Modern Speed Reading: Learn to Inhale and Absorb Written Content and Improve Speed, Retention, and Comprehension by Jimmy McMaster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Modern Speed Reading: Learn to Inhale and Absorb Written Content and Improve Speed, Retention, and Comprehension.
Reading comes in many forms: books, articles, letters, emails, information posts, social media posts, terms and conditions and many more formats.
As someone who reads a lot of books, I was interested in what I might learn about speed reading.
The book was written in a formal and academic structure with plenty of references throughout. It spent a lot of time talking about the processes and settings which are best put in place before beginning the speed reading training. There were lots of references to chapter nine which I was led to believe would be the most important one to read. However, chapter nine does not appear until three quarters of the way through the book. I found that I had not learned a great deal by then, and the chapter did not fulfil my expectations. There then followed a quick conclusion and reference lists.
I often prefer to read a non-fiction books in paperback as is makes flicking back and forth easy, should I want to return to exercises or other points. However, I was sent a PDF version of this book; all the text was justified (straight edges on both sides, which means unequal spaces between words to fit the purpose). This was ironic as one of the specific points made about speed reading was that justified pages make the process much harder as the eyes apparently have to readjust to the spacing, making block reading, a speed-reading skill, difficult.
Much of the book also focussed on reading physical pages, while a small part talked about reading on a computer screen. An e-reader was mentioned in passing, but I felt that the author’s main focus was on academic text.
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Book Description:
Modern society moves at an incredible speed. If you’re not careful, it is easy to feel like you are falling behind while your friends, co-workers, and close family seem to be learning and growing. Perhaps you have always struggled to read quickly, which has put you off reading and educating yourself. Or maybe you can read quickly but struggle to comprehend much of the content you consume and therefore struggle to retain it. Well, not for much longer! Modern Speed Reading is a must-read for anyone interested in learning how to inhale and absorb written content and improve their speed, retention, and comprehension. This book will teach you everything you need about reading that you should get taught in school. It will show you how to form new positive reading habits, read faster, and reap the rewards of developing these skills. Inside Modern Speed Reading, the benefits of speed reading. How to form new positive reading habits. Small improvements you can make to become a faster reader. Visual and mental techniques to improve your reading. Ways to consume content while speed reading. Say goodbye to struggling through books for months and say hello to more content and information than you have ever experienced.
Rosie Amber 