Speed reading for IT tech

I read Sydney Sheldon’s biography who is a famous best seller writer in America. When he was young, he was a digest writer for movie producer. The movie producers in Hollywood have to read a ton of books, novels and scripts of plays and others. But they are too busy to read them all. Then they hire digest writers to make them read easier. For example, digest writer sum up 500 pages novel in 5 pages.

This seems very important for IT tech. IT field is changing very quickly, and many new products and solutions are developed, announced and published almost every month. But we have no time to study or find out all of them. If you tried to do so, you couldn't have time with your family, increased stress, finally you could burn out.

You usually need general information, not detail information. The important thing is you learn them quickly. That mean you must have “speed reading” because you can not hire digest writer. And almost all new technologies are published in English at first, so you'd better read them in English.

In my case, I attend an IT conferences in America once a year. I usually buy a book I am interested in at a book corner there, and I try to read it all on the flight to Japan without dictionary. I pick up words very quick rather than read them. This is my way of speed reading.

I hear American college has a speed reading class. I believe Japan need it too.