Reading a Book
Speed reading is one thing, but to really consume a book takes more then just the rapid reading of words. One needs to rapidly consume the ideas and reasoning. This web page is designed to help you improve your academic reading skills.
To do this one needs to think through the contents of any book several times before claiming to a good grasp of it.
I. Read the covers / dust jacket and title page.
When you finish you will know the author's name, the tile of the book. You may also have read a summary of the book, and possibly the comments of others about this book. The cover design and graphics will tell you something about the book.
In your notebook jot down the author, title and any general impression you get about the book form contents of the cover. Just a phrase or sentence will do. {See note about using paper before entering notes in the computer.}
This is your first "reading" of the book. It counts as a "reading" since you now know something about the entire book.
II. Read the front matter (preface, introduction, forward, table of contents, etc.)
- Look for any statements about the author's purpose in writing this book. Often the major premise of a book can be found in the preface.
- Place a quick note on the author's purpose or other things in your notebook.
This is your second "reading" of the book.
III. Scan the entire book as fast as possible.
- At one sitting
- One to ten seconds per page MAXIMUM. Try for 3 to 5 seconds per page
- Run your fingers down each page. The index, middle and ring fingers make a good tool to help pull your eyes down the page. Try various combinations of fingers.
- Turn the pages with your left hand. This way you will not disturb the flow of your right hand that is helping you scan the page.
At ten seconds per page a 500 page book will take 48 minutes to read. At this rate you will not be able to sub-vocalize. This will force you to read the ideas instead of getting lost in the words. The intent of this reading is to pick up the structure and main ideas in the book.
You may determine that the book is not worth a time consuming detail study. That is fine. Put the book back on the shelf. If you are sure that the book is worth a detailed study then proceed.
This is your third reading of the book.
IV. Go back through the book a little slower taking notes.
- Read a section and then jot down a few notes. Read as fast as you can and
still get the ideas.
- Do not sub-vocalize.
- Use you fingers to pace your reading.
- Never let you eyes go back to material previously covered.
- Try to see the whole line of text without moving you eyes left and right.
- A section may be as small a a paragraph or as large as a chapter
- The style of writing, nature of the content, and your own purposes will determine how many notes you take and how large each section will be.
This is your fourth reading of the book.
V. Review the notes by entering them into your computer
- Enter the entire table of contents first.
- Enter sub-heads for the chapter you are working on
- Now enter the notes.
- Refer back to the book when you have to, but do not spend too much time in it.
- Use some easily recognized formatting difference to distinguish between your notes on the text and your commentary about the text.
This is your fifth reading of the book. At this point you understand the book and have a good set of working notes. These note are useful for reviewing the book when looking for material for a project or participating in a discussion.
Why take notes on paper when you have a computer?
There are several reason for taking notes on paper then entering them in the computer.
- Copying them later into the computer gives you another review of the book.
- It is often cumbersome to switch between the book keyboard. The paper note pad is easier.
- Since you know you are going to copy them later, you do not need to interrupt your thinking with worries about editing and formatting your notes.
- Your final notes will be better, because time elapsed between the paper and computer versions. You will see errors and inconsistencies in your paper notes.
Links
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/learn/203.htm#205
http://admin.acadiau.ca/counsel/studyskills/skills/basic.html#speed
http://www.firstscience.com/SITE/review_radiant.asp Scroll down to "Day 2"
http://www.turboread.com/sub-vocal.htm This is an ad yet contains some good content. Try looking at some of the other links of this page.
http://www.people.memphis.edu/~kshawes/speed01.html
http://www.people.memphis.edu/~kshawes/seminar.html
http://www.proportionalreading.com/theory.html Fairly technical