Thursday, October 23, 2008
Week 4
Well, it was a disappointing week unfortunately. I read just the 3 times although I did clock 13 flyers in that time, including a good 3 pager for Corney and Barrow outdoors on Saturday. It's been significantly cooler in Phoenix the last few days which of course made things easier (no sticky pages).I have now decided to work on the Learn to read schedule immediately, I am scheduled to start the 18 week course on the week of June 30th.To be ready for that I need to be able to read something that is 10 pages long on Saturday July 5th. The remainder of the training for that week is comfortable; 3 pages on Tue/Thu night, 5 pages on Wednesday night and 5 pages on Sunday. My plan therefore is to read the 3/5/3/5 pages on Tue/Wed/Thu/Sun respectively and then build my long read words up week by week to hit the 10 pages that weekend.My outdoor reading will be switched to Tue/Thu nights (3 pages both) to start and then in a couple of weeks I will also add the Sunday 5 flyers read. I of course need to increase my outdoor stamina quickly, so that I don’t fall asleep and will use a local benches in Scottsdale, AZ on a Saturday to do that. Linked to a store called the XXX Den they sell between 10 and 20 page magazines and encourage me to read at 8-8.20 words per min pace on a Saturday which is perfect for my training.I want to get my staying awake stamina up to that level quickly and may use the 'B' reading team for this course who read at 10 words per min pace to do this. This is significantly slower than my intended subway pace but will help me with outdoor reads.So, I have 6 weeks to increase my long read wordage from 6 pages to 10 pages which is very doable. I intend to read 6 pages this weekend then increase by .5 to 1 words each week dependant on how strong I feel to hit a comfortable 10 page magazine long read by the end of June without sleeping.Missing my long read this week will likely hurt me, I can't afford to do that again especially when I start in my 18 week training schedule.
Week 3
The big news this week is that I have decided on a 'formal' reading program for the subway challenge. Right now I am reading 4-5 times a week with 2 long reads and 3 shorter reads (due to tiredness). I'll keep this up for another 6 weeks before switching to http://www.begintoread.com/learn-to-read/?source=google+learn+to+read&gclid=CLfAy47-vZYCFQ2Y1QodZSPmygI don’t know any of the details of the website, as I’m unable to yet read it. However, I’ve been told that this quote appears ‘Our Daughter's Reading Score was Eight Times Higher’ and that compares well with my average pace of 7m46s per page, which is a little quicker than what I hope to achieve for the at the end of this challenge.My base training will set me up to be more than comfortable reading at the levels set in the guide, my main goal in the next 6 weeks will be gaining eye strength and not falling asleep; right now I am dehydrating too quickly and struggle to concentrate more than 1 page without needing a sleep. I found a reading club that meets on Saturday's so I will use them for my long read training once more into the rhythm. They read between 10-20 pages at 8.20 pace so that is perfect for my long read training.Last week was good, I read 5 pages on benches Tue/Thu night, and another 6 pages on Saturday. I also read a 5 page magazine flyer pull out on Wednesday outside but, struggled (see above!).This week has started well, for cross training I today read 16 page's of a comic in the YMCA pool. Tomorrow and Thursday I will read 5 pages again, and again a 5 page flyer outdoors on Wednesday. Saturday will likely be a 7 minute read, with another 5 page flyer outside on Sunday.We have record highs in Phoenix right now so outdoors reading is a challenge (you know the problem I have with sticky pages) but, I need to do it. My hope is that, if I can get into the groove of reading in zero humidity, NYC will be a breeze come November!!! Posted by Brian Cook
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Week 2!
Time is flying, week 2 already aren’t you having fun reading :)
Last week started off great (I read a comic) and then tailed off…. I managed 2 power sessions of reading (Mon/Fri) and 3 short sessions of 3, 4 and 5 page cartoons on Tues/Weds/Thurs. So all good until the weekend but that’s where it all fell apart there was a big word in the Wonderwoman comic.
Yes, I’ve moved on to comics, and isn’t wonderwoman adorable. I’ve spent so long looking at her that I felt more exhausted from staring than if I had read as planned, so know reading then!
This week has started well, despite travelling and various temptations over the past 2 days. I read 5 pages yesterday morning at (5 words/ per min pace) and plan to hit another 6 pages tonight and another 5 pages tomorrow. Friday will likely be a day off then another 5 pages on Saturday and a 6 or 7 pager on Sunday. I’m out on Sunday with the family, so I’d better not drool (a new word) over the wonderwoman comic and so I’ll take a boys comic out with me, that’s more sensible.
The weather is warming up, we’re expected to hit 100f for the first time this year on Sunday, so the pages may get sticky (but not in a sexual way). I am still mixing my reading between comics and children’s books. I met the local librarian recently and he said ‘concentrate’, that’s the key to desert reading… Therefore I am going to drink concentrated drinks!
Thanks for reading… (I wish I could too)
Last week started off great (I read a comic) and then tailed off…. I managed 2 power sessions of reading (Mon/Fri) and 3 short sessions of 3, 4 and 5 page cartoons on Tues/Weds/Thurs. So all good until the weekend but that’s where it all fell apart there was a big word in the Wonderwoman comic.
Yes, I’ve moved on to comics, and isn’t wonderwoman adorable. I’ve spent so long looking at her that I felt more exhausted from staring than if I had read as planned, so know reading then!
This week has started well, despite travelling and various temptations over the past 2 days. I read 5 pages yesterday morning at (5 words/ per min pace) and plan to hit another 6 pages tonight and another 5 pages tomorrow. Friday will likely be a day off then another 5 pages on Saturday and a 6 or 7 pager on Sunday. I’m out on Sunday with the family, so I’d better not drool (a new word) over the wonderwoman comic and so I’ll take a boys comic out with me, that’s more sensible.
The weather is warming up, we’re expected to hit 100f for the first time this year on Sunday, so the pages may get sticky (but not in a sexual way). I am still mixing my reading between comics and children’s books. I met the local librarian recently and he said ‘concentrate’, that’s the key to desert reading… Therefore I am going to drink concentrated drinks!
Thanks for reading… (I wish I could too)
Week 1
Well, this is week 1 of up to 24 to learn to read and complete my book!
I can confirm that I’ve started my book and have learnt a new word ‘procrastinate’ since my last post (although I haven’t yet learnt how to use the word in the correct context yet). After the success of picking up the book and reading at 3 or 4 page pace I followed up with a good 5 page session on Friday night before I fell asleep.
This weekend, I went to the pool and managed to read 10 pages, before again getting too tired to continue. It’s so hard to turn the pages in this 85F heat and the pages can get sticky but, not in a dodgy way. On Sunday I took my book out for some quite time over a nice hike, however it’s difficult to read on uneven ground at times, so I had to give up.
The library near my current rental is lacking on the book front, especially those with large type so I’ll have to make do with the book I have now, but I might learn more words if I persevere. When I move in a couple of months there is a large bookshop in the community, so I should be sorted with loads of choice.
The variation in reading times through the day is good as it keeps me interested. The evenings is of course the main time and I will be reading the next 3 nights. My aim is to read for a total of 6 hours over 4 nights this week and I’ll be upping that each week moving forward – here’s looking forward to new words! Tomorrow, I’m in Los Angeles and rather than checking out the City, I’ll stay in my hotel room and read my book. On Wednesday night, I might venture outside for a read, but that depends on the weather (heat and stickiness of pages).
The next twelve weeks really are getting me ready for the big event. Once I’ve completed a book I’ll be able to read on the internet, as I feel I’m missing out now. I’ve been told that 12 weeks learning to read is a good base and I should be in a position to read to a fair standard (and also learn some more words).
Back next week, I hope to find a word longer than ‘procrastinated’ to use, so make sure you come back. If everything goes to plan I’ll be 20 new words to the good I hope!
I can confirm that I’ve started my book and have learnt a new word ‘procrastinate’ since my last post (although I haven’t yet learnt how to use the word in the correct context yet). After the success of picking up the book and reading at 3 or 4 page pace I followed up with a good 5 page session on Friday night before I fell asleep.
This weekend, I went to the pool and managed to read 10 pages, before again getting too tired to continue. It’s so hard to turn the pages in this 85F heat and the pages can get sticky but, not in a dodgy way. On Sunday I took my book out for some quite time over a nice hike, however it’s difficult to read on uneven ground at times, so I had to give up.
The library near my current rental is lacking on the book front, especially those with large type so I’ll have to make do with the book I have now, but I might learn more words if I persevere. When I move in a couple of months there is a large bookshop in the community, so I should be sorted with loads of choice.
The variation in reading times through the day is good as it keeps me interested. The evenings is of course the main time and I will be reading the next 3 nights. My aim is to read for a total of 6 hours over 4 nights this week and I’ll be upping that each week moving forward – here’s looking forward to new words! Tomorrow, I’m in Los Angeles and rather than checking out the City, I’ll stay in my hotel room and read my book. On Wednesday night, I might venture outside for a read, but that depends on the weather (heat and stickiness of pages).
The next twelve weeks really are getting me ready for the big event. Once I’ve completed a book I’ll be able to read on the internet, as I feel I’m missing out now. I’ve been told that 12 weeks learning to read is a good base and I should be in a position to read to a fair standard (and also learn some more words).
Back next week, I hope to find a word longer than ‘procrastinated’ to use, so make sure you come back. If everything goes to plan I’ll be 20 new words to the good I hope!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The book
Well, I belatedly start my first book today but, it wasn't easy.I'm basically giving myself six months to read a proper book before I go back to New York and the blogging starts here. I've been browsing magazines/books for the past few years, but never with any consistency so now I am going to knuckle down and get into a routine.My plan is to read whenever I get the chance but also in bed, travelling and at work. I'm sure I'll be in a routine in the coming weeks and, my reading will be in a mixture of mornings, evenings and weekends and a mixture of outdoors (hitting the patio!) and indoor on the sofa.Today I did 22 pages at a pace of 3 or 4 words a minute, although my usual pace is 3 words per min. Before you go wow though this was a book called bobby blue hat.
It's around 9p.m. now and mixing up reading times definitely helps, as tomorrow I intend to start reading around 8p.m. This is a good time to start reading as, you can see from this blog I do hardly any work. Back to the book! Cookie out for now.
It's around 9p.m. now and mixing up reading times definitely helps, as tomorrow I intend to start reading around 8p.m. This is a good time to start reading as, you can see from this blog I do hardly any work. Back to the book! Cookie out for now.
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