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Speed read the Bible

How to speed read the Bible

Start at 250 words a minute. At about 783,000 words, the King James Bible takes the average reader near 55 hours. A steady daily pace finishes it in a year with minutes a day.

The method, in four steps

  1. Pick a plan by time, not by chapters: fifteen minutes a day.

  2. Read narrative books faster, poetry and the letters slower.

  3. Keep the pace steady rather than high. This is a long read.

  4. Use the chapter-end check to hold on to what you read.

The mistake to avoid

Racing it. The point is to finish and to remember, and those are different goals from speed.

See the pace first

Not sure what 250 words a minute looks like? Take the 250 wpm test, or measure your own speed and start 50 above it.

Questions

How fast should I read the Bible?

Start at 250 words a minute and adjust by the quiz: at 80% or better, go up 25; below that, come down 50. The adult average is 238 for non-fiction.

What is the biggest mistake when speed reading the Bible?

Racing it. The point is to finish and to remember, and those are different goals from speed.

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