Books

10 Struggles Every Fast Reader Knows To Be True

by Julia Seales
Buena Vista Pictures

Being a fast reader is both a blessing and a curse. Everyone acts as if they want to become a fast reader. After all, this can make reading tasks go by faster, and it can help make your routine more efficient. There are apps to increase your reading speed, and even ways that you can speed up audiobooks so they read out loud faster.

The problem with being a fast reader is that your books simply don’t last as long. It’s like being a fast eater: you sit down to enjoy a delicious plate of food, but it’s gone in the blink of an eye and suddenly you’re accusing your dog of eating it, when it was actually you the whole time. Similarly, you sit down to enjoy a new book, and in a flash you’re finished and you have nothing but a book hangover and an empty TBR pile to console you.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything in life, and if you’re a fast reader you take the good with the bad. Maybe you sometimes wish you could savor your favorite books (or even erase them from your mind, so you could read them for the first time all over again). But at the end of the day, you wouldn’t change your reading speed at all, because you’re still going to spend just as much time doing what you love — spending plenty of time with books.

1

People Don't Believe How Much You Read

Because you read so fast, you're a pretty prolific reader. Sometimes people don't believe how many books you read, but as soon as you start talking about your favorites, they realize you can't be lying. You just read at a superhuman speed.

2

You Can't Turn Kindle Pages Fast Enough

The problem with e-readers? You can't turn the pages as quickly as you can read them.

3

You Always Finished Reading Early In School

Whenever you were in a book circle, or even now in book club, you always finished the book first. This left a lot of extra time. Maybe you read the books that the rest of the circles were reading... and maybe now, you join multiple book clubs. After all, you have to fill your time somehow (with more reading).

4

You Force Yourself To Read Slowly When You're Really Enjoying A Book

When you really love a book, you curse your fast reading pace. You want it to last forever, but you know it'll be over to soon. To try and stop this, you attempt to force yourself to read slowly, but it's the hardest thing ever because you're dying to know what happens in the end.

5

Sometimes You Miss Small Details While Reading

With all the speed-reading (and sometimes skimming) that you do, sometimes you miss small details. Still, you know the gist of things.

6

Your Bookshelf Is Overflowing

Because you read so quickly, you're an expert at filling up a bookshelf. Or two. Or, you know, an entire library.

7

You're Constantly Looking For Sales On Books

Since you read so much, you can't just buy one book and be set for a few months. To save your wallet, you're always on the lookout for the best ways to score cheap and free books.

8

You Don't Have To Worry About Spoilers

Since you're such a fast reader, you finish books before everyone else — which means that you don't have to worry about hearing spoilers. What you do have to worry about is revealing those spoilers yourself.

9

You Don't Stress About Reading Assignments

While everyone else groans about a lengthy reading assignment, you kick back and relax — you've got it handled.

10

You Love Big Books

You may read fast, but you truly love to read. As C.S. Lewis once said, "you can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."