Reading With the Right Brain: Read Faster by Reading Ideas Instead of Just Words Paperback – September 18, 2014

Reading With The Right Brain by David Butler is a rather intriguing and unique book.It's premise is that individuals, by employing the use of the right brain, will be able of not just increase their reading speed, but be able to further solidify their comprehension by visualizing the words as ideas, rather than just words.At first glance, this might seem far out. But after some practice it became easier and easier to accomplish and the more one does it the easier it is to employ. It's definitely a very right-brained way of conceptualizing words which solidifies comprehension. The visuals, at least for me, played out like a movie once you get the hang of it.In any case, Reading With The Right Brain also features the concept of reading clusters of words in one shot rather than words individually, which increases your speed. At first, this was harder to get used too then the other above technique, but after all the examples in the book and extra reading it's coming along rather well.For instance, instead of reading each component of a sentence such as 'the-dog-barked' word by word, one reads it by seeing it as thedogbarked, which combines all three words as a cluster. This might seem confusing, or even outlandish at first, until we realize that many words we use in our daily lives are compound words, it's just that we are used to them. Examples of this are driveway, highway, airport, baseball, forever, nearby, etc. etc.Once one views his suggestion/technique from that lens, the reader will definitely see where he's getting at. Admittedly, some word clusters are easier to fuse than others, but with time one gets the hang of it.Butler also gives many common sense tips, some more common sense than others, while also shedding light to some myths that abound in the arena of 'speed reading'.Keeping in mind that having read two speed reading books and finding those helpful, this book still feature new information that has definitely added value to my reading repertoire. Practice has been vital though.Another beneficial component the book showcases are the excerpts of stories that Butler provides. The words are clustered in black and grey and alternate as each word cluster switches. This was very helpful because the author didn't have to put this there, he could have simply taught the idea while not providing any further fuel for the fire so to speak.

Not counting this book, I own 5-speed reading books. I have read all of them and followed all of the instructions in each book. None of them, not a one, worked. This book caught my eye because I own Drawing on The Right Side of The Brain, which is an excellent book. I read this book and followed all of the instructions and exercises in it. The right side of the brain method worked very well. So I thought it might just work with reading also.I found this book to be very interesting. The concept and material is very different from any other speed reading book I have read. The idea seems pretty straightforward and easy to implement. This book does not regurgitate any of the old, useless material found the overwhelming majority of speed reading books, all of this information is new. I find the theory to be very practical and sensible. This is my initial review of the book since I have only just moments ago finished reading it for the first time. Yes, that's right, I intend to read it a second time to work on the examples again for practice. I also intend to make use of the right side of the brain free "phrase reading" course online given at the end of the book to help me thoroughly test this theory. So my initial take on this book is worth 4-stars, which could change either up or down depending on the results of my fully testing the theory in actual practice. When I have completed my test I shall update this review accordingly. This is not the Evelyn Wood method repackaged. It is an entirely different method.11/132017I have been working with the free tools that the author has on his website. I find the method easy to implement and the tools are quite useful to my progress. I am having good success with this method, which is something I cannot say about the previous five books I have read.

I was a voracious reader as a young girl. For all the reading I did, I became an unconventional thinker and adventurous adult. But, over the years, the art of reading took a back seat to the technical manuals and personal development guides that come with #growningup. I've bought books, moved books, stored books and now that I have a personal office, I have real library.The other day, I sat in my chair wondering which book to pull off the shelf. It occured to me that of all the books I owned, I'd only read the entirety of less than half. Why? Because reading had become a drag, something un-fun. And to add, my eyes have weakened and tire out which frustrates me.FML!Somehow or other, this book caught my eye. I put it in the cart and forgot about it. My wife needed to hit a price point for free shipping and bought it for me. Surprise!Dude, Duuuude. This book is seriously a big freaking deal.I used to pride myself in being like a grammar nazi. I could spot a misspelling in 6 languages but I didn't know how to speed read. And now, I don't give two shits about that.I'm all about the ease and satisfaction of quickly understanding the ideas composed of word phrases. Total paradigm shift happening here!Einstein, by Walter Isaacson, has been around the world with me but I never even got through the first chapter. Finished it yesterday. I have a stack of books on my desk before me and I AIN'T SCARED! I'm so excited! You don't understand how much inofrmation you can process easily until you shift gears and trust that you're hella-smarter than you thought. The exercises are not all easy but the rate of progress is remarkable.Give this book to anyone and everyone in your life, especially to parents with school age kids. This book provides the tools necessary to leverage the power of information for your best interests.And reading IS FUNdamental.

Just read and try and practice.

I rarely write book reviews here, but will make an exception for this one.This book is not the usual "gimmicks of speed reading", which I've found over-promise & under-deliver - this book is anti-hype which I greatly appreciated.It's more of a thoughtful and interesting reassessment of what reading is, and why we do it, and some of our misunderstandings which can get in our way.The idea of conceptualizing ideas, and focusing on comprehension first MIGHT seem obvious in a way, and yet it's not (or there wouldn't be so many books & courses on speed reading).It's a concept I'm still learning to put into practice, and will probably continually work on but again, in the spirit of the book, "instant success" is not promised so that seems reasonable.No, I'm not an "expert speed reader" at the end but I am approaching reading differently the last few weeks.I'm comprehending more & enjoying it more - understanding more at first read instead of constant regressions & rereading (my reading achilles heel). So even if nothing else improves, this is well worth the time & energy I put into the book.Other speed reading books I've read have left me feeling worse at the end; this is an exception.I feel like I understand reading in terms of how it happens & am more in awe that we have this ability as opposed to feeling compelled to measure my "stats".I generally appreciate the respectful & clear tone of the book, and the free online practice tools + phrase reader are an added bonus.I really recommend this book & think it's worthwhile!

I was usually sceptical of most speed reading books. But this book is truly different. I liked emphasis is laid on comprehension, and not eye movements or blindly improving speed. The concepts in this book also encouraged to stay focused and be productive in my work and studies too

Something diferrent and smart on the field of speed reading and its good do know about it although some things cant be exactly useful.

Center of the whole book: comprehension and read ideas not words. These two aspects really made a change for good in my way of reading a book. Used to get really tired after reading 3 pages, now I know why: no imagination while reading just decoding.. that is boring. Reading ideas is so much powerful and enjoyable. Thumbs up for this book

This is the right method to read faster 👌🏽