Reviewer: A student from Texas
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"This book will really improve your reading skills. It is one of the best gifts that I have ever received! I received the book 1 week ago and already I can see the improvements. It takes you through step by step, from "why you read the way you do" to "how you can improve"... it's a WINNER!"
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Reviewer: M. Fox, Australia
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"I am so happy to have found your site on the Internet. I received the course a few weeks ago and am working through week two. I just had to tell you it is excellent.
My reading speed and comprehension have just improved so much - and already I am driving people crazy because I just want to read everything. I purchased your course because at 45 I have recently changed my career and gone back to college to study IT (Information Technology)."
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Reviewer: K. Diehl, Internet Product Developer, Denmark
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I've always wanted to read faster, much faster. Some years ago, I began reading books about speedreading, also called "rapid reading." These books helped me, and I could see a progress in my speed, but usually I quickly fell back into the old patterns and went back to a slower reading speed.
What immediately hit me when I began reading Rick Ostrov's book, Power Reading, is his emphasis on making learning speedreading a natural process. Just like me, Rick doesn't like the speedreading methods that try to force you into doing something that feels terribly odd and uncomfortable to you. Speedreading ought to be something enjoyable, he says. When you read the book, you really feel that you have a very experienced and patient teacher helping you to take each step forward.
In almost all the other books I've read about speedreading, you just get served some techniques that you're told to practice, but usually it isn't explained why. And when you're doing those exercises you're often feeling uncomfortable and unnatural doing so. Not so with Power Reading. When I followed Rick Ostrov's methods, it all seemed both enjoyable and natural. I really liked the whole learning process. And all the time I felt that I really knew what I was doing. Rick uses only methods and techniques that are really helpful. If you don't really understand what you're reading, you're not reading at all, Rick says - "no matter how fast you read."
What further characterizes Power Reading is that it's very realistic. The author doesn't promise you that you'll be able to read thousands of words per minute like most other authors do. Instead he promises you that you'll be able to double your reading speed, or even triple it. It is possible for some people to read thousands of words per minute. But that's not normal for most people. But doubling or tripling one's reading speed is a very satisfying accomplishment. Just imagine what it would mean to be able to cut your daily reading time in half! And I like Rick's realistic promise much better than the hyped and unrealistic promises.
After having used Rick's methods systematically for some time, my reading speed has generally about doubled. Sometimes I read even faster. But my normal reading speed now lies somewhere between 400 and 800 words per minute.
Rick Ostrov has written a very useful and impressive book, Power Reading. Even if you've given up on learning how to speedread, you should strongly consider giving this book a chance.
It's really, really good, and I strongly recommend that you invest in this book if you want to read more in less time and enjoy the whole process."
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Reviewer: Soolsa from New York
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"Surprise! It actually works! The author has a very encouraging tone and with this book, you can advance at your own pace. Definitely worth the money... I used to be the world's slowest reader — now I breeze through tech manuals and newspaper articles and before you know it, I have so much time to do other stuff."
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Reviewer: Yeo from Singapore, Asia
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"I took a reading speed test before reading the book and measured my reading speed at 210 words per minute. But after a few hours of reading through the book, I managed to increase my speed to 790 words per minute! And that is over 300%!"
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Reviewer: Dr. Joachim Vogeler, Louisiana State University
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Dear Mr. Ostrov:
I am extremely pleased with the results I got from this reading course.
When I began the course, my goals were in terms of:
- Comprehension: to maintain or slightly improve the level of my comprehension,
- Speed: to double my speed while maintaining the level of my comprehension,
- Other: to be able to comprehend a vast variety of technical or arcane materials.
During the mid-course exam, I was reading 125% faster.
As I finished the course, I felt comfortable not only with the absolute increase but also with the now excellent level of my comprehension.
The most striking thing about this course, I think, is the recognition that one can read - or one can read more effectively. I could compare it to brushing your teeth: everyone does it, somewhat at least, but some people know how to clean their teeth more effectively than others.
This reading course has given me both the understanding of the mechanisms as well as the tools (the use of the regulator, for example) to determine at which level of speed and comprehension I chose to read.
Power Reading is well organized, easy to read. Having been in the educational business for quite some time, it amazes me how little emphasis educators put on a basic skill such as reading.
But this will change, of course, since I will implement Power Reading in my teaching. I will not rely on elementary school teachers to improve students' reading skills, or hope that some Freshmen English instructor picks up the slack. This semester, I teach a course on "Women in Antiquity" in which each student has to read and review one scholarly book. Before the end of this semester, I will have incorporated Power Reading in my teaching so that my students become power readers who have a choice at which speed or comprehension level they read.
I enthusiastically recommend Power Reading to any teacher or student.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joachim Vogeler, Professor
Louisiana State University
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