UNDERSTANDING THE VARIOUS TYPES OF READING
                     UNDERSTANDING THE VARIOUS TYPES OF 
READING
Geetha Kumari
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Reading a book, to many, would suggest the idea of simply going through 
the book and ingesting the contents. However, there are various types of 
reading and depending on various factors, such as what a reader seeks 
from a book, he/she might use any of these reading techniques. Namely, 
these are reading, scanning, speed reading, studying and comprehending. 
Often, the pages of a book are designed keeping in mind the reading style 
that the readers are most likely to use.
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Reading: In general, reading refers to the process of making meaning out 
of a series of text or symbols by looking at them. It involves receiving the 
written or printed symbols through our eyes, converting them into words 
and sentences using our brain and then understanding the message they 
carry. While reading, we often sub-vocalise the words mentally, 
pronouncing them in our brain, often in the voice of specific people or 
characters as in the next.
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Scanning: Readers looking for a specific information within a large volume 
of text scan it rather than reading it thoroughly. This process involves 
rapid eye movement, with the reader on the lookout for specific 
keywords. Typically, one is likely to skip most of the information in the 
book and only look for the keyword that they are interested in. For 
example, while looking for a topic not listed in the index of a book, one 
may go to the relevant chapter and quickly scan the pages for a 
subheading or anything related to the topic that may stand out.
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Speed reading: When the readers only seek to gain a general overview of 
the content or are short on time, they start ‘speed reading’. Under this 
process, the reader wouldn’t identify and comprehend each and every 
word individually. Rather, they would read entire sentences or phrases at 
once and make meaning out of them. In this case, sub-vocalising is 
skipped and the readers make use of their peripheral vision to absorb 
more information. Thus, speed reading quite fast, but makes the readers 
compromise on the details as it is difficult to absorb all the information 
effectively while reading at such a rapid pace.
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Studying: The process of studying becomes relevant when one tries to 
acquire detailed information from the book, especially with the goal of 
learning. Readers ‘study’ particularly while reading a book for academic 
purposes. In other words, studying refers to spending time and effort to 
obtain detailed information regarding the subject. The reader may either 
acquire new information, add the newly gained information to their 
existing knowledge or replace the existing knowledge they already 
possess, with more accurate information.
Comprehending: Comprehending refers to understanding the meaning of 
a next properly upon reading it. It is crucial to effective learning as 
without being able to grasp the meaning, one would fail to acquire the 
knowledge or information carried by the text.
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Book types
Fiction vs non-fiction
Books can broadly be divided into two categories, fiction and non-fiction. 
Fiction is literature created from imagination, such as stories, novels, short 
stories, etc. Non-fiction, on the other hand, is based on facts and includes 
biographies, history, academic books, etc. Typically, one cannot study 
fiction as fictions usually are written more with the aim of providing 
leisure than knowledge. Studying is related to non-fictions, such as the 
academic books that students read while preparing for an examination.
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Books come in a wide variety of genres and so do reading habits. Not all 
readers read in all the above-described methods. Depending on factors 
such as their available time, the content of the book and reading 
attitudes, the readers tailor their reading styles.
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About Hindueshop
Hindueshop offers national oriented books and articles since 2019. It is a 
matter of great pride and privilege for us to present the tenets of 
Sanatana Dharma and bharat’s great cultural heritage and glorious 
traditions to the world. For this, we chose and took upon ourselves the 
task of offering books related to dharma, vedic culture, national security 
and awareness, sociology, history, education, polity, economics, science 
technology. We offer books on significant contemporary issues. We also 
offer confidence building literature for children and youth with a view to 
equip them with cultural and social values with a clear understanding of 
our past. Our mission is to promote national awareness, confidence and 
pride to make ‘Bharat’ a culturally vibrant and strong nation.
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Thank you for time in reading this article!
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