Fast Readers. Slow Readers.

I mentioned these fast readers:

Steve Donoghue

Another Bibliophile Reads

Brian Lee Durfee

CriminOlly

[CriminOllyBlog]

“Steve Donoghue is a special case. He’s not like the rest of us.” 😂
As for me, reading books fast is pretty much the only thing I’m good at. Plus the sorcery.

[justmatthewjust]

Great video. One other point: the complexity and length of the book. Most people would get through a 1960's 200 page scifi novel faster than a 2000's 900 page fantasy epic, and faster than a 400 page classic with unfamiliar vocabulary. So not just how much time you devote to reading but what you are spending your time reading too.

[thewyatt]

Awesome video!! It takes me about 1 and a half months to finish a book, usually around 300 pages lol. I take my time and enjoy them just as much.

[PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

A very interesting topic, Michael! I completely agree with you that how fast you read really doesn't matter. I personally am a slow reader and always will be because I like to linger over sentences that catch my attention and frequently reread passages. For that reason, I've found that audiobooks don't work well for me, at least so far. At any rate, the main thing is that we are all reading!

[LivingDeadEnby]

It doesn't matter at all. I read 3-4 books a month and I'm perfectly fine with that. I don't think I would remember everything I've read if I did 10 books a month. As you say, it's not a race. It's about enjoyment and to broaden one's mind.

[gustavo]

Just in case nobody mentioned it, the Christmas light above Sherlock's pipe was a pretty cool idea. Congrats!

[denisadellinger]

Greetings from the Windy Teet, here on top of a mountain in North Carolina. We are currently at a balmy temperature of -5 degrees. The power has flickered on and off about six times this morning. the heat goes off and the computer shuts off and I've had to turn it all back on each time. If it goes off and stays, I'm dressing in my down coat and boots and leaving this mountain to go somewhere where the power is not playing cat and mouse. I am a slow reader. It used to bother me in school because everyone else would be finished while I still was reading. I'm regularly slow. As a friend told me once, God made me slow for a reason and I've accepted my gift with pride. I confess if someone tries to hurry me, I shut down. I find that slow reading increases my enjoyment. When I start counting pages left in the chapter, it's time to stop. I do think about all the books I have yet to read and need to get cracking on them, but why? I have no deadline. I am retired and one day is the same as the day before. No stress. No terrible Mondays, No hump Wednesdays, and no TGIF. i worked for this and I deserve every wasted day of it. I read about one to two hours a day and maybe more. That's all I can do. I wonder about how Steve Donohue does it. Could I read for a living? I don't think so. You have to have a certain temperament for it. He loves it. Fast or slow, reading is the key to everything good in life.

[stumerac]

You're beating me. At your insistence, I, too, started the read what you own challenge, and I'm only on book 4. An old friend of mine reads a novel in about two hours. She said she doesn't know how she does it. Her comprehension was also much better than mine. Zounds! Happy reading!

[bookmarkswithjason]

Reading 5 in a month is a huge accomplishment for me

[Plague_Archangel]

Great topic and something I guess we all think over and over.
I, for one, take the reading as a hobby--and a hobby should be something enjoyable and self-paced rather than a "obligation" with a set of rules such as speed of reading or a counter of reading--of course, taking that we are not professionals related to reading books as part of the daily-job.

Something else to consider is "retention" of the information--or in this case, the stories themselves.
I do know some people that read lots of books in a fast manner and they seem to be able to summarize the story, but struggle at times to provide a more in-depth retelling or specific parts of the story---or a friend of mine that will read a book quite fast and he will be able to talk about the book in-depth in the days immediately after finishing it, but if I ask something about the very same book, 4 or 5 months down the line, he will even struggle to remember some of character names or some plot points etc...so it feels like, that movie that was on the TV you caught just before sleeping, you may start off interested on it, but you end up watching some parts, take a nap in-between scenes, and although you feel you watched the movie, you cannot fully tell what happened on it.

[PlaguedbyVisions]

Being in the eye of the hellish maelstrom of blue-collar late-stage capitalist labor definitely complicates my reading speed, but I manage.

[parlabaneisback]

I think reading a book really fast is like eating a meal really fast.
Impressive, but kind of missing the point.

[perrinayebarra]

When I was a security guard I could knock out a book every shift. It was great. Now if I get 2-3 books read in a month I’m happy.

[ellesse]

I would say I'm a slower reader, it's cool, thats my pace. Just finished Jules Verne - Paris in the Twentieth Century, took around five days give or take. Sometimes a book comes to an end quicker that expected, I assume in those cases I fell in, the language was easier to digest and not full of archaic grammer, or I speeded up or lost track of time and read longer. How fast others read doesnt bother me, I don't care if someone reads 20 books a month or less than me, any stress and anxiety I have is from other things in life.

Those who do care or feel pressure .. are they competative personalities? because I wouldn't describe myself as a competative type.

[wifiraslibrary]

I use to hate not being able to finish a book in a day or a few days. Then I learnt how many fast readers can’t remember the book that much, I’ll mention a part I enjoyed and they will say I can’t remember that or oh right….
Not everyone, some people have fantastic memory. But I like to enjoy it and take everything in and get absorbed in the world. Good reads is bad for pressure on reading and pretty much putting out there how fast you can read. I have a job, a house to run, my own mental health to look after and a family. Reading helps my mental health a lot mind you, but if I need an early night or have to prioritise something else. The book comes second. As it should do. Having said that this year has been a better reading year than most. Read what you enjoy too, don’t force yourself through a book. The point of reading is to enjoy the experience.
I’ve got faster from reading more too. Just a tip.

[SuperStrangSshadow]

I've always been a slow reader even though I read 100+ books each year. It is sad to see that some people turn reading into a competition

[davidnovakreadspoetry]

Steve is the reason I first got hooked into watching BookTube. He’s “a special case” indeed. I don’t doubt for a minute that he reads just as he says.

[stews]

Each book has its own speed when negotiating the brain wrinkles of each reader it encounters.

Each reader has a definition of 'reading' or what it means 'to read' and professional critics don't define it the same way as we who read for enjoyment.

My one-eyed speed is perhaps 50pp per hour, and Kindle's ability to adjust typeface larger, along with having to move my gaze back and forth less than necessary for wider print pages, helps.

I'm a writer, so I ami generally either writing or reading, or thinking about both. If the TV is on, I'm still writing or reading, as I find A/V entertainment requires a glance now and then, no more.

You're right about choosing how we spend our time. Our lives. Bravo, Michael, well-said. Your videos are, by the way, superb because of your honesty and kindness. Roger concurs.

[Johanna_reads]

I'm jealous of people who are naturally fast readers, and that's been the case long before BookTube. I also wish I had better reading stamina. I feel like there is only so much I can make myself read in a day. I know you're right: it's not a competition, and it doesn't matter how much you read as long as you read. Great video!

[bookssongsandothermagic]

This is great, as always you’ve cut to the heart of it. Time is what it’s about and how we either have to or choose to use it. My speed of reading is not too bad when I’m reading but I get tired a lot and I am pulled in different directions, like the family or my job or my own writing or my music/band. I do make time to read, but there’s an art to doing it at the right time too, so that it’s not always when you’re tired. (I spoke about this in a video I did about how to read more…), Anyone who wished they read faster is probably just aware of the limited time we have and the masses of great books out there.