Read Faster Without Reading Worse

Speed reading courses promise to triple your speed. Most of them work by eliminating comprehension and calling it reading. This separates the evidence-backed techniques from the ones that are just skimming with confidence, explains what actually limits most readers, and builds a four-week plan using books you were going to read anyway.

I want to increase my reading speed without sacrificing comprehension. Help me understand:
1. What actually limits reading speed for most people: the two or three factors that account for most of the gap
2. Which speed reading techniques are backed by evidence and which are not, including why skimming at 1000 words per minute is not reading
3. A four-week practice plan using material I am actually reading, not practice texts
4. How to adjust speed based on material type: the right pace for a novel versus a technical document versus a research paper
5. One habit change that improves retention as well as speed

Be honest about realistic expectations. Most people significantly underestimate what a 30 to 40 percent improvement actually looks like in practice.