Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Trouble with Fiction

Well this can be argued either way. If you are writing non-fiction(but still a story) then it's even easier, you just write down what happened(with some skill involved), but you're not really doing much. Fiction doesn't always break the rules, it just suggests things that may or may not be possible. A good science fiction novel will adhere to the known laws of science and establish its own laws for what is unknown. There are so many kinds of writing, so I could be misunderstanding what non-fiction encompasses, or what you mean by it.

What kind of books do you non-fictioners read? =)

For non-fiction books that I read are books on the Internet, Security on the Internet. Appliance repair, computer installation and home repair. Astronomy when the sky is clear.

Sometimes it gets pretty dreary though.

Photoreading really helps the comprehension.

I enjoy both fiction and non-fiction. Sometimes if the start of the book doesn't capture my interest, I just open the book in the middle somewhere and see if that's any better. If it is, I keep reading. If it is not, then I don't. Most of the fiction books I read from start to finish.

You might like to try Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, I find those books enjoyable.

Okay, time to do some author bashing. Terry Pratchett!!! Just kidding.

You don't like fiction. Hmmm, I would have to suggest that you try some more. You may not have found the genre and author combination that is right for you.

I read fiction all the time. By the end of high school I had read only the manditory stuff and liked only two short stories and two books.

By the end of my undergraduate degree I had read maybe two hundred books. I've read hundreds since then. I don't like them all. There are whole genre that don't appeal to me, or are populated with what I consider junk.

That said, my wife won't read a even a tenth of the books I read. I like-wise would read a tenth of the stuff she reads.

My daughter just loves mysteries. While I'm bored by most of them.

I find most not fictional stuff boring. Most of the light-weight non-fiction stuff I find stuffed full of filler.

Take a dip into other types of books every now and again, you might find something you like.

As for catching my interest right away. I love it when an author does. I've also have read 300 pages of very popular others (and books) and just not liked it. So if a friend of mine likes a book and I don't, well that just means we are different.

You are perfection.
Iam2

P.S. This wasn't the kind of thread I expected to find when I opened it.

I don't read much fiction, at least compared to non-fiction. Out of the 111 books I read so far this year only 8 were fiction. I don't photoread novels since I normally read them for entertainment and reading them quickly would defeat the purpose IMO. If I were in school reading books I'm not interested in I'd probably read it just like non-fiction.

I am new to PR and normally do not read fiction (some tell me that sherlock Holmes is a ficitonal character, but they are wrong)
I do like the Harry Potter books- this may be something for us nonfiction readers.

Do those who read fiction, photoread any differently reading fiction as opposed to PRing nonfiction?

Well that's basically pleasure-reading if it's fictional. I wouldn't photoread fiction as I stand now, but if you were to photoread it, then I wouldn't think it to be any different, except that there may be less pleasure, and it may be easier than photoreading non-fiction which have a lot of facts to absorb.

Instead of being captured by a fictional book, when photoreading, you will be skimming the surface, and probably won't be captured. Your mind will give you cues and draw you towards things, but photoreading(without lucid dreaming) usually won't bring you the same pleasure as consciously reading the book.

If you have trouble with activation I strongly recommend that you do increase the amount of fiction books that you read.

By all means photoread and rapid read. I personaly found that it greatly increases my personal satisfaction. I find myself picking up a lot of the dangling carrots that authors include as a result and get pulled into the story much better. The great part is I get it finished in 1/3 the time. Get more details than a movie in the time it takes to watch a movie. I cannot imagine myself sitting through a 10 hour movie so reading a book in 3 hours is gratifying.

Okay the reason I suggest that you go back to reading fictional book periodically if you have difficulty activating is that it hones your prediction skills. I cannot name many book where the author doesn't lead you through a trail of twist and turns trying to guess what is happening next. Nearly all fictional books have an air of mystery, a puzzle that needs to be solved or a secret to unfold which you as the reader are trying to guess as you read along. You're looking for the clues and hints as to where it's all leading.

Develop that skill you further develop you skill of asking mind probing questions. Every effient reader even using the regular reading method has honed this skill through reading fiction books.

If you're stuck trying to find good books in the fiction genre to read. Photoread the book in the book shop and ask yourself does this story interest me. You might just be surprised to fine how accurate your internal cues are.

Fiction books offer some amazing answers to everday problems too. Hardly surprising when you think about it fiction and non fiction books are being written by living human beings

Alex

I came across PR from a speed-reading search on the net. I enjoy reading and
I am interested in reading faster and retaining information in more clarity.
The PR system does interest me and I do believe it works. I have read just
about every post on the forum and what ever else I could dig up however I am
concerned that PR may take the enjoyment out of my reading. I read close to
20 books a year usually two books at a time. On the train I usually read
self help/management, at home before I go to sleep I will read books that
can build my knowledge on certain cultures and/or history. For example when I
wanted to learn about China Wild Swans, when I wanted to learn about the
western trade history with Asia James Clavell.
I believe that PR could help me with the self improvement type books though
I wonder about how you can fully absorb the writers art with the PR technique, Sometimes I will read a page three times to fully absorb the writers intention. For example in the past I have read The Art of War (Sun Tzu), and more recently finished Noble House (James Clavell). In Noble house
Clavell's characters referred to Sun Tzu a number of times, which I found provided examples of how the Tzu theories can be used as management principles. Another example would be when I read works from authors like Arundhati Roy, Isabel Allende or Douglas Adams I am totally taken in to the time and place of their amazing tales to the point where I can laugh and cry in the same sitting.
I could go on naming Authors and titles that have moved me and in most cases
changed the way I think and therefore my life, but I think you get the picture. My question is will PR help me to engage with the authors work on a deeper level than I am currently experiencing?

It impresses me how much more I get the authors intention from photoreading than rereading a page 3 times. I guess it because by photoreading we get the conscious mind to "shut up and listen" and collect all the infromation so that we can weigh up all that has been said before we mentally change it.

Alex