading summaries give you the feeling you read many books, but it’s a cheap concept. You never go deep enough; you don’t have time to think, explore, and spend enough time on a subject to really get familiar with. It’s a very shallow way to learn something.
Small changes like using your pointer finger and stopping subvocalization is nice, but didn’t made a huge difference.
The trick
Listen & read at the same time.
This means getting the audiobook + the kindle / print version of the book.
Let’s say the audiobook is 10 hours long.
Dedicate 1 hour a day.
Listen to the audiobook on 1.5x while following the text.
You will finish the book in 7 days.
Why this system works
Easier to focus - when you read, the headers and paragraphs help you follow the strucutre of the book. The narrortion keeps you on track and prevents you from daydreaming.
Less backtracking - The audio keeps you going. If you don’t understand a word, you quickly understand the context and you don’t need to go back too much.
Making consistent progress - You can see how much time is left of the audiobook and plan your week accordinly. Reading for 1 hour a day necessarly mean you will finish the book in 7 days. Not ifs or buts.
Retaining more information - it is proven that you learn things faster if you use different mediums for learning. Listening, reading and highlighing important stuff is the ultimate way to learn (just make sure to apply it afterwards).
But it’s too expensive!
You might think that getting both the audiobook and the text version is not worth the money.
I have 3 things to say about that:
Find alternatives - search for PDFs of the books. Google ways to get free audiobooks. Get creative. If you don’t have the money, you’ll have to spend more time.
Try kindle unlimited or audible - these services make this whole process more affortable. Audible allow you to get one audiobook each month and kindle unlimted let you get and recieve digital books like a library (each for a monthly subscription).
Just pay. it’s worth it - books are an investment worth making. They are not incredibly expensive and this method will make sure you will actually read and retain the books. I think it’s worth it.