Revolutions in Reading

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While perusing Facebook recently, I stumbled upon a link posted by a friend:

“This Insane New App Will Allow You To Read Novels in Under 90 Minutes,” the title promised like a Saturday morning infomercial for the newest vegetable chopper or shape slimming bra.  Intrigued by this surely impossible promise (and driven by my incredible ability to procrastinate on the internet), I read on.

Spritz, a Boston-based startup company, has taken the speed-reading phenomenon by storm with their new “Optimal Recognition Point” (ORP) technology.  The ORP is the precise spot in a word that, when focused on, makes the word easiest to absorb and decipher for human eyes.  Spritz presents texts to readers one word at a time, keeping them centered around the letter marking the ORP.  This letter is in red text as opposed to black text so that it pops even more.  In this way, Spritz users have every single word in the text presented directly to their eyes, avoiding skimming (which can cause the reader to miss some potentially vital details).

The website had a demo section where I could try out this “game-changing” app for myself.  They allowed me to read at 250 words per minute, 350 words per minute, and 500 words per minute.  At first, the faster speed was a little overwhelming.  But if I allowed my eyes to relax and simply focus on the red ORP, I found this app to be remarkably effective.  I was absorbing the sentence and its meaning with far less effort than usual and with vastly increased speed.  My mind raced with the thought of finishing reading assignments with ease – maybe now I can finally make it through Anna Karenina, which has been sitting on my nightstand since last summer!

I went to Spritz’s actual website to do more investigating.

“Reading Reimagined™,” enticed fancy text at the top of the page.  I was informed that Spritz is working with other developers to apply the technology to platforms such as websites, iOS, and Android, and e-readers.  Then, I encountered their “Why it Works” section:

“Reading is inherently time consuming because your eyes have to move from word to word and line to line.  Traditional reading also consumes huge amounts of physical space on a page or screen, which limits reading effectiveness on small displays.”

This made me stop and think.  Yes, reading is a task that can at times be frustrating, but it is also a valuable skill that takes time and practice to perfect.  Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of my childhood (besides learning how to ride a bike without training wheels) was when I learned how to read, or when I finished my first big-girl chapter book all on my own.  I have always relished the moment when I turn the last page of a novel that I have enjoyed over time on a beach or in a car or cozy in my bed after the rest of my family has long been asleep.

Reading may take time, but sometimes that’s the point.  Reading isn’t always something to do just to get it out of the way – the very act of reading, and sometimes the work and effort that it requires, has value in itself.  While this app would be incredibly useful for some drier reading such as textbooks, it depresses me to imagine using it to read a novel.  It seems like swallowing a tasteless nutrition pill in place of a savory meal – where’s the fun in that?  What do you think the value of technology like Spritz is?  How would you apply it in your life or work?  We allow technology to do so much for us, but I’m not quite sure I’m ready for it to automatize the act of reading for me quite yet.


Isabella Zuroski is a senior English and Sociology double major from Bemus Point, New York.  She is the president of W&L's all-female a cappella group Jubilee, and she has a special fondness for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, as well as anything written by Frank McCourt.

How Fast Do You Read?

 bookSomething that many avid readers may not be very familiar with is the speed at which they read. My interest in this subject was initially brought on when a friend directed me towards the article, “14 books you could read in the time it takes to watch the Super Bowl” This article points out that in the time spent sitting on the couch watching a football game, you could also be reading a number of works of great literature. The author cites F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea as examples. I was not confident in my abilities in completing some of these books during this amount of time, and I began to question my speed-reading ability.

Coincidentally, I later stumbled upon a speed-reading test created by Staples as part of an e-book promotion. This test measures the time it takes for the reader to complete a short passage, and asks three short comprehension questions after. The test demonstrated that my speed-reading skills are equivalent to the average high school junior, but surprisingly enough, still 30% above the national average. Although I cannot speak for the accuracy of the test, I was a little disappointed that the average college student was reading 150 more words per minute than I was. My disappointment motivated me to research this subject further.

 According to the Forbes article, “Do You Read Fast Enough To Be Successful?, the national average for reading is 300 words per minute. The author of this article points out that at this rate, the average adult spends two hours reading basic material throughout a typical day. A high level executive reads closer to 600 words per minute, twice as fast as the regular adult. I began to question how I could improve my reading speed. After finding some entirely unhelpful guides, I was able to come up with a rough list of some accepted practices that enhance how fast you can read.

 Eliminating sub vocalization is supposed to help you read faster because your brain can actually register words much quicker without having to wait for you to talk to yourself.

 Eliminating re-reading by reading at a pace where you are not skipping over sentences can help you to stay focused. It is estimated that about 30% of what people read is re-read.

 Meta-guiding is the practice of using a pencil or a notecard to keep pace and smooth direction while one is reading

 Utilize peripheral vision by taking in groups of four or five words at a time instead of reading linearly from left to right. This method takes practice to get the reader used to using a different part of their vision, but can greatly increase the speed at which you can read.

Although Staples’ unsettling reading test did make me question my ability, I was glad to be able to find some tips that I had never thought about when reading. I recognize that there is much more to being a skilled reader than just the sheer speed at which you can inhale words. To view many other methods to become a proficient and successful reader, check out Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren’s book How to Read a Book. This is a valuable guide to perfecting many of the other aspects of reading and comprehension. Although reading quickly is far from the most important aspect of reading, I would say that speed-reading is an often-overlooked skill that can have great benefits for the reader if improved. Do you know any helpful hints for increasing reading speed? Or is this an aspect of reading that is not important enough to spend time improving?


Christian Kennedy is an English and Accounting and Business Administration double major at Washington and Lee. He enjoys writing music and loves spending time outdoors exploring the Shenandoah Valley.