Speed Reading for Professionals (Barron's Business Success Guides)

This is indeed a great book on speed reading. It is a must read for those busy professionals like me. The authors were able to give insights on how to be able to read faster without sacrificing comprehension.

Why I bought this book:

This book was published by Barron's, giving it immediate credibility. This was important to me since a lot of the speed reading books and programs/tutorials on Amazon and eBay look to be obvious scams. Also, another reviewer--Bob Dekle, a top 500 reviewer--reported cranking out a book a day after applying the techniques. There is certainly merit in that.

Why I'm glad I did:

I consider myself a slow reader, and my reading speed did increase threefold in a very short time (about an hour) after consciously using this book's techniques. Also my comprehension improved considerably without having to reread everything.

The technique that helped me the most was using my peripheral vision while splitting the page into two or three columns.

This increased speed is incredibly helpful in my career as a software developer. The satisfaction of my job is found in implementing what I learn, not actually learning it. (I find reading up on most technology concepts horribly boring.) Therefore, this book is very helpful in shortening my reading time and getting onto the fun stuff.

This book presents a basic do-it-yourself speed reading course in six chapters laid out as follows:

1: The Speed Reading Aventure Begins (a pep talk)
2: Understanding Why We Read Slowly--And How to Change (a little theory)
3: Learn to Jog, not Walk, through Your Reading (the basics)
4: Learn to Run, not Jog ... (adding some bells and whistles)
5: Learn to Sprint, not Run ... (kicking it into overdrive)
6: Understanding and Remembering What You Read (a presentation of the "Fistnote" technique for retention)
Appendix A: A syllabus for a company in-service on speed reading.

Each chapter gives a clear, concise how-to on the performance of the technique and exercises to perfect the techniques. As the student gains skill and confidence with each technique, the following chapter presents more advanced techniques.

Geared for the busy professional, and an excellent expenditure of funds for anyone wanting to increase reading speed. This is the second speed reading book I've read. "Remember Everything You Read" was the first. Previously I read about 2-3 books per week, mostly nonfiction. I'm reading one per day now. I'll probably burn out on that pace in a couple of weeks, but so far it's been great.

FOOTNOTE: After about a month, I burned out on the rapid pace of reading a book a day. Someone once told me that when you speed read, you "coil up with a good book," and that is an accurate assessment. I'm still reading much faster than before, but slowing down some has improved my enjoyment of reading.