Are You a Fast Reader?

[qwijiboenator]

I would consider myself a fast reader (whole novels in a few hours etc...), but I would definitely say that speed is not nearly as important as thorough comprehension. Especially when reading non-fiction.

It doesn't matter how fast you get through a text. What matters is that you develop a deep understanding of the themes and ideas it contains, and are able to relate that to your own thoughts and ideas.

Sometimes a short essay or poem can take much longer to really "read" due to the density of information and symbolism than, say, a 500 page trashy novel with nothing new to say.

 

[Joshimodo]

I can read incredibly fast and absorb the information just as quickly.


Probably stems from playing videogames since my 2nd birthday and reading novels by age 4. I used to love books as much as games.

 

[dthvirus]

Novels and fiction: pretty fast.
Nonfiction, research articles, academic papers: slow.

 

[Dxz5roxg]

I think I'm a fast reader. If my friends are every trying to read over my shoulder they get irritated because they think I'm skipping around.

 

[The Maddest March Hare]

I'm a fairly leisurely reader. I can skim read things really fast, but with any form of novel I will take it at a slower, measured pace that allows me to really involve myself in the book. I like to picture the characters, how they act, and if I'm really involved in the story I won't actually notice I'm reading the book, it sort of becomes a film in my head. Describing it more than that is beyond me. I'm sure some people here will do the same and understand what I mean.

My dad reads considerably faster than me, but remembers less of the book and seems to have less of a mental image of the characters in the story. So I'm glad I take my time, it means I can really enjoy what I'm reading.

 

[pigeon_of_doom]

I can read fiction pretty fast (roughly 45 seconds per page in a mass market paperback), but most of the time I choose not to. Sure, I'm getting most of the raw information and progressing through the story faster, but it's more enjoyable to take my time, leisurely sucking in the details while simultaneously pondering aspects of the narrative. If I'm not under pressure to have read a certain amount by a certain time, I'll take my time. It's not a race.

Nonfiction, research articles, academic papers: slow.

God yes, that shit takes me ages to understand. I partially blame academic writers for how much more difficult it is to read that stuff (while they admittedly tend to deal with complicated topics, I've read plenty of things by good writers dealing with similarly dense topics which wasn't so impenetrable).

Id say playing final fantasy helps

It certainly does! I developed my reading abilities trying to read the text at the same speed it appeared in the boxes in Final Fantasy VIII.

 

[Willis_D]

I read pretty quickly. For manga books and comics, I get through them in about an hour, spending time to look at the art too.
For novels, I can get through them in 1 to 4 days, depending on length and if I am just reading or doing other stuff too.

 

[yanipheonu]

I read the first page of the thread in less than a minute, so I guess I'm a fast reader.

Yeah, it's the years of reading subtitles quickly that does it. Makes games, especially jprgs that much easier to play.

 

[Azure Sky]

i'm a fairly quick reader. it seems as though watching subtitled anime has made me get faster

Aww, I was going to say that =(

I have been known to read a 200ish page novel in a few hours, but I rarely read books.

Hooray for subtitled Anime for teaching you to read fast! ^.^

 

[xXAsherahXx]

I read at about speaking voice.

 

[Edorf]

I read pretty slow, despite all the time I use on the internet :<

 

[interspark]

After spending all last night reading some of my favorite short stories and comic books, I remembered one of the reasons I started reading at a later age; I always thought I was a horrid reader.

It would often take me up to 45 minutes to an hour to read a chapter of 15 or so pages. I was 9 at the time, but I still felt inadequate compared to others whom I thought could blaze through a book in about a day but now that I actually enjoy reading, I haven't much noticed that my speed of reading hasn't changed a lot.

Last night, I was reading a book of short stories. Each story was somewhere between 20 - 30 pages long and the one in particular was around 26. Once finished I noticed that it had taken me 50 minutes to read that and after that, I read the Sin City book "That Yellow Bastard" in about an hour, so my basic question is, since I really have nothing to compare it to, is that slow? So to get to the point of the thread, how fast can you read, do you consider it fast, do you care at all and does it effect your reading experience?

took me 50 seconds to read that post, does that help?

 

[interspark]

it irritates me on zelda OoT that the text goes by so slowly and your only other option is to press B and watch it shoot by like a bullet, im glad the ammended that for majoras mask

 

[HK_01]

I read pretty fast. That comes from practice, I read lots of books.

Oh, and I don't know exactly how fast I read. Took me about three free days with lots of reading(NOT 24/7 though) to get through a 1000 page book.

 

[quantum mechanic]

I read pretty fast, but sometimes miss out on content and have to go back.

 

[Jonluw]

I have an okay reading speed, but I get distracted easily, so I tend to take some time between sentences.

 

[SleepySpaniel]

I read quite fast. I once read the entire Harry Potter series in under a day, mind you that was when I was a bit younger then I am now. I'm really into the CHERUB series at the moment.

 

[Lambi]

I'd say I'm a fairly fast reader. Watching subbed anime, playing games with text and such helps.
Take for example the game I'm playing right now, Persona 4. I sometimes press X before they're done talking because I read faster than they talked.

 

[Silver Patriot]

I am a pretty fast reader as long as I have motivation. I didn't really notice it though until lent my copy of the Hitchhikers Guide to my friends. I would come over a day or two later and ask "So what did you think?" to which they would reply "What? I only got to chapter 2-4." Quite annoying, it only took me a few hours.

Kids these days, with their new fangled "internets" forgeting how to read. I mean come on, you just graduated High School. How hard can it be?

For reference, I am 19.

 

[zehydra]

I am quite fast. But, I don't read that much.