Customer Reviews

Speed Reading the Easy Way (Barron's E-Z)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Save your money. More than half of this book consists of "practice" texts--and, of course, you can practice on any book you happen to be reading.

There are a *few* useful exercises, which include reading two lines at once, then 5, then whole paragraphs, then whole pages. You can't read like this for comprehension; the authors have you do it to get used to scanning segments of text at once , rather than single words. Another exercise has you read for one minute for comprehension, another minute at double that speed, and another minute at triple. These exercises DO help, but as far as speed reading instruction goes, that's it. Really.

There is also some very basic instruction on memory-enhancement techniques, nutrition, posture, previewing texts, and so forth--standard stuff.

In short, this book is a waste of money. Tony Buzan's book "Speed Reading" is far better. Some of the older speed reading books offer far more in the way practical instruction than this book does. "Double Your Reading Speed," published in 1964 by The Reading Laboratory, comes to mind.

This book really didn't accomplish what it set out to do. It started off with the claim that the reader will not only read faster, but that reading comprehension will increase. The only real speed reading excercises are for viewing (not reading, as the book says) large chunks of text quickly. But it ends there. There are no tips about comprehending material while viewing it quickly. There are tips for memory retention and classic conditiong for relaxation (both of which you can find in an Intro to Psych class), as well as smart ways of how to read texts (look at charts, topic sentences, etc...), but nothing about understanding the chunks of text we are "viewing" quickly. I admit that after doing these dizzying excercises, my regular reading for comprehension increased in speed a little bit. However, it is still not up to the rate I would consider "speed reading."
Final Verdict: If you really want it, check it out at the library or buy it used. But look for a better book first.

This book is a real disappointment. There's very little actual helpful material to improve your reading speed. Moreover, it hardly covers sub-vocalization, which is a mayor factor inhibiting your readingspeed. The hand exercises are silly and will not increase your speed. A large and useless part of the book only covers texts for practising, like you can't practise on any other texts... Buy another book.

After ordering this book I let it sit around for several months before getting to it. I was not expecting much at all. I had some free time this morning and read the whole thing. My reading has gone from 200 words per minute to about 800 in just a few hours. I am quite impressed. I have now been reading all day. The more I practice the techniques in this book the faster I read. This is after just a few hours! More importantly, I am now comprehending and retaining printed material much better. A great book for the price.

Wow, it's amazing how much this book will help you improve your reading time. I can't believe I've been reading word by word my whole life when i could be reading huge blocks-and comprehend everything!