1 SAVE TIME BY STARTING TODAY

Just read one chapter of this book at a time, doing the short exercises before going on to the next chapter. This will average about twenty minutes per session, often less time than that. After the first six lessons, you will find a special section of drills. These are to be done daily while you are completing the next six lessons. (Location 151)

RAPID READING IS A SKILL

Conceptual learning is mainly a process of developing an understanding of the subject and can often be done through listening or reading. (Location 161)

the efficient reader varies his or her rate according to the difficulty of the material, the organization of the reading matter, their familiarity with the subject, and their purpose in reading it. (Location 193)

3 START USING YOUR BUILT-IN READING ACCELERATOR

It may surprise you to learn that you already possess the greatest reading accelerator that has yet been discovered: your hand. (Location 373)

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT READING CONDITIONS

The best lighting for reading is diffused lighting, or lighting that comes from several sources and does not create a glare on the page. If you can read the material without any strain, then there is probably enough light. Too much or too little light can cause a strain. A good test is to put your hand about a foot above your reading material. If there is a strong, sharp shadow then the light is too bright. It is preferable to have almost no shadow at all. (Location 400)

READING POSITIONS

A book is best set at a 45 degree angle to your eyes, as in Figure 1. Set like this, your eyes do not have to readjust their angle of vision constantly. This results in less work for them and therefore makes it less tiring for you. (Location 411)

HOW TO USE YOUR HAND IN READING

DON’T READ JUST FOR ITS OWN SAKE

The first misconception is that you should read everything the same way, word by word. (Location 878)

The second misconception concerns comprehension. It was implied, again because you were taught nothing else, that if you read material using this once-through approach you should be able to understand it. (Location 882)

It was finally implied that if you read a passage once through you should not only understand it but you should also be able to remember what was important. (Location 887)

A reading method should serve whatever purpose you have for reading the material. (Location 911)

Basically, you must learn how to define your purpose for any given reading, and then use the techniques which will most efficiently enable you to meet that purpose. (Location 913)

The more specific a purpose is, the easier it is to do the reading. (Location 931)

KNOW YOUR PURPOSE AND YOU WON’T HAVE TO WORK SO HARD

There are two questions that you can ask yourself which will help you to set a purpose in your reading. First: In an overall scheme of things, how worthwhile is the material that I am reading? Once that question is answered, then try to narrow your purpose down: Second: What do I want or need to remember, as specifically as possible, from this material that I am about to read? (Location 950)

Start setting a purpose for every question you do, even if you are just reading the back of a cereal box as you eat your breakfast. In most cases it takes only a second to do, but it’s a very important habit to develop. (Location 972)

Think of recall as a sort of muscle: the more you exercise it, the faster and stronger it grows. If you look back at your reading passage, then you are practicing how to copy material, not recalling it. You must decide which you want to learn. (Location 1174)

While learning to read rapidly, it is important to understand that you must develop your reading rate with a certain detachment from your comprehension. You learn to work on each skill separately. Once both have been developed to a certain point, then you will find that you can bring them together—being able to read much faster and comprehend better at the same time. Try not to let one get confused with the other. When working on comprehension and recall, forget about trying to read fast. But do remember what your purpose is, and go as fast as you can comfortably meet that purpose. (Location 1177)

A newspaper feature story, most editorials, essays, and other expository writing such as general information books and textbooks, employ a simple pattern. The expository form usually has three basic parts: an introduction, a development, and a conclusion. It’s that simple. And the conclusion is often the most important part. (Location 1316)