I DO read faster than anyone I have met, and all my life people have remarked on how fast I am to finish tests (if you read fast, you can take a test very quickly), ect, so if there was a contest out there, I wanted to know about it! I can typically finish a fairly thick paperback, like a thick Harry Potter, in 2-3 hours, not trying to read fast- just reading to enjoy the book. I tend to finish most books in one sitting, and I rarely skip anything.

The tips that *I* have found that really work ARE:

1. Don't read to yourself in your head as you read.
**That one is hard, but doing that does slow you down. I fight with this more than anything.

2. Don't let yourself re-read without reason.

** I would sometimes catch my mind drifting and I start back at the top of the page for no good reason. I made a mental note to stop that crap and my reading speed got a lot better. If you really need the material and know your mind has been wondering, that's the only time to re-read.

3. Practice reading larger and larger chunks at once.
**Don't let yourself read word by word. Make yourself read phrases then sentences. Later on, try to read paragraphs. I see and read most of a page of a small paperback at once, (about 3 paragraphs) with ease and enjoyment. I've learned since homeschooling that I probably do this because I am so right brained. I never learned to read with phonics- struggled to read until 3rd grade when it all clicked at once- instead I just read by recognition. I think that contributes to my speed. I wonder if very left-brained folks or folks that learn phonetically could ever catch up to a well practiced right brained reader?

4. If you are skimming something, use your finger right down the middle of the page to help draw your eyes down. Don't let your eyes wonder around. This takes work - you have to concentrate not to let your eyes rove. I only do it if I am skimming, lol. (hehehe This works with Google search results too. Just look straight down for what you want to see and ignore the links and text ads!)

5. Practice is the one thing that really seems to work better than anything else.
**The more you read, the faster you will read. If you make yourself sometimes read 'hard dry' material, it will help you learn to read the easy, enjoyable stuff much faster.