Speed Your Read Reviewer's Comments

Learn to speed–read your way through books, newspapers, magazines or technical documents with Speed Your Read by Stark Raving Software.

Speed Your Read provides speed tests, timed tests, reading exercises (drill sets), and eye warm–up exercises for only $18.95. The program will also track the progress of multiple users and produce progress reports.

This program came in behind the top three products because users cannot manually adjust the word per minute (WPM) reading speed and without a menu toolbar navigation is awkward.

Features Set:  

In the program’s drills, one word or groups of words are rapidly flashed on the computer screen. Full text is used for the speed tests. Readers can choose from 25 different essays and stories for their drills and tests.

Speed Your Read automatically adjusts WPM speed for each user based on speed tests. Therefore, beginner to advanced readers will benefit from the program.

When you choose the “Follow the Syllabus” option, the program will guide you through 34 reading sessions. However, when we participated in the first five of these sessions, the program used the same text repeatedly. It seems a moot point to participate if users eventually memorize the text. We recommend following an independent program. In addition, Speed Your Read doesn’t provide comprehension tests.

Ease of Use:  

The organization and user interface make Speed Your Read relatively easy to use. When you choose a drill set, a dialog window will display the purpose of the drill plus how to begin. Additionally, a pause and stop button are displayed with each exercise.

However, users cannot manually adjust the WPM speed. To change the speed, you must take a new test to establish a different WPM speed. In addition, a menu toolbar would make navigation easier.

Ease of Installation/Setup:  

You can install Speed Your Read with a CD through the mail or you can download the program directly from Raving Software’s website. Incidentally, downloading the program is cheaper than ordering through the mail.

Help/Support:  

You can contact Raving Software by phone or email. We emailed them with a question and they answered within 24 hours.

Summary:  

Speed Your Read is a good program that uses flashing exercises and speed tests to increase your reading speed. The program will establish the reading speed of individual users and set the WPM speed for drill sets. Users can also choose from 25 essays and stories. However, the program doesn’t provide comprehension tests or allow manual WPM speed adjustments.

For a speed–reading program that is easy to navigate, see our #1 product, The Reader’s Edge.