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Ask HN: How can I read faster?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#21

Post by vishnugupta »

FWIW I noticed about myself that whenever I fast read either the core concepts don’t register or I can’t recall them. So I deliberately slow read, at times I go back a page or two to re-read to let the knowledge sink in.

Another change is I’ve stopped worrying about “completing” books. I now take a “subject” and read about 2-3 books (along with several articles) on it. It gives me multiple perspectives, sort of climbing a mountain through different paths. For instance I developed interest in 2008 credit crisis and am reading 5 books.

That said if you really can read faster and retain the content then it’s super amazing. But it wasn’t for me.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#22

Post by intellectronica »

Map the book before starting to read end-to-end. Review the chapters, and the internal structure. Develop a mental plan for what you're going to learn from the book, and only then start reading. You'll be able to vary the speed a lot - some things you'll read very carefully and even reread to make sure you understand (and take notes for stuff you'll want to remember), other parts you'll skim or even skip altogether.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#23

Post by superasn »

niceairport wrote: post #12
superasn wrote: post #7

I made this site to do exactly that: https://www.speakreader.com I've always found it a bit hard to keep focused while reading long text and books. So after trying a lot of things I noticed that this method works really well for me and I was able read almost 7 books in a month with it. Though for me it only works when I set the speed to at least 2.5x normal otherwise I get bored. Also only non-fiction. It's 100% free…

It doesn't seem to work when I paste text. After pasting text into the modal and submitting it prompts me to enter Wavenet API key.

Yes that is required to make the Google's text to speech work. There are instructions under the box on how to obtain it. I've also linked to a YouTube demo video (not mine) for getting the same in there too.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#24

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Realize that a lot of books are just long versions of blog posts; see if the author has a blog, skim their posts.

It depends if you want to acquire broad, general knowledge or deeper detailed knowledge though. For the former, skimming blogs and the internet; for the latter, you'll need to study instead of just read / skim.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#26

Post by Errancer »

thevagrant wrote: post #11
Errancer wrote: post #8

Talk with the doctor about depression. Genuinely out of all methods I tried for faster reading it turned out antidepressants helped multiple times more than any technique. I know it sounds bizarre but if you're struggling with reading and it feels like every books drags through weeks then it's your best shot.

An ssri? How long did it take to notice an improvement? Did the improvement wear off after taking it for a long time?

They started to work after 3 weeks. I'm still taking them but overall, even if I'm after the first enthusiastic wave of energy, my capacity for reading is much higher than before. For context I started reading one book at the beginning of the year and I couldn't finish it before I started my therapy and after it (I started this March) I finished 3 books in 2 weeks. Currently I'm capable of reading around 4 books a month. I'm mostly reading academic philosophy and work full time while studying on university so it's a huge improvement for me. I guess the effect can differ but I believe it's worth a shot for everyone having similar problems.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#27

Post by ppalata »

As others have already pointed out, reading faster doesn't necessarily translate into more efficient information processing or faster learning. If your end goal is to learn faster, I had a fairly good experience when applying techniques outlined in the Learning How to Learn book/e-learning course.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#28

Post by asr21 »

vishnugupta wrote: post #21

FWIW I noticed about myself that whenever I fast read either the core concepts don’t register or I can’t recall them. So I deliberately slow read, at times I go back a page or two to re-read to let the knowledge sink in. Another change is I’ve stopped worrying about “completing” books. I now take a “subject” and read about 2-3 books (along with several articles) on it. It gives me multiple perspectives, sort of climb…

I like this approach and it has worked for me in some ways.

Re: Ask HN: How can I read faster?

#29

Post by ToJans »

ageitgey wrote: post #20

I would argue that you might be looking for the wrong solution to your problem. If you just try to read 'faster', you'll just make it through more text but you'll still forget most of it. How many books do you really remember in detail after you read them? If your goal is to learn information from non-fiction books more quickly, you might be in search of a book summarization service. They outline the main points and…

IME you do not need to read everything thoroughly to get value out of it.

I usually go through several spurs in a year where I go through a series of books in a couple of days... I might not recall everything that's being said, but I get the main message, and assume a lot of information is stored subconsciously.

Simply knowing that there's more details available if/when I need it is usually enough for me...

The technique to learn to speed-read is easy, but it takes a lot of practice. I posted a reply explaining it; no idea why it got downvoted TBH.

Anyway, I'd strongly suggest you to start practicing; it tends to be a very valuable skill to have.

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