10 Days to Faster Reading

Loved it

This actually work. Initially I was very pessimistic about speed reading as most of the techniques located on the web will tell you to automatically skip lines or other obviously erroneous techniques. There is no substitute for actually reading everything, but there are ways to do it faster and more efficiently. These includes:1) Training your eye span and movement.2) View larger word clusters instead of single words.3) Use a pacer that works for you (this is highly individual and this book wisely contain many choices).4) Limit sub-vocalization (internal whispering)5) Read with a purpose.6) Vary you reading style in accordance to the materialBesides all this the book contains a multitude of tests, pointers on screen (computer) reading and lots of other useful stuff.The book is not without its limitations, the biggest problem being that it is simply to ambitious; it's material on note taking and technical reading is so short and over simplified that it ends up doing more harm than good, for people interested in this important subject I suggests you look to the book  What Smart Students Know . Another and perhaps more important area that lacks attention is the speed techniques themselves, although many are presented only few are backed with exercises which is crucial to their development and understanding.For all it's problems the book still deserves four stars, simply because it will install confidence in you that this actually works. I went from 220 WPM to 330-350 WPM within a week, with my comprehension rate rising from 50 to 70%. However if you want to go up to 400-600WPM, extend your mental abilities to concentrate (read) for longer intervals and get your comprehension rate up to 80-90%, you will have to look to more compressive (and time consuming) programs such as the one brilliantly outlined in  Breakthrough Rapid Reading . For newcomers and people who just need quick improvement or motivation I will strongly recommend this great little book.

I consider myself to be a pretty good reader but felt that I read slowly, which made me feel a little self conscience. I came across Abby Marks-Beale's "10 Days to Faster Reading" in a footnote of another book and decided to give it a try.I was pleased with the results.On November 19th, I took the first time test. I read 240 words per minute with an 80% comprehension.Marks-Beale provides the following chart to access your reading level:100-200 words per minutes = slow reader200-300 words per minute = average reader300-400 words per minute = good reader400+ words per minute = an above average readerOn November 27th (I know, not 10 days- but hey I was learning to read faster), I took the last time test. I read 440 words per minute with a 90% comprehension level. Not bad.The techniques she teaches definitely work, but the book is really just good, not great. The use of a racing analogy through out the book was more distracting than helpful. Of course, that could be because I have no particular understanding of racing or race cars. Still, to continue the metaphor meant burying her main points deeper in the paragraph which made the book difficult to "Preview"- a technique she teaches in the book.Apart from the pacing techniques and the bad habits to be aware of there isn't much else to absorb. I liked the book and would recommend it, if for no other reason than I did increase my speed and comprehension.Now, I just have to keep practicing and unlearning bad habits.

You're supposed to read one chapter each day for the 10 days, and in each chapter is a new method to help you read faster as well as a time trial where you can gauge your speed and reading comprehension. I went from 220 words per minute on Day 1 to 345 by Day 5 using a combination of the index card pacer technique and the eye span technique, with no loss in comprehension. That's incredible...it means I can now shave off an average of 3 hours off a 400 page book.I learned that my problem was I was reading each word on the page, which was slowing me down. Instead, I use m peripheral vision to capture more words at once. You don't have to do it this way, though. The author gives you multiple techniques and has you test out each one to see what you're comfortable with.The chapters are short (as is the book) so you can breeze through each quickly.

I found the material relevant and helpful. I've read several books on this subject through the years, and most give general ideas and tips to speed reading that are just not realistic. Great advise, how do I do that? I happen to be a good guitar player, and I can tell you how to easily play Van Halen, but can you just pick up a guitar and play? Not likely.What THIS book does very well is give you the tools to find out what type of reader YOU are. Then it gives several methods to try and practice that fits YOUR individual issues with reading pace and comprehension.There are also exercises to help train your eyes in the muscle memory needed to effectively speed up your reading.I'm not a speed reading prodigy, but I have personally found with what I've read so far, that I'm blasting through technical magazines at record pace, and comprehending the material. My pile of things "TO READ" is almost gone. I can't wait to finish my daily lessons and move on the the next level! Good Work.

Because of this book, I'm reading faster and enjoying reading more. I bought this book so I could get through a never ending list of reading material. In my job, I have to read a lot of material and was struggling to get through everything.- learned to read significantly faster- learnt to write better- improved my comprehension.- find large books less daunting

By far one of the best books I have ever bought.I have never really liked reading and I know alot of people who would agree. Although I support that books are essential and the knowledge invaluable, bringing myself to read was a daunting task. With my current interest in so many areas, reading is what I need to improve upon.It is not a school master book where you feel you are forced to do things a particular way that doesn't work for you. It is liberating in the sense; why reading in a particular style is ineffective, but also explains how your eyes and brain function as you read. When you understand that, you understand how to assimilate words more efficiently and effectively.Additionally, this book is also slightly academic, which may not be so user friendly if you detest such a style, but overall RECOMMEND RECOMMEND RECOMMEND.

I am not a native English speaker and I am keen on speeding up my reading abilities.I chose this book as it looked like a good compromise and the 10-days approach sounded cool.It reached the point: I improved my reading from 185 wpm to about 350. Bear in mind that reading at this speed (at the end of the book) requires effort and probably it needs a lot of practice to transform it in an habit.When reading that fast, the main feeling is that you are reading the key words and let your brain building up the meaning and connecting the dots. It actually works..Personally, I found the filling paragraphs (the car analogies) useful. Not for they informative content, but they are actually the right moment where you can start to practice the techniques that are described in the book.There are great tips. One/two chapters (or days) are actually the core of the whole book. These are the most informative ones while the others sometimes sound more like repeating the same concepts with some additional information or thoughts. This is the main reason why my rating is not so high. Some chapters are not that informative. Or like the pacers, they are good ideas but they are overstretched over the entire book.I finished the book with the feeling that I need to buy another one to see if fast-reading is just this or there is something more around.

I'm an IT Infrastructure engineer by trade and have to read lots of Microsoft manuals etc each year (the bane of my life) however, since starting this book I'm now (slowly) starting to be able to hammer through them much quicker without loosing comprehension or retention.If like me reading was a chore rather than something you looked forward to I can definitely recommend this book, easy to read and very practical, although unless you've got a lot of time to devote to it I don't think 10 days is sufficient to take all the hints and tips in and practice them enough to work out whats best for you!Still an excellent book if like me you're just starting out and need something simple to get you going.

I was quite content with my purchase and looked forward to each speed reading test. Strangely, it does not provide with the opportunity to gauge your words per minute score. It does provide you an opportunity to record your reading speed, which is not the same as wpm.Having taken the first test, i noticed i actually did improve on subsequent tests.This is a good book for students of any level who are not confident with their reading skills.