Reading in Slow Motion | 5 Methods of Slow Reading

[@DavideMazzetti]

I get a bit annoyed when I see KZbin videos where the stated intention is to read as many books as possible in the shortest time possible - as though it's some kind of competition. You can't possibly enjoy and appreciate literature unless you take the time to savour it - and that means reading slowly and mindfully.

[@geoffreycanie4609]

The method I would suggest, and I hope it isn't too obvious, is to revisit important works throughout one's lifetime, and to pay attention to how they change. This summer I've been rereading Borges' fictions, and I've been surprised how different they seemed from how they were in my twenties - even though that impression had been very positive and I'd been instantly converted into a Borgesian.

[@closereadingpoetry]

Definitely. Thanks for mentioning that... especially true for mature writers like Borges. I was too young to enjoy Tennyson when i first read him. Time and repeated experience go a long way!

[@HarshSingh-qr5lm]

Wow. This is something ive been trying to express for so long. The whole point of reading is to get fully immersed in what you read, not caring about the milestone of reaching max speed.

[@d.scottmeadows4653]

As a pastor and theologian, I read a great deal, not restricted to religious books. Currently I'm working through Peter Martyr Vermigli's commentary (16th century) on the book Lamentations in the Old Testament. My discipline is daily readings and they are all too often read too quickly merely to finish the task. The other day I read a section normally requiring 15 minutes in about an hour instead. The leisurely pace made a world of difference in my comprehension and appreciation of the text. Unsurprisingly, I think your advice is the most valuable for reading Holy Scripture. My pace has varied from reading the entire Bible in a month to reading it through in three years. Each has its advantages, but the 3-year pace is wonderful, since shorter readings afford the opportunity for careful contemplation even within a half-hour session. All five of your suggestions are valuable, Adam. I'll share your video now with thousands on social media.

[@closereadingpoetry]

Ever since I left the seminary I've kept a yearly schedule for reading the Bible, and that's felt too fast sometimes. I like the idea of a three-year cycle, like a private a lectionary. That would be about a chapter per day, I guess? Thanks for sharing!

[@EyeLean5280]

I love #5. When I wanted to re-read Beowulf a few years back, I gathered a group of friends together who were also interested. We took a month to read it and then gathered at a restaurant to discuss it. The afternoon went so well, with so many lovely insights shared. Everyone got along so nicely even though many had never met before and everyone said they enjoyed it. But after that, the group dissipated and I've never been able to replicate that success for another book. PS: anyone interested in Beowulf may enjoy following it up with John Gardner's Grendel, which is the first part of the story but from the monster's point of view.

[@balgrantango460]

This is so absolutely true. It reminds me of the new fireplace invention where one can spend an entire evening in front of the fireplace in just 3 seconds.

[@ChristopherAlsruhe-si9ff]

I have read the wordsworth edition of the unabridged Les Miserables four times in full, and the first several 100 pages seven times. No matter what I read, even if it's fiction, I underline and put in notes. A book not marked in is a book not read or maybe it wasn't worth reading because it didn't inspire a response from the reader. When I read the sections which I have read seven times, each time is read more slowly. I read more slowly because each time it's more beautiful, or rather, I discover more of the beautiful is already there. I do the same thing with my Bible. And a few other books. Any book that I read more than once is going to be read more slowly. And any book I read 3, 4, or 5 times or more is going to be read more slowly each time With new insights written into the margins. In addition, I find beauty in the printed word on a page. I had this appreciation back in elementary school. There's something beautiful about it, and some words in themselves are beautiful even when they stand alone. People cannot appreciate this if they're trying to set a record on how many books they can read, or they're competing with some other speed reader. It's not worth it. I'd rather read one book slowly and more slowly, again and again, and find truth, beauty, and goodness more deeply each time, which I do with Les Misérables in the first sections, than read multiple books a year for the rest of my life. Of course, that's why I read the Bible over and over and over more slowly. I agree also with reading out loud. I also watch instructional videos on how to speak more slowly, more clearly, even a little more deeply, how to remove Umms and likes, etc., and to remove upspeaking. The sound of words spoken well is incredibly beautiful. That means people speaking on the radio may be efficient, but there's nothing beautiful about it except that they have a well-trained voice that sometimes I covet.

[@ChristopherAlsruhe-si9ff]

One could read slowly enough for it to be like living it. That could even mean pausing at full stops and taking some time to mentally and emotionally experience what was just read before moving on. In a sense, become whichever character is speaking or spoken of.

[@closereadingewithemi]

I appreciate the value of your videos, particularly in the current era dominated by platforms like "booktok," "bookstagram," and "booktube." These platforms often feature content creators who establish impractical standards for the number of books one should read within a brief timeframe. I enjoy your content and hope you might consider creating a detailed analysis focused on the works of Rainer Maria Rilke. Thank you.

[@cammyreader]

I've been enjoying your videos. What do you think of Donna Tartt and more recent literary works?

[@qn57]

Great advice, told convincingly and in a calm manner - except that you seem to have edited out all the little natural pauses between any two fragments of recording, so that you sound like continually interrupting yourself in the video. Which makes for a bit of a counterpoint on the video’s important message ;)

[@DanielGTaylor]

This is the first of your videos I've seen, and I love it. Regarding your first tip, in $100M Offers, Alex Hormozi recommends listening to the audio version of a book as you read. It's a variation on reading aloud.

[@nostraa6125]

The underlying assumption is that what one is reading is well written and well thought out in the first place. While that's true of the literature and poems of Adam Walker's KZbin channel (thanks fot that, Adam!😊), unfortunately, so much that's written these days is just poorly written junk and is not worth our time. All the more reason for us all to study great literature closely, so we can improve our own communication skills and improve the writing that is produced in our culture.

[@williamfahey6066]

This video is fantastic. I have tried all of these methods just from spending time reading and adjusting my approach to see what is better for me. Thank you for this video, Jeff

[@deadpoet9392]

Nowadays i am struggling with reading as fast as others can...for example some of the booktubers are reading 100 pages per hour which i wanna do but i couldn't especially while reading "Les Miserables"... It is like a flex nowadays that i read 100 books this year but the question what did you get out of it? Or did you really enjoyed it?? Many don't they are just running in a race of quantity ot quality!

[@fathimashereen7866]

This is a fantastic work! What we are continuously chased nowadays, is to be productive in every way and ultimately don't pay attention to read mindfully. As an English scholar, I have often tried to read as much as novels for the sake of saving time to read more and I am now convinced that I can better read and actually enjoy the reading process, embracing the art of literature. "It is not the quantity but the quality that matters and the impact of the time we spend reading mindfully in our lives".

[@juantorres90]

This is just fantastic. Thank you. I would add one suggestion which has been useful to me, a reader that struggles frequently to find focus in his readings: to take a quick glance and make a quick reading of a certain small portion of the book and then to go back to the top and read the same small portion slowly. I find that the first reading brings the gist, the general sense, the general images, and then, reading back slowly, you carve your way into understanding the beauty of its details, its words, its idiosyncratic meanings, and in this way it enhances not only comprehension but memorization.

[@closereadingpoetry]

That's a great method!

[@calessie3401]

Really love such content. You should go for podcasts ❤

[@politereminder6284]

Speed reading is just skimming by another name. I am a fast reader, but i abhor "speed reading"

[@geoffreycanie4609]

"Reading all of the Bronte's works in two weeks." This gave me a good chuckle, and reminded me of how John Barth pointed out in one of his essays the absurdity of the way the poetry journal he edited received thousands of submissions every year, but had only a small fraction of that many subscribers.

[@davidwinston9440]

Another excellent delivery with good content and advice. D.H.Lawrence said you should read a book 2 or 3 times at different times to fully apprecate it. I have tried that and it certainly allows you to appreciate it more and notice things you previously missed. I also slow read some of Shelley's poems to fully appreciate and understand them. Also,some lines are frisson inducing. Thanks Adam.I really enjoy your sessions.

[@closereadingpoetry]

Thank you, David!

[@catdogcattt]

I like writing my thoughts in the margins of books as I read. It's like having a conversation with the author.

[@mred915]

Ah yes, annotations. 👍

[@thomashager1424]

Great video. I just finished reading Mortimer Adler's "How to Read a Book." He recommends reading a book quickly to get the general idea of the book. Then, he recommends reading the book again, slowly, to get that deep understanding. What makes a great work great is with each successive pass through that work you get new insights that you didn't see in previous readings.

[@hamiltonics]

Thanks! That's what i'm needing.

[@pianistbrunodelorenzo]

Fantastic video!

[@ashmitasaha9925]

Hey, can you upload a video on “The Canonization” by John Donne? I really need the explanation of this poem I have exams from 4th September, by the way, lots of love and support from India 🇮🇳 ❤

[@ericj199]

"surrendering time"

[@sb5421]

All very good pieces of advice. You seem to be a humane reader. Reading aloud and memorization, particular forgotten now, are perhaps the best aids to reading, especially for poetry where the sound is often as or more important than the sense. I can only imagine what the process of copying out Paradise Lost and the Prelude back to back must be like. Milton and Wordsworth are difficult poets and both rather severe.

[@nat4465]

Thank you for this video. A lot of these things we practice in homeschooling (reading aloud, copying passages, discussing with each other our thoughts on the book etc sometimes things stick more because of a conversation we have had attached to it) this encourages me to continue and do some more copying. It took me so long to get through Moby Dick (years) but it was so worth it. Along with many other classics, it takes me months or a year but it definitely leaves a long lasting impression. But yea I’m encouraged to continue to engage slowly with my books, taking the time to write down my thoughts.

[@vincentzevecke4578]

I write my American history notes. I love it, because I can come back to it

[@spacelasagna]

Watching this on 2x playback speed

[@hugoantunesartwithblender]

Great video. When a friend told me about speed reading, even in non fiction i just told him "If a writter describe a colorfull and wet florest, if you really imagine it you will be there, you will be immersed, and not only that, but you will remember that a lot more. Even memory competitions are based on this"

[@notarein]

I love the title and the thumbnail of this so much! Its so well thought out

[@isabelamarcolino8503]

Confesso que esse vídeo foi mais difícil de entender 😅

[@daviddonihue]

I love this and your content thank you

[@Ravansingh218]

❤❤❤

[@lukeoconnell5642]

watching this video at 2x speed

[@robertgainer2783]

Hello again, Adam. I like the five method approach you suggest, although I have never kept a reading journal. I also like the sixth method suggested by @geoffreycanie4609 of revisiting works after a period of absence, which is something that I do often and from which I derive a great deal of additional reading pleasure. The controversial Enoch Powell, a great classical scholar, once said that one should spend most of one’s time thinking about what one has read rather than reading something else. I agree and think we are are too often tempted to rush to read something else before we have fully digested the essence of what we have just read. When I finish a book or a long poem I like to dwell on it for at least couple of days before moving on. Sadly, the reading lists of required texts for English Lit undergraduates at most universities are too often focused on the breadth of the literary canon with insufficient emphasis on exploring its depths.

[@closereadingpoetry]

Hello, Robert! I love that method, "dwelling." I started underlining the passages I liked and returning to them after I finished the book as a refresher. But I could probably do with more reflection before picking up the next book. It seems that the academic study of literature is becoming narrower and shallower, at least in some US departments. I think the current model of survey courses are great for breadth, but they assume that students are applying depth and breadth in their own reading experiences, and that's not always the case. Ideally there should be a departmental curriculum that accommodates breadth while encouraging depth in lecture and class discussions. I'm curious though, since you write poetry, if you'd consider composition a form of slow reading in response to another poem, "from fairest creatures we desire increase"😁?

[@ooousuario]

thank you so much for this video and a huge thanks for this channel!