Oh, how I wish I had such a skill! I'm not sure if I'm in a position to say this (simply because I can't speed-read), but I believe there are times when zipping through a book in leisure is fine. So long as it's not something Faulker-esque, requiring some bit of mind-bending deliberation of the plot, a good book would be at least enjoyable at face value; but even better beyond its aesthetics.

When you're on a flight from Italy to L.A., and you've finished the 2 books you brought on board, it's really a pain!
Seriously, there are times that I've regretted it. I started Harry Potter #7 on Sunday morning, and finished it Monday night. I wasn't meaning to "speed read" it, I just was drawn into the story. Since I felt I missed some things, I went back and re-read from the Hogwarts battle on. I think sometimes I miss subtle details since I'm inadvertently reading so quickly.

There are times when a writer's pacing gives us no other choice. That's fun and cool, the literary equivalent of a movie being called a thrill ride.

If you're skipping great blocks of paragraphs describing how whale oil is distilled from the flensed blubber (oddly, one of my favorite passages of 'Moby Dick'), it seems reasonable. I tried - really, I tried - to read 'The Hunt for Red October', but the technical manual for fighter jets and nuclear submarines just did me in.

One semester in college I had 3 literature classes (13 novels each) and 2 history classes which had 4 supplemental books each on top of the textbooks. So, speed reading was a necessary skill (as were reading glasses)that has stayed with me all these years. But I will slow down if I am enjoying a story and want to savor it!

There's a passage in Garrison Keillor's great new novel "Pontoon" which definitely requires speed-reading; however since PW apparently censors blog comments, I'm not allowed to tell you anything more about it...

I read about 120 pages an hour- training from years of studying the long long long genre of the british novel. I zipped through HP7 in record time- and then had reader's regret, so I zipped through it again. Can't say I regret reading fast. There are too many books to read and just not enough time! ( I am a bit worried about the reading slowing down now that I am wearing reading glasses...darn aging.)
Sorry you were under the weather, Bethanne, but a 19th century invalid is not how I picture you.. you are the card playing wise cracking, rich, beautiful aunt who drops in on the manor house- attired in the latest fashion, of course... with a french maid and too much luggage!

Bookishblondish, you are too kind -- I can't play cards! ;-)

There have been a couple times that I *regretted* my tendecny to power through books; most recently, I had to re-read the end of "On Chesil Beach" and then listened to it on CD in order to savor the language. Kate Atkinson books need to be read carefully, too, in order to follow all the threads and connections.

Of course, even the most vivascious aunt is entitled to the occasional hasty departure upon receiving a cryptic note from her slightly sinister coachman...(Insert ominous rumbles of thunder here)

I do both, it's strange. When reading for work, online, news, that kind of thing I can speed read, and comprehend. When I read what I call chocolate fiction, iow, very, very good fiction or plays, it sometimes it takes me months or weeks to finish as I read very slowly indeed and read some lines multiple times.

bookishblondish - I hear you on the glasses. I blame computers, but it was really my fault, I used to set the monitor resolution very fine to get more screen space, and now I must wear reading glasses for tired eyes. It took me a long time to get used to the idea and I almost stopped reading because of the need for glasses. I wish I had worn reading glasses before I needed them, or any time I went near a computer.

Yes, speed reading can be a curse especially now that I'm combining it with middle age memory loss. "I know I read it but I can't remember one thing about it!"
When I'm really enjoying myself, I limit myself to one or two chapters per sitting.

Rereading. There is a dear problem. In my city Vancouver, the library has been on strike for 10 weeks. Also the garbage collectors. I'm prowling my bookshelves to reread, or to discover books I have forgotten I owned.

Completely - I read too fast for my own good. While this is useful while reviewing and served me well as a student, when I'm reading for fun I HATE it. My husband (who still works at a newspaper, unlike me) now regularly brings me home books more or less because of their weight, hoping they'll feed me for a while. Some of my favorite fatties have included Hilary Mantel's "A Place of Greater Safety" (now a regular re-read) and both Wesley Stace books. However, I read Michel Faber's "The Crimson Petal and the White" largely because of its size and, well, I'm not sure I wanted that one sticking with me. Just too disturbing.