How to read 10 books in 2 days: speed reading technique without preparation

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

To read 20 books a week, you do not need to master speed reading techniques, sign up for courses and take online trainings. Use a simple technique - and you will be able to acquire knowledge 15 times faster than others.

What it takes to get started

First, prepare a list of books, and then sort them by topic. It is recommended to read books of the same subject at one sitting. You can add a book or two on a similar topic, but you shouldn't deviate in opposite directions. At least at the beginning of the practice.

How to choose books

The technique is suitable for reading non-fiction literature: books on business, self-development, psychology, and other popular scientific and informational publications. If you don't know what to read, take ideas from collections on the web. Go to forums or communities in the area of interest, usually there are topics with bibliography. The easiest option is to open a bookstore or app directory and browse popular books. A selection of new products from publishers, book tops, and bestseller lists will also help.

Where to get books

If the books you want are not in your home library, there are two options.

1. Go to a bookstore and find a shelf with a theme you want

Fast reading experts advise reading books right in the store and better standing up. Allegedly, information is absorbed faster this way. If you don't want to check this statement, then you can sit down, since many bookstores have armchairs.

2. Train on e-books

Usually speed reading practitioners advise against reading from the screen. It is believed that paper editions are easier to read quickly. I do not share this opinion and successfully “swallow” e-books.

I recommend downloading a reading app with a monthly subscription. In such applications, there is a free trial period, and then the tariff is not higher than the cost of one or two books. By reading 50-60 books a month, you will more than pay off your subscription.

Day one: quick acquaintance with books

Go to a bookstore, grab books from your home shelf, or open a file in the app. On the first day, set aside a maximum of 15 minutes for each book. Some books will take 20-25 minutes, for others 8-10 minutes is enough.

Open the book and try to "absorb" its structure. Read the text on the flyleaf, examine the cover. Read the table of contents carefully. If you need specific information or a solution to a question, concentrate on finding an answer.

Take a pencil or mark with a highlighter in the reader especially interesting topics. If you're reading in a store or library, take notes in a notebook or note-taking app. Choose topics that are of interest to you right now, solve the problem. Do not try to contain as much information as possible.

Then, in 15 minutes, try to flip through the entire book, read the headings, sidebars, grasp the main meaning of each chapter. Be sure to read everything in bold, look at the tables and lists.

At the first stage, the main task is to understand what is written in the book and where this information is located.

Think for yourself how much water is in the book, and how much useful and new. If you follow the genre of non-fiction, then you know that almost any book consists of one third of stories about the author's personal life, numerous examples, biographical notes and minor details. If you want to cover many books in a short time, this information needs to be filtered. Concentrate on the main ideas, thoughts, advice, try to get to the point.

Write reviews

After reviewing each book and understanding what can be learned from it, leave a review. I recommend skimming through the reviews of previous readers - you can learn something new from them.

Please note: you do not need to strive to write a full review, you need an emotional assessment of the new book.

Evaluation creates a certain label in the mind. A review is a "tick" that says that you are familiar with the book, now it is no stranger to you.

Do not be lazy, comment and rate. If you do not want to publicly express your opinion, take notes for yourself, write down thoughts about the book, rate it on a 10-point scale.

Day two: read only the essentials

The next day, when the information settles in my head, we get to know the books better. Not all books of the first day will progress to the second stage. It often happens that the cover, abstract and headline are attractive, but there is nothing new and useful inside. Or the author's style is repulsive.

Feel free to discard books that you did not like right away: the first impression, most likely, does not deceive. If the book is really useful and important, you will come across it again.

In the selected books, we read the chapters that especially attracted us and carry the most interesting and important information. Many people believe that you need to read books strictly from beginning to end, in order of chapters. It's a delusion. Read only the chapters you can't wait to learn. Underline the most interesting (if you read in the store, then write down from memory at home what you remember most from these chapters, what questions you found answers to).

If the book is interesting in its entirety and every chapter in it is useful, put it aside and read it in its entirety. Such books will be very rare. In the first months of practice - 3-4 books per month, then - less.

How to study the most interesting books

Those books that you have selected as the most interesting and important can be read in full. A good way to remember and organize the main thing is to make a mind map for each chapter. If you like to work with paper and pen, write a short summary. Try not to read, no matter how exciting the book is. Set yourself a time limit for each chapter and a limit on the days you want to spend on the book as a whole. Personally, I make a short synopsis of 10-12 chapters in 2 hours.

When you're done, write a more detailed review than you did on the first day of practice. List the pros and cons of the book separately, and rate.

Tips from personal experience

1. Get rid of stereotypes about reading

It is not necessary to read books from the first to the last page. It doesn't matter how much time you spend reading and how many sheets you master. Practice shows that a 15-minute acquaintance with a book most often leaves in the head as much information as it would leave reading all chapters in a row for a month.

2. Do not try to remember everything you read or memorize a book

The main goal is to extract information as needed, and not to know everything by heart.

3. If your head is buzzing from quick reading - it's not scary

Don't give up or quit practicing. At first, it will be so, there is nothing unusual in this, it does not mean that you are doing something wrong. Just let the information settle down.

4. Simultaneously read one fiction book slowly and with pleasure

Find one book that you enjoy. Slow reading of interesting fiction is great contrast and relaxation for the brain.

The result of two days of practice

Following the instructions and tips, in two days you will be able to:

• browse 10 books, choose the best ones and get to know them better;
• read the basic information, catch the main thoughts of each book;
• highlight the most useful and make notes for yourself;
• absorb the structure of the book and easily navigate it next time, easily find the information you need;
• memorize and extract from each book no less than if you read it for a whole month and from cover to cover.

Tell us in the comments how many books you read per month and why do you want to increase this number several times?