Originally published in 1982. This book is concerned with the new kinds of demands on our reading ability made by the work we undertake for A-level, or in college, or at university, or indeed at work. It is not a speed reading book, or a reading skills book. Anyone with a lot of reading to get through may not want to read all of it quickly. Some things can be skimmed through; others take a lot of reading. This book helps readers discriminate and gives techniques to assume responsibility for their own reading.

The book takes the form of a reading workbook, and consists of a number of exercises together with an interleaving commentary, along with suggestions for further work. It can be used by the individual student, by students in groups or with a teacher, and as a sourcebook for courses in study skills.