The Only Skill that Matters: The Proven Methodology to Read Faster, Remember More, and Become a Super Learner by Jonathan A. Levi ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

I don't read many self-help books - I figure that you can't teach an old dog new tricks so why bother reading about things that I can't change.  However, the title of this book grabbed me right away - is there a way to learn how to read faster and remember what you read?  If so, I want to learn it.  I read fairly fast but don't ask me the title of the last book that I read or the plot because I just don't remember it. This book isn't just aimed at students and young people but also addresses learning for older people and  I did learn some things in this book that I can use in my reading life.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2019; Lioncrest Publishing; 978-1544504346
ebook, print (196 pages); selfhelp

In The Only Skill That Matters, Jonathan Levi unveils a powerful, neuroscience-based approach to reading faster, remembering more, and learning more effectively. You'll master the ancient techniques being used by world record holders and competitive memory athletes to unlock the incredible capacity of the human brain. You'll learn to double or triple your reading speed, enhance your focus, and optimize your cognitive performance. Most importantly, you'll be empowered to confidently approach any subject—from technical skills, to names and faces, to foreign languages, and even speeches—and learn it with ease.  (Synopsis)

What I learned that will help me become a faster reader:

• Enthusiasm without planning can do more harm than good.  Even if we are excited about learning, we have to plan ahead and make sure that we know our final goal.  Know why we are learning it, how detailed we want to learn it and how to break the learning plan down into smaller parts,
• How to improve memory by creating visualizations.
• Learning something once, no matter how you do it, isn't enough.  You have to continually review what you've learned.  
• The skills of becoming a faster reader by pre-reading or skimming what you are reading, then question and review what you've read.

The author includes links that readers can use to download worksheets throughout the book.

"Adult learners must harness prior experience. .. Adult learners need to be curious about what they're learning. They need to understand how it connects to their existing knowledge.  ..The more we can connect learning to a person's previous knowledge and experience, the better." (p 125)

Buy The Only Skill that Matters at Amazon

Author Links: website | Twitter

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter. 

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