Slow Reading

A forthcoming book by John Miedema:

In the face of ever-increasing demands for speed-reading of volumes of information fragments, some readers are choosing to slow down. While it often seems necessary to read quickly, many readers share a conviction that reading slowly is essential to enjoyment and comprehension.

The involuntary practice of slow reading has been a subject of much research, but little is known about the voluntary practice. "Slow Reading" examines the research, from the earliest references in religion and philosophy, to the practice of close reading in the humanities, and the recent swell of interest associated with the Slow Movement. It looks at the diverse angles from which slow reading has been approached in education, library sciences and media studies. Research in psychology and neurophysiology provides a tentative explanation for the ongoing role of slow reading.

"Slow Reading" brings attention to emerging ideas in technology and culture. The traditional technologies of print and the book have persisted as part of our information ecology because of the need for slow reading and deep comprehension. The theme of locality in the Slow Movement provides insight into the importance of physical location in our relationship with information. Most of all, "Slow Reading" represents a rediscovery of the pleasure of reading for its own sake.

Link: Slow Reading (Litwin Books), via Library Juice.

This is a really interesting topic and I'm looking forward to reading the book.  John Miedema has more information about slow reading on his blog, including earlier writings on the topic: Early Announcement: Slow Reading, the Book.

Comments

[JJR]

Hey, I was a "slow reader" before it became cool/trendy. ;-)

Always felt self-conscious about it, thought perhaps I had a mild learning disability and thought I should learn to read faster, like my friends seemed to be able to do, but I never did increase my reading speed all that much, even in college.

I have sometimes read books cover to cover in one sitting, but this requires a good deal of dedication (and free time, and no social commitments); It has to be a book on a topic I'm passionate about, otherwise I can't do it.

Moreover, after a time you run out of comfortable reading positions and just have to give it a rest (elbows begin to hurt, legs cramp, neck hurts, etc).

[Kevin]

JJR - I'm a relatively slow reader too. I think it's just the way people's brains are wired or something. I wish I retained more of what I read -- unfortunately that isn't necessarily correlated with reading speed in my experience.