[PeterBarrett]

If the end goal is to increase your knowledge then reading faster won't necessarily get you there.

You won't process the information faster or retain it any better. Instead, learning to put down a book when it's not good rather than forcing yourself to finish it and taking good notes or writing a book review are better approaches (for the goal of processing and retaining information for longer).

[frereubu]

It took me a long time to learn to put down books that I wasn't enjoying, but it's definitely the best decision. There are so many books in the world, you're not going to run out. I always keep in mind this (possibly apocryphal) quote from Borges - "If a book is tedious to you, don't read it; that book was not written for you."

[pixiemagic]

I find the same thing is true of most media. Of course, give things a chance, but if you're consuming media for pleasure, have already dedicated hours to something in particular, and aren't enjoying it at all, then there's no shame in putting it down.

There are more books, films, programmes, and games out there than you can ever consume in one lifetime; there's no point forcing yourself to keep going with something you're not enjoying. Moving on to something else doesn't mean that it's bad, or even that you might not come back to it and see it differently in the future.

[seaworthiness]

Thank you. From your's and most of the other comments I understand that speed automatically develops with familiarity with the topic and does not need to (and should not) be worked on consciously. We can grow familiar with a topic only by reading more about it from different sources. This is why probably the people who are able to read faster are the ones who read a lot.