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Sunday, February 3, 2008

How Fast Do You Read?

I've always read voraciously. Not necessarily fast, but I can't remember a time that I didn't have a book "in progress." Right now, I have two bookshelves spilling over with books I want to read. Confession time: I'm a compulsive book buyer. I can't resist buying a book or two or three every time I go to Barnes and Noble. And Amazon--oh my! What really gets me there is that if you buy a certain amount, then you qualify for free shipping, so of course, it just makes sense to pick out another book, doesn't it? Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this!

So, being a reader, I was curious when Georgianna Daniels posted this fun quiz (exercise) on one of the writing loops I'm on. I took the quiz and found out I was a "good" reader (300 words per minute) with an 82% retention rate. Above average. You can find out your reading speed and retention level here.

Let me know how you did. Now, I'm off for some quality reading time.

8 comments:

Amy said...

yes, I'm a compulsive book buyer as well, my TBR pile is more like it's own room. :) sigh, I. Just. Can't. Stop. Myself!

Anne Mateer said...

I'm with you--a voracious reader, books overflowing my myriad shelves. The quiz was fun. I ended up with a speed of 307 and comprehension of 91%. I knew all those years of reading were good for something!

Patti Shene said...

Hi Carla. I am also an avid reader. I always have a book in my purse and several paperbooks stuffed into the side door pockets in my vehicle - just in case I forget to bring one with me and find myself with some spare reading time! I even read during the commercials while watching TV, which a friend classifies as "hard core"! LOL!

I took the reading test - came out with 218 WPM and 73% comprehension, but, hey, that's after I'm been up all night since I just got off work. Not bad for no sleep in the past 24 hrs!

I'd like to take it again when my brain is fully awake, but not sure if the results would be that accurate since I've already read the article once.

Don't feel bad about being a book junkie! Beats lots of other ways to spend your money that I could think of!

carla stewart said...

Thanks for your comments. Readers have a special bond, don't you think? I can't imagine a world without books.
Patti, if I hadn't slept in 24 hours and took the test, my comprehension would have been -24, I'm sure. Hang in there, and get some sleep!

Erica Vetsch said...

I remember taking this quiz awhile back, but I don't remember what I scored on it. LOL I've always got a book or two going. And Amazon and that free shipping is LETHAL! I don't now how many times I've bought an extra 15 dollar book to save 4 dollars on shipping! LOL

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

Yeah, I can identify! Mom was always hunting for more books for me to read when I was growing up. Now the problem is not enough time to read, so the book list gets longer... Haven't succumbed to Amazon, but second-hand bookstores are bad. Unless I can convince myself that I don't have shelf space for the book or the time to read it. (sigh) As for the test... I got 240 wpm and 82% retention. I'm going to make my husband do it... he's a speed reader. It'll probably be scary. :)

Bonnie Way aka the Koala Mom said...

So my hubby reads at 900 wpm, when he's going slow. Did you know that it's easier to read narrow columns than wide columns of text? That's why newspapers have narrower columns. With a two-inch wide column of text, his speed was up to 1200 wpm. :)

carla stewart said...

Wow! Now that's speed reading. I didn't know that about columns being easier to read, but I can see where that might be. . . your eyes can start seeing the next line quicker. Congrats to your hubby and thanks for sharing.