Remember Everything You Read: The Evelyn Wood 7-Day Speed Reading \& Learning Program pdfdrive com

Break your book in.
Certain mechanical considerations are extremely
important in increasing your reading speed, and one of the most
important is preparing a book so that it’s easy to handle.
Breaking in makes page-turning much easier and also helps preserve
the book in good condition. It’s essential, especially when the student
moves into very high-speed reading, for the book to lie flat on the desk
or in the hands, and for the pages to turn easily. Otherwise, you may
inadvertently cut hundreds of words per minute off your reading speed.
To break in a book, place it on your desk or another flat surface so
that it rests on its spine, on the binding. Then open both the front and
back covers slowly, until they rest flat on the table. (Continue to hold up
the pages of the book, at right angles to the table.) Allow a few pages
from each side of the book to flop down toward the desk, and run your
thumb or a finger down the inner margin, against the inner binding, to
flatten the pages out. Continue this flattening process until the entire
book is open on the table, parted approximately midway through the
pages. Then flip through the the upper and lower corners of the pages of
the book, as you would through a deck of cards, to make them more
flexible for page-turning.

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Become an active page-turner.
Efficient page-turning is a major
mechanical tool for moving into the upper ranges of speed reading.
The first thing you should do to become an efficient page-turner is
assume an active attitude. The best readers are participatory readers
who get deeply involved in moving through printed matter. They design
their own learning framework and set up the best structures for
assimilating and using new information. They establish the pace at
which they want to move through printed material, and in general,
orchestrate their own learning process.
Essential to the establishment of a good pace for studying is learning
how to turn pages effectively. To become an active page-turner, first sit
up straight, with your feet flat on the floor. When you slouch, you
become less alert and therefore less involved with your studies. On the
other hand, sitting up straight and choosing the rate at which you’ll turn
the pages encourages participation and enhances concentration.
What is the best technique for turning pages?
A right-handed student will usually pace himself with his right hand.
So most often, it’s best for right-handers to turn pages with their left
hand.
We’ve found it’s best for right-handers to place the book flat on the
table and wrap their left forearms and hands around the top or back of
the book, so that the fingers of the left hand rest easily at the top right
corner of the book. The index finger of the left hand should snuggle just
under the page at the upper right-hand corner. Applying slight pressure
with the other left-hand fingers against the top right-hand pages should
cause the pages to lift up slightly so that you can insert your index finger
under the first one.
With your left hand and index finger in this position, you’re poised to
flip the page over slightly just as you finish reading the bottom part of
the right-hand page. 
Important:
Your page-turning hand and finger
should always be in position by the time you’ve reached the middle of
the right-hand page in your reading.
Then, when you finish the page and have turned it, once again
position your left hand and index finger so that you’re ready for the next
page turn.
A different approach is necessary for left-handers. The left-hander
should pace himself with his left hand and let his right hand do the

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page-turning. But the left-hander should usually hold the book at the
base of the spine with his right hand and then also use his right hand to
turn the pages from the 
bottom
of the book.
Of course, none of these page-turning positions or techniques
represents a hard-and-fast rule that you must follow. They are only
suggestions. The important thing is for you to find the position that is
most comfortable for you and that enables you to turn the page most
easily and quickly, with a minimum of shifting or movement.