Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. Elon Musk grew up reading two books a day, according to his brother. Mark Cuban reads for more than three hours every day. Arthur Blank, a cofounder of Home Depot, reads two hours a day.
Reading is a beneficial activity. But reading too much can also kill your brain's productivity especially when no new meanings are created. If you are simply reading without deeper processing, you don't benefit much from it.
This means that you should organize your books, too. Line up 10 to 20 books for the month and choose a few out of the stack every month. Always replenish the stack and play with your library accordingly. Make sure you stay on top of your reading by only reading the books that captivate your attention the most.
Fully one-quarter of Americans surveyed hadn't read even one book. Successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates are not average, or even above-average which, according to the Pew Research, means a person reads up to 17 books a year. No, Bill Gates is off the chart. Gates reads 50 books a year, or about one book per week.
Not only does regular reading help make you smarter, but it can also actually increase your brain power. With age comes a decline in memory and brain function, but regular reading may help slow the process, keeping minds sharper longer, according to research published in Neurology.
That's still 26 books in one year, more than you probably realized you could complete. Even if you read 20 books in one year, you are still reading much more than the average person. Speaking from personal experience, setting the goal of reading 52 books in 52 weeks in November of 2013 was a life-changing experience.
Analytical Reading
- First, look up a bit about the author and the other books he/she has written.
- Second, do a quick inspectional reading.
- Third, read the book all the way through, somewhat quickly.
- Fourth, use aids, only if you have to.
- Fifth, answer the following four questions as best as you can.
5 Tips for Reading Multiple Books at the Same Time
- Read different genres. This is probably the most important tip.
- Read different books at different places. My favourite place to read is in bed.
- Read through different mediums.
- Read for your mood – not for your TBR list.
- Take all the time you need.
Whether you're reading 30 minutes each day or upwards of two hours, the key is to get some (book) reading in every single day. The benefits are well charted: improving both intelligence and emotional IQ, reducing stress, and allowing readers to, on average, live longer than non-readers.
Final WordsIn the end, that will happen if you don't read books is that you having little knowledge about everything. You might not be able to correlate the relations between many things happening around you in the world. Your thought may not get the right direction.
A normal rate for learning is 100-200 wpm, and for comprehension it is 200-400 wpm. Speed reading is normally done at a rate of around 400-700 wpm. Anything above 500-600 wpm means sacrificing comprehension, although this varies from person to person.
When you're sitting down and reading, as long as you're not being distracted by anything, most people can read 30 pages in 45 minutes. 30 pages may seem small, but all it takes is 30 pages a day to equal a book a week.
The stories, characters, and world can be hard to conceptualize for young readers, but the actual language is not incredibly difficult. I do think someone who is very comfortable with English will appreciate the delicate word choice and rhythm of the books, but you shouldn't have any trouble understanding them.
If top readers read at speeds of above 1000 words per minute (wpm) with near 85% comprehension, they only represent 1% of readers. Average readers are the majority and only reach around 200 wpm with a typical comprehension of 60%.
How to Read a Book in Two Hours or Less
- DO NOT start with the book at all! INSTEAD, read some book reviews.
- DO NOT begin at the beginning; do not end at the end. INSTEAD, read for argument.
- DO NOT try to read everything. INSTEAD, read the chapters that seem the most important and skim the rest!
- DO NOT write down everything.
How many chapters would I have to read every day to read the Bible in a year? There are close to 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 chapters in the New Testament. This would mean that you would need to read around 3 - 4 chapters per day to read the complete Christian Bible.
If you want to read faster while maintaining reading comprehension, check out these seven tips.
- PREVIEW THE TEXT.
- PLAN YOUR ATTACK.
- BE MINDFUL.
- DON'T READ EVERY WORD.
- DON'T READ EVERY SECTION.
- WRITE A SUMMARY.
- PRACTICE TIMED RUNS.
200 to 250 words a minute
While some admit to listening to audiobooks, many find that reading before their bedtime is one of the best times to wind down while also allowing them to gain new knowledge and information. It could also help you fall asleep faster.
How to Read More Books–Tips to Fit More Reading Into Your Life
- Take a Book with you Everywhere. This sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised at how often even I am caught without a book!
- Eliminate Distractions.
- Read Before Bed.
- Set a Goal.
- Try Short Stories.
- Try Short Chapters.
- Read Everywhere.
- Incorporate Reading into Daily Life with Kids.
These 10 books are some great options, just try not to accidentally stay up all night reading.
- Life on Mars by Tracy K.
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
- The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie.
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.
- To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf.
- Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas.
Here are some of my favorites. Reading multiple books at once helps you get through your TBR pile faster. It may seem contradictory, but when you are reading more than one book at once, you can actually get through your To Be Read pile faster than if you took it one title at a time.
How to Make Time to Read
- Read first thing in the morning and/or before bed.
- Don't leave the house without reading material.
- Make the most of your commute.
- If you don't have to drive to work, use subway or bus time to catch up on reading.
- Find books that are of interest to you.
- Set goals.
- Start or join a book club.
Reading also allows your muscles to relax and slows down your breathing, leaving you feeling calmer. The Sleep Council say '39% of people who are in the habit of reading before they go to sleep, sleep very well'. It makes perfect sense that an activity that reduces stress is beneficial before bed.
8 Tips To Remember What You Read
- Read with a purpose.
- Skim first.
- Get the reading mechanics right.
- Be judicious in highlighting and note taking.
- Think in pictures.
- Rehearse as you go along.
- Stay within your attention span and work to increase that span.
- Rehearse again soon.
That said, science has indicated that learning is most effective between 10 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 10 pm, when the brain is in an acquisition mode. On the other hand, the least effective learning time is between 4 am and 7 am.
Considering that, the average adult takes 1.5 minutes to read one page. Multiply this times the number of pages, 300, and you get 450 minutes in total, so, 7 and a half hours. That would be it. Taking in count the global average of time spent reading per week, 6.5 hours, it will take about 8 days to finish the book.
Answer: 300 pages will take about 8.3 hours to read for the average reader. Key insights from books in less than 15 minutes. Try Blinkist for free.
Most people who are slow readers are not so because they lack the ability to read faster. It is because of these bad habits that they have formed over the years that they have learned to become slow readers. Luckily, this is a problem that can be remedied.
- You can read a book in a day of 300 pages, it'll require a good time depends upon your reading speed and retention capability.
- Reading to retain (50–80%) what you read, comes when you practice reading.
- Day 1–8 : Try reading 20-50 pages a day and increase pages with each day.
