Speed reading is a skill you can learn easily. The principles are simple.
The way we are taught to read as kids is not the most efficient. We learn reading in school by taking turns in a group reading-aloud. This results in the bad habit of sub-vocalization while reading. We read a book, and our brain has to slow down while our internal voice reads it aloud (as if we are reading the book aloud to ourselves).
Your brain does not need this internal voice. Your brain is capable of absorbing information much faster than you give it credit.
In short, the key to speed reading is to get rid of the sub-vocalization habit.
We’ve developed Read Racer as a tool to exercise your speed-reading ability. We present several classic books from Project Gutenberg library that you can practice reading at a high-speed. You can change the settings to show you words at up to 1200 words per minute.
You can read “Alice In Wonderland” at 600 words per minute one night and “The War of the Worlds” at 650 words per minute the next night.
While using Read Racer, you should adjust the settings so they are just outside of your capability. If you feel comfortable reading at 300 words per minute, adjust the settings to 400 words per minute and see how much you absorb.
By pushing your reading speed beyond your comfort zone, you will increase the normal speed of your reading while not using Read Racer. Some people use a freeway analogy for this—when you are travelling on the freeway at high speeds, you are often shocked when you leave the freeway at how fast you are still going (even after you try to slow down).
Read racer allows you to adjust the speed, font, background-colors, words per line, etc, of each book in your library. Each book in the library has its own settings. You may want to read one book at 800 words per minute, but another book at 500 words per minute. Read Racer will keep your settings and bookmark each of your books so you can practice with more than one book at a time.
Read Racer includes the following books to help you learn to read faster:
• The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Please give Read Racer a try and let us know what you think.
Happy reading!