How to read fast

Let me explain the title. I didn't mean how to read more words per minute that a bunch of different techniques claim to educate. My needs were how to increase the speed of comprehension of the read material, especially of business or studying books. Let's start with an extreme but clear case. Assume that we research a topic or read a book just to widen our horizon. If it's not our first book  in the realm the odds are good that we already know something about the matter; now we can either read every single word or skim through. The former is not efficient - we may read about the concepts we already know and waste our time. The latter is risky - we can miss something important and lose the book's value. Balancing two options is the kind of the fast reading I'm referring to in this blog.   

I already brought Brad's explanation on his way to read 8(!) books a week: "(a) no TV, (b) no kids, (c) four to six hours a night of reading, and (d) the willingness / ability to skim when things are dull". So the question is how to find an optimal pace for a book to trade off speed and comprehension most efficiently. I just started practicing this method and here are few my suggestions.

• Build expectations for the book. Before starting the book make it clear for yourself why you decided to read it. What is the question you're seeking answers for and why is this book indeed. Is it a particular idea, a set of examples and case-studies, or you need deep diving to the realm. Depending on the answer you may predefine what chapters to skim through. A good example of what I mean here is a pile of the books of Geoffrey Moore. Each of them is great but you don't want to read each of them from cover to cover.
• Always read the book's introductions (all of them).   In a read-every-word mode that was the only victim of my through-skimming. When I was cover-to-covering  a book I thought I didn't need to know what the book was about - I'd know it upon completion. In optimizing the pace very valuable information can be found in introductions. We need to figure out what the authors will be telling us on the next pages (or, at least, what they promise to) and adjust our expectations (see the first item). Often authors explain the book's structure that may also help us to make up our reading plan.
• Understand the book pattern. Every author is different but even every book of an author may be different. Still each book has its structure and style which even if not explained in the introduction nevertheless can be figured out after a few chapters. We need to recognize a question the author is about to answer, possible options for the answers, analysis of the dilemma if it exists, winning answers, and examples proving them. Depending on your needs you may decide what is "dull" for your particular case and accelerate reading. To make it precis the book's structure must be known.
• Take a sample and check the pace. After you answer the above questions you can start skimming. Usually, if you're aware of the problems the authors are explaining, an introductory part of a chapter can be skipped. A few paragraphs detailing importance and complexity of the situation are good candidates to save time if you know the area. Figure out where they get to the point and propose solutions to the problems. You may skip quite a few paragraphs and find that you miss the point. Don't despair. Come back but not to the very beginning. Take a half of the way and try again. After a few iterations you'll find the pace.
• A book may vary - re-adjust the pace. Rarely I find a book that keeps the same pace, style, and tone on all the way. It may happen as you go from chapter to chapter, especially when there are many authors. The pace should be adjusted and re-tested again. 

I hope you'll find the tips useful and waiting for your feedback. The final confession is I still read fiction books in a cover-to-cover mode (or just throw them away) and I'm happy when I get a business book which reading without skimming pleases me.

Update: I'm sure you'll find uesful "How to read a business book" by Slacker Manager

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