If you think about whether or not you're doing it right, you're doing it wrong.
It's not about doing it the right way, your brain continually does it every second of the day whether you like it or not.
The X technique is fine, just as long as the whole book is in your view, and you're not focusing on the individual words (although it's ok if you do this sometimes, it happens to everyone) you're fine.
You should've learned this either sooner, or at a time when you didn't NEED it.
Starting it out on school books rarely works.
Spontaneous activation is not unreliable. You're doing it all the time as well. YOu're just not used to doing it with books because you've consciously read every single one in your life.
You just have to use the system enough so that it becomes natural, then you're spontaneous activation will prove very, very reliable.
Forget claims by other people, learn to trust yourself and experience your OWN experiences.
Once you experience someone else's experience, you feel as if you NEED to live up to it and are disappointed when you don't.
Set your own goals, follow through with them, and ignore it if people are doing better than you. You are all that matters.