Do you speed read?

@MaybeHeIsMyCat

Should add I usually read around a book a day I can't stand being read to, or audio books it's infuriating when I can read it in half the time. I also have to have subtitles on the TV

I don't read anywhere near your speed though.

I don’t speed read and I get through a book a week. I dedicate time to it though.

Should add I usually read around a book a day
I can't stand being read to, or audio books it's infuriating when I can read it in half the time. I also have to have subtitles on the TV

Yes I speed read and have done since learning to read
It's caused me no end of problems through school and work. I did a study for uni and the way mine works is if you open a book, the 2 pages? I read both at the same time. I also skip words like and/the that aren't important, but I don't realise I do any of this
Standard paperback chick lit takes me about an hour or so and I read at around 1500wpm

I can read quick, but I consciously make myself read things I value slower to really enjoy them now.

I think OP it’s important to remember that reading quicker isn’t necessary better, as long as you’re enjoying what you’re reading it’s not important if you read two books a day or two books a year, it’s not a competition

I am another extremely fast reader. It's difficult to describe how, but I think I take in half a line of text or so at a time, so my eyes don't move steadily along the line from left to right, but flick from left to middle, then down to the next and so on. I've done this since I was very young. My aunt, who is a reception teacher, used to watch with fascination as I read my Noddy books at the age of 3 or 4.

Pre baby i’d average a book every other day. I’m a naturally fast reader, I’d always read ahead at school but have full comprehension of what i had read.
I’d read on the bus/at lunch/ stay awake to finish if I was enjoying it. If a book is boring it would take me longer to read but always within a week or 2.

I read really fast and always have. In high school a teacher got fed up with the few of us who constantly read ahead or seemed done 'too soon' and had us read things then answer questions about certain details. I and one other person were the one ones who could actually answer the questions. So I'm confident I do actually read it. I have to really pace myself when reading aloud to my kids because my reading speed is faster than I can speak.

The PP who said about words or paragraphs just kind of going in is how I am. It's sort of like a picture, like I take in more than one word at a time. My DH is the opposite and clearly reads one word at a time - I can tell because he often murmurs the words he's reading under his breath if he's trying to read quickly.

I read early and was reading adult novels from early middle school, I think it must maybe be some type brain image processing thing that allows me to read that way.

I do. I remember reading the Da Vinci Code in 1.5 hours. My ex did not believe me, so quizzed me and was shocked. Not as fast anymore.
I used to have an exceptional memory.

It normally depends how much I like the book. If I'm enjoying the book and interested to know what happens next it takes me a week, if it's kind of boring it'll take me up to 3 weeks, or I'll just skim read the last few chapters.

I read very fast but don’t generally read what is considered good literature. I read 230 books in the first lock down, thank god for a kindle and kindle unlimited. I’ve read 25+ books since Christmas.
I do skim read sometimes but not always. I put my love of reading down to growing up without a tv. I do sometimes worry that I’m addicted to reading but I suppose there are worse addictions to have.

I read 130 books last year on my Kindle app, similar the year before. Also read some physical books. Though I can go weeks without reading, if I'm engrossed in a series on Netflix or something. I can easily read a book or more in a day. I read very quickly and always have done, I learned to read at 3. By the time I was at secondary school I read all the time.
It's a good thing I have kindle unlimited! I don't like buying books because they are over so quickly it seems really expensive.

Like PPs though, because I read quickly and so much, I don't always remember much. I often download a book and then discover I've already read it.

Training my "read sleed" is more than 100 pages of normal text per hour so a book is usually 2-3 hrs

This is a really interesting thread. I would say i'm definitely a slow reader but a fairly consistent in that I'll read every day, even if I only get 10 minutes in. I got through 40 books last year but quite a few of those were audio. I don't mind being a slow reader for leisure but I read a lot for work so might look into learning how to speed read. I wonder if it's something that anybody could learn or if you have to have a natural proclivity for it.

From talking to people about this there are two types of readers:

People who read each word “out loud” individually in their heads

People who look at a page, or a paragraph and the words just kind of go in, rather than reading each one.

I think it’s just what you’re born with to an extent, although it probably can be learned.

I think I am probably average to slowish - approx 50 pages in an hour. I always have one physical book and one audio book (which I listen to in the car) on the go though and probably do manage 50 a year.

I speed read - I am about 650wpm. I’ve always been fast. I can do a novel in an evening if I’m so inclined.

I read exceptionally quickly, but I do read everything. My sister always said I couldn't have read something so quickly so she'd test me, I'd always have the answer.

I can read a book in a couple of hours.

I am a very fast reader, probably because I could read very young and read everyday so as with anything you do a lot you get faster at it. I read over 200 books a year and love, love, love reading. If didnt have a book I would read instruction pamphlets as ai just want to be reading.

I don't think of it as speed-reading, but I certainly read at least 100 books a year. (It used to be more, but like most of us I spend a lot of time reading online content these days.) Some of that is re-reading - I own a lot of books. I do actually try to slow down the pace a bit for long-awaited books by favourite authors, but it's a lost cause if it's a proper page-turner.
I've never understood people suddenly discovering they've read something before when they're a couple of chapters in, then discarding it. I always remember the books I've read.

I feel like I was born reading fast. I devoured books as a child. I would read basically all the time if I could. Even cereal boxes.

My parents had an awful time getting me ready for things as I would read while dressing, brushing my teeth etc.

I means I read quickly but I do sometimes miss things. It makes proofreading difficult actually.

@Pedalpushers yes this is it - I look at all the words but don't say them all in my brain, I seem to interpret shapes of groups of words or sentences as a whole. It's hard to explain. I can read in a second language (although my speaking skills are rusty) and I do the same thing in that language too.