[daly]

Measure your reading rate in pages/hour over a year. I average 33 pages per hour. My wife reads faster than I do, although the only measure is that she completes the same books faster (she has never tried measuring). As for understanding, I average 3 books on any given subject, 5 on some. The first book is really just an introduction to the subject (regardless of whether that is the target audience). The second book is much clearer because the terms are clear and the "goal" of formulas make sense. By the third book I can usually manipulate the ideas well. These days I usually also watch several youtube videos related to the subject. When using the material I often revisit certain books. I have several books that have chapters falling out from overuse, so "finishing a book" is not a way to think about it, more like "paging out to backing store" so I can retrieve it when I need it.