I agree. If I really want to absorb material I have to slow down and consume it. Its not that my eyes don't recognise the words and have it leave and imprint on my mind, it's that my actual comprehension and retention of the knowledge is not at 100%. And if it's not at 100% I feel like I'm missing out on something which could be crucial information within the context of whatever I'm reading. So I'll go back and reread passages if I have to. I guess if I didn't really care how much of the whatever I'm reading I absorbed and was happy to absorb only a fraction of 100% then speed reading would be perfectly fine. Picking up something is better than nothing I guess. But if I'm reading a fictional story, it doesn't make sense to speed read it to me if the goal is to just enjoy it. Go on the sensory, emotional and intellectual journey that fiction can take us on.