Category Archives: #1 Blog On Speed Reading & PhotoReading, Summaries of Books, Good Books to Speed-Read, News, Research On Speed Reading

Speed reading blog by Jan Cisek and Susan Norman from London UK. Summaries of books and good books to speed read. News, blogs and latest research on speed reading and photoreading.

The mobile phone novel – a novel way to spd up yr rdng

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5 of the top 10 books sold in Japan in 2007 began life as cellphone novels – books typed in text-speak and then posted online.

In Japan, a new literary genre has taken off. It’s called keitai shosetsu, or the mobile-phone novel.

These short books are written by text message and posted on the web. The stories have taken a particular form; most are written by and for young women and are about difficult subjects such as pregnancy and abortion.

These novels are hugely popular. Maho i-Land, Japan’s largest mobile-phone novel site, contains more than one million titles. The site is visited 3.5 billion times a month.

Publishers have caught on, and text-created books top many Japanese bestseller lists. Love Sky by Mika, and its sequel, have together sold 2.6 million copies. Many titles are filmed or made into manga cartoons.

Critics argue that predictive text makes the books repetitive, but the cellular age has turned Japan into a land of quietly tapping thumbs and wild imaginations.

Download free ebooks for your mobile phone

Txtng – gd 4 ur kids!

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In case you were worried that the abbreviations commonly used in text messages might be hurting the nation’s (or your child’s) literacy – you can relax. Apparently it’s doing the opposite.

The more children send texts using abbrvtns, the better their reading ability! Apparently with all the texting, children are reading much more these days, and playing with the language is an important part of learning how it works.
We teach both that reading more (of anything) will improve your reading – and that it’s important to get the message from what you read rather than concentrating on the individual letters (or even the individual words). And it’s no coincidence that we called our book ‘Spd Rdng’!

By the way, have you already seen the following on the internet?

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. And you touhhgt taht sepllnig was iprmoetnt!

Further info in the New Scientist 22 Feb 2009 reporting on research ‘Exploring the relationship between children’s knowledge of text message abbreviations and school literacy outcomes’ by Plester, Beverly1; Wood, Clare1; Joshi, Puja1, published by the British Psychological Society in British Journal of Developmental Psychology, Volume 27, Number 1,March 2009

Move your hands when you’re learning

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Remembering what you read is as important as taking in the information.

On our speedreading/photoreading courses we have been teaching that linking specific ideas/words to gestures can help you remember them – something that can be particularly useful for actors.

Now, Dr Susan Goldin-Meadow of the University of Chicago, has done some research into hand movements which seems to prove that if you make appropriate hand movements, it can help you think.

And since the beginning of good memory is how you ‘lay down’ the information in the first place, it obviously makes sense to gesture as you speak the information you want to remember (see technique number 22 in our forthcoming book ‘Spd Rdng – get up to speed with your reading’).

Does that mean that Italians – famous for their extravagant gesturing – think and remember better than the rest of us?
Check out the report in The Economist, 19 Feb 2009 for more information.

Guinness Book of Records – The Longest Subtitle for A Book

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Look out for us in the Guinness Book of Records – Spd Rdng: The Speed Reading Bible
We’re sending our book Spd Rdng Bible to the Guinness Book of Records to be included for having the longest subtitle! Which is: “Learn speed reading techniques and habits with proven results for you to apply immediately to any reading material (books, reports, journals, manuals, textbooks, online texts, ebooks, etc) so you can read more, more quickly, more effectively, whether you are a professional, an entrepreneur, a student or teacher, a home educator, or simply interested in your own learning and personal development, in any subject (including business, medicine, law, IT, acting and languages), by showing you, among other things, how to use your eyes more efficiently, remember more, access your learning intelligence, focus on your purpose, take meaning from the minimum of input, find the hot spots of information you need, and put it into practice, with the result that you free up time and save money as you become more successful in business and life.”

Summary of A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder-How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place By Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman

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Perfect Mess – mess is good for you

Perfect Mess – mess is good for you

A clutter-free environment can cost you
The inefficiency of tidiness. In praise of mess. Why keeping tidy can be bad feng shui. Tidiness and order are so ordinary. The new maximalism means messy home.

This book may not change people’s lives unless they tend towards being messy. Clutter, untidiness and hoarding, are not bad habits, the authors argue, but often more sensible than meticulous planning, storage and purging of possessions.

That is because being tidy is more costly
An improvised storage system (important papers close to the keyboard on your desk, the rest haphazardly distributed in loosely related piles on every flat surface possible) takes very little time to manage. Filing every bit of paper in precise colour-coded categories and a system of cross-referencing, will certainly take longer and will not save time.

The authors of this book search the furthest reaches of psychology, management studies, biology, music and art (art depends on mess; remember Tracy Emin’s messy bed) and physics to show why a bit of disorder is good for you. Mainly, it creates much more room for coincidence and synchronicity or luck if you like. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin because he was notoriously untidy, and didn’t clean a petri dish, thus allowing fungal spores to get to work on bacteria.

Smart people are messy
It will be difficult to convince your mum, but research confirms that if you’re messy, it might mean that you’re smart. Researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a study that explained that if you are not tidy, it simply means that your brain is occupied with more important matters. As if that was not enough, the conclusion of the scientists is that a somewhat messy environment inspires greater creativity.

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The Little Engine That Could: Fostering Growth Mindset and Self-Esteem in Children

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The Little Engine That Could: Fostering Growth Mindset and Self-Esteem in Children

“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” This simple yet powerful mantra from Watty Piper’s beloved children’s book, The Little Engine That Could, has been inspiring generations of young readers to believe in themselves and persevere through challenges (Piper, 2005). While primarily aimed at children, this timeless tale offers valuable lessons on developing a growth mindset and building self-esteem that resonate with readers of all ages.

The Story

The story follows a little blue engine who takes on the daunting task of pulling a long train over a high mountain when larger, seemingly more capable engines refuse to help (Wikipedia, 2025). Despite her small size and inexperience, the little engine repeats the encouraging phrase “I think I can” as she slowly but surely makes her way up the mountain, eventually succeeding in her mission (Piper, 2005).

Fostering a Growth Mindset

The Little Engine That Could exemplifies the core principles of a growth mindset, a concept popularised by psychologist Carol Dweck. A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence (Dweck, 2006). The little engine’s willingness to take on a challenge beyond her perceived capabilities and her determination to succeed embody this mindset perfectly.

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Summary of Limes Inferior by Janusz Zajdel

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In the future, where people won’t have to work due to technological advancements, Janusz Zajdel’s novel “Limes inferior” (Latin: “Lower Boundary”), not translated into English yet – explores a dystopian reality where individuals, bereft of purpose, end up paying to work out of sheer boredom (business opportunity? :-).

Comprehensive Summary of Limes Inferior by Janusz A. Zajdel

Unfortunately, Limes Inferior has not been translated into English yet.

Title: Limes Inferior (Latin: “Lower Boundary”)
Author: Janusz A. Zajdel
Written: 1979–1980
First Published: 1982 by Iskry in the “Fantastyka-Przygoda” series.
Subsequent Editions: Published in 1987, 1997, 2007, as an audiobook in 2010, and as an e-book in 2013.

Setting

The story unfolds in Argoland, a seemingly utopian yet dystopian society governed by a technocratic regime. Argoland is meticulously organised into a strict hierarchy, with citizens divided into seven social classes, ranked from class 6 (lowest)to class 0 (highest), based on intelligence test scores. This rigid system determines individuals’ rights, privileges, and access to resources.

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Summary of Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard

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Summary of Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation (1981) is a seminal postmodern philosophical text that explores how reality, representation, and meaning have collapsed into a system of signs and simulations. It investigates the relationship between symbols, reality, and society in the context of contemporary media culture, arguing that in late capitalist societies, simulations have replaced reality, creating what he calls hyperreality.

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