TLDR:

I took an online course and read multiple books about speed-reading, and then I used that information to build a program that gives you reading comprehension and speed advice while reading.

Introduction:

I tend to read a lot of books, and the more that I've read, the faster that I've gotten, but I always felt that there is a more efficient way to get the same amount of information.

Additionally, I've had issues remembering what I've read, so I wanted to find a more efficient way to read books and retain the information. The result of that research and effort is this program, and although I continue to learn about different ways to improve my reading, I feel that this program has done a great job so far.

Basics of Speed Reading:

I've spent well over a hundred hours researching and learning about speed reading, not to mention practicing it. So I feel that it would take too long to explain every little detail, but I will try to give you an overview of how speed reading works.

I would define speed reading as "Looking for and retaining specific information from a written source." There are many different ways to speed read, and each book may require a different style of reading. You don't read a fiction book and a menu the same way. You skim a menu for what you are interested in, and you read for the details in a good work of literature.

When you think of speed-reading, you probably think of flipping through the pages as fast as humanly possible and trying to retain as much as you can. That is not entirely true. It is a technique for a section you aren't interested in, but not for an area where you want some juicy details.

I bet that you are speed reading right now. You are looking at the headlines and looking at specific words to get through this article ASAP so you can move on to something more interesting. Great! I am just using the same basic idea and applying it to books.

How The Program Works:

You input some information about the book you are reading, how fast you want to read, and how long your breaks are going to be. Then you follow the directions of the program until you are done reading.

The program does a lot of mathy stuff to figure out what page you should be on based on how long you have been reading, and it lets you know what page you should be on now based on your reading speed and how long you have been reading for. You can use this to pace yourself while reading, and you can leave and take breaks too.