FastReader

A neat advantage is that the application doesn’t even need to be installed on your computer to properly function, which means you can keep it along with several texts or your entire book collection to use on the go. Moreover, the PC you use it on doesn’t get affected in any way, because registries are not a dependency.

All the application has to offer is found in a classic window frame, with a large preview area which is the place you read from, a field to paste in the text of interest, and several related controls. Some info fields help you figure out how many words per second you can read, with another value for reading speed in seconds.

FastReader comes with a sample text bundled inside so you can get the hang of what it wants to accomplish. However, you can load different texts either from the clipboard or importing TXT files. Pressing start makes the preview area show one word at a time, depending on the value shown on the slider, which you get to configure.

There are 18 different levels of speed, but it’s almost impossible to handle at the highest, there’s the possibility to pause if you want to take a break, or stop completely. In case you want to go back, you can use the progress slider that shows the percentage value for overall progress.

Reading is a skill which requires practice like any other activity if it needs to be mastered. Needless to say that continuously reading solves this problem, and it’s even more efficient when done with FastReader. Although it only supports a disappointing amount of formats, it’s a straightforward utility, with no elements to distract, but enough features to help.