February 27, 2019
Tips for better understanding what you read, become a speed reader, and determine which books will catch your interest before you begin.
There are so many books to read, I wish I could read them all. If you feel this way this post is for you! I've put together my top 5 reading strategies that have helped me to read a larger selection of good books, I'll remember for a long time.
1) Finding Your Next Book
When you're standing in the midsts of books at Powells Bookstore or your Public Library, trying to determine the book you want to read next can be a bit of a challenge. Here are a few things I keep in mind.
Don't judge a book by it's cover: Guilty as charged, especially when I'm in book stores. I'll go through finding the books that catch my eye most. Although, this isn't all bad, I've found great books using this strategy. Just make sure to keep an open mind and don't be turned away by a cover.
Read the full summary: Understand what the books about, does anything specific draw your attention. Compare similar genres you've read and ask yourself, if you were intrigued or lost?
Read the chapter headings: Do you still seem interested, or more intrigued than before? If so... Then I can almost guarantee you're going to enjoy this book.
Another thing to keep in mind is, searching books from authors that have inspired you. Pinterest is a fabulous tool for this. I have probably hundreds of books pinned ready to read in the future. :)
2) Keeping your Interests Sparked
Brain science and Self-Care (Non-Fiction) are my favorite reads. Although, one after the other tend to get a bit dry. So with the start of the new year 2019, I have begun applying a new strategy in what I read, to keep me motivated.
I go back and forth between Non-Fiction and Fiction in order to keep myself engaged. After an in-depth book on how the brain works, it's refreshing to read some creative romance. My favorite author at the moment is 'Kristin Hannah' I would highly recommend her book The Nightingale.
3) Doubling your Speed while Reading and Still Comprehending
You can double your reading speed by applying these few simple steps. Don't believe me? Give it a try!
First you're going to get a book and calculate the average number of words per page. In order to do this, you are going to do a bit of math. Take a fully printed out page and count the amount of words in the first 10 lines. Divide that number by 10. This will give you the approximate words per line, which you will then divide by the total amount of lines on the page... Wala, you have the approximate words per page.
*See diagram below... note that some formats don't show the diagram correctly.
Amount of words/10 lines = words/Line + words/Line = Proximate words/page
10 Total lines on the page
Now, step two is to determine your WPM (Words Per Min). Pick a different full page to start and read at your normal speed for 1min. Afterwards you do the math and determine your WPM. This is your Starting Speed!
Now we begin Speed reading! When we read most people tend to use their peripheral vision. What this strategy will do is teach you how to use just your fixated point/ primary focus.
You need to draw a line down your page, one word away from each side, like the image on the left page...
After about 5 -10 pages you're going to move the line in, another word. Repeat until you have the lines on the exterior sides of 2 - 3 words like the right page of the image. This is your fixated point! As you practice doing this your speed will already increase exponentially. Although we're not done yet, did you know our eyes naturally tend to jump when looking across something, a room, book, landscape, or whatever. You can see this by closing one eye and putting a finger on your closed eye. Use the other finger to drag an imaginative line in the air pointing forward to direct your eyes focus. You'll feel your eye that's covered skip. Pretty cool ha? Well thats not very helpful with reading, our eyes also tend to jump all about the page as we read. In order to help maintain this you can use your finger to guide your eyes through your reading or use a blank index card to place beneath the lines as you read. This also helps especially if you're a bit sleepy.
Lastly...
You're going to read for 5min slightly faster than your comprehension allows, you want to get to the point where you're losing maybe 10%. This is going to reset your comfort set point at reading. Just like if you were only ever driving at 30mph and then getting on a highway of 80mph, you feel like you're going way to fast. Although, when you decrease to 55mph it will then feel like 30mph because your body has adapted.
If you follow all these steps and keep working at it, your speed will continue to increase.
4) Skimming Through the Pages
Skimming is a good technique in order to get through books with a lot of description, like in Lord of the Rings. When you come across long descriptive paragraphs you can brush through the pages and grasp the image just the same, with reading some basic phrases rather than the full description.
5) Applying the Most to Your Life
In the Young Writers Workshop this phrase was addressed.
Take copious notes and then boil them into a plan.
I have always been one to take notes and dig a bit deeper. I write my notes down in a notebook which I call my Commonplace Book, but usually that's where they would stay. Maybe I would pick a few really big things and think about it further or actually apply it to my life, but not until recently, have I taken the step to really boil my notes into a plan.
In order to boil your notes into a plan you first need to take copious notes... Just mark up, highlight, sticky note everything that seems of importance and helpful to you. Once you've finished your book, you then go back and separately write out all your notes in a notebook. Here you will organize your chaos, picking out what you don't really need and create a step-by-step plan. Now you can take your plan and apply all the tools you've learned from this book into your current life.
This is extremely helpful for school study, self-reflection, and hobbies or talents you wish to strengthen.
I hope you have gleaned something new from these tips. I would love to hear what your favorite reading tips and tricks may be.
Till next week! ;)
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