Wouldn’t it be awesome if you knew how to read a book a day?
Most people read a couple of books a year. But can you imagine how much you could learn if you could read faster?
Reading regularly is sure to help, but learning the specific strategies to become a speed reader can unlock the super learner in you.
To learn how to read a book a day, here’s what you need to know:
- 5 Strategies for Learning How to Read a Book a Day
- Can a Person Read a 400-Page Book in One Day?
- What Are 5 Benefits of Reading?
You can master speed reading to epic proportions! You just have to learn how to develop this ability.
5 Strategies for Learning How to Read a Book a Day
Like most things, becoming a more efficient reader is all about practice and persistence!
But if you want to learn how to read a book a day, you need more than a consistent investment of time. You need to learn the strategies that speed readers use to tackle so many books in so little time.
Here are a couple of tips for you to follow:
Tip #1: Know your booklist
This is an important one. Having an active book list is like having a roadmap — without it, you won’t know where you’re going!
Also, it’s really important to list down books that you are really interested in. Just like a game, you won’t really have fun playing a game you have no interest in it, to begin with.
Whether you enjoy a traditional pen-and-paper approach or prefer to keep track on your phone, keep a list of the books you’d like to read. Prioritize your list, starting with the books you’re just dying to read.
You will love the sense of satisfaction you get from crossing books off your list once and for all!
Tip #2: Minimize eye fixation
Eye fixation is an important component of learning to read efficiently. If you want to know how to read a book a day, this strategy is a must.
When you read, your eyes move across the page. Each time your eyes come to rest is a fixation.
You need to practice peripheral vision reading. Training to read using your peripheral vision can boost the speed of how you recognize and process letters.
The fewer fixations you make, the more efficiently you can read and the higher your reading comprehension is.
If your eyes must fixate on each word before you read it, your reading speed will be greatly diminished. Work to minimize eye fixations while you read to speed up your progress
Tip #3: Minimize regression
Regression, or re-reading, is the process of going back to read something you’ve already read. This can really slow down your average reading speed.
Now, regression can be an important tactic when you’re learning something brand new. But for lighter material where perfect comprehension isn’t a necessity?
Be very aware of regression and suppress your inner urge to re-read by highlighting the text with your mouse pointer when you read. Your eyes will naturally follow the highlight and not go back.
Keep in mind that over time your reading speed improvement will largely depend on the speed at which you move your mouse pointer.
Tip #4: Find your average reading speed
When learning how to read a book a day, one of the most important things you can do is measure your progress. And how do you do that? You find your average reading speed!
Your reading speed is how many words per minute you read on average. Online tests can help you find out what your average reading speed is. From there, you can check in every week or so to see how you’re improving.
Tip #5: Schedule your reading
One secret to reading a book a day lies in your schedule. Scheduling reading time on a daily basis is important. This is a time for you, a time to unwind, a time to nurture your personal growth.
Decide what time of day is best for you to commit to daily reading practice, and schedule it in. No, really! Actually, write it into your schedule.
You’ll be more likely to keep up with your reading if you have a reminder in your calendar or journal.
Bonus tip: Learn to speed read
Speed reading is the ultimate method of absorbing a greater amount of textual information in a shorter amount of time.
There are several ways you can learn how to speed read:
- One tip we mentioned earlier widening your prereferral reading vision. It also helps you avoid eye fixation. One way to start is to practice using a Schultz Table.
- Consider skimming the material you want to read first. Go through the table of contents, skim the chapters, and quickly familiarize yourself with what the key points are in the book.
This dramatically helps reading speed and helps your brain avoid rereading.
Can a Person Read a 400-Page Book in One Day?
If we take that an average person reads 200-250 words in a minute and that every page has around 300 words on average, that would mean that a 400-page book has around 120,000 words in it.
Now, when we divide the number of words by the number of words that an average person reads per minute (let’s take 200), we get 600 minutes. That would be 10 hours of reading.
So, yes, if you have 10 hours for reading in a day or if you read slightly faster than an average person, you can finish a 400-page book in one day with ease. Let alone if it is an interesting one.
It may sound intimidating at first to get started on your journey. However, there are amazing benefits that come from mastering reading a book a day or honing your speed reading skills.
What Are 5 Benefits of Reading?
- Expands your vocabulary: When you have a wider vocabulary, you will better understand many things, from people around you to even yourself!
- Relaxation and stress reduction: Reading 6 minutes is enough to lower blood pressure and reduce mental stress. Imagine reading a book a day!
- Improves focus and concentration: When you pick up the habit of reading, over time you are basically training your brain to relax and immerse into what it is concentrating on. This practice builds your focus and concentration abilities over time in your brain.
- Keeps your memory strong as you age: A study of 300 participants discovered that those engaged in activities such as reading experienced better significantly better memory retention than those that didn’t read.
- Knowledge = Power: Knowledge is the #1 benefit you will gain from reading. The more knowledge you gain, the more info is stored in your subconscious mind. These tiny bits of information make their way into your thinking when you need them without you even trying to fish them out. It’s like a superweapon you didn’t even know you needed.
