I read 300 books in 6 years. How to read faster (and learn more).
Avoid the brain crash and devour books with lightning speed! Learn strategies to boost your reading comprehension and retention. Even if you are a busy software engineer.
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Don’t you wonder where is the “Reading II” subject?
We learn reading when we are 5 years old. It’s impossible we learn everything at that time and that’s it. Left to right, word by word, oh, and don’t underline with your finger!
The last book I read took me 25 calendar days. It was a small book, but I spent many days without picking it up. By the time I finished, I didn’t remember the beginning of the book.
Reading faster and finishing your books on time helps your understanding and retention. If you are reading a thick algorithms book, spend half an hour per page. But for the rest of the nonfiction books, most are longer than needed.
This means you can read them faster.
It doesn’t mean that you can read all books in under 1 hour. I get the skepticism to “speed reading”. That’s why I don’t use that word.
But I apply these techniques.
In this post, you’ll learn
The warmup of professional readers.
How to plan which books to read and your reading sessions like a pro.
Why do I carry a pen with my Kindle (no, it’s not for writing).
How to read faster than you can speak in silence.
When to take notes and what to do with them, other than burning them.
What to do if books are not for you.
Before the reading
Did you ever hear that software engineering is more than coding? That being a professional athlete is more than the match-day? Reading is also more than picking the book
Eye warmup
Your eyes are a muscle. They won’t perform if you just woke up and didn’t even wash your face.
My favorite eye exercises are grabbing a pen and doing infinite symbols and circles. Follow the tip of the pen with your eyes
Find the syllabus and reading purpose
I bet you wouldn’t enroll in an expensive degree without checking the syllabus.
For the book that’s the table of contents. Often it’s not enough. Skim through the chapters for anything that catches your attention: headers, graphs, images, quotes.
When you or someone you know buys a new car, you start seeing that same car everywhere. We want the same with the book, so write down what’s the questions you want answered by the end of the book
If you realize by now that some chapters are not worth reading, skip them. You may realize the book is not worth reading considering your current knowledge. Better to waste just your money than wasting your time and money.
Plan the session
I do 45-minute to 1-hour blocks. After that, I need a quick break and chances are you need too. No shame if you read only 15-minute blocks. The purpose is not to sit in the chair with your mind somewhere else and your eyes tired.
Don’t stop reading the book to start reading social media. Let your eyes and your brain rest. Look somewhere far away, get some sunlight and breathe fresh air, drink water, move your body. Prime yourself for the next reading block.