How fast do you read?

[kes7]

I'm fast. I don't know how fast; I've never actually timed myself, but most medium length novels take me an hour or two to read, and I read Atlas Shrugged cover-to-cover in a day. That's over a thousand pages. It was a long day, but I did it.

It kind of takes some of the enjoyment out of a good read, honestly. It's over too quickly and I'm left wanting more.

 

[seigezunt]

More importantly, do you read in the crapper? I used to only read my Trek books in the bathroom. Until I pick up a book by David George III, and I was afraid I might get colon trouble.

 

[C.E. Evans]

For me, how fast I read depends on just how much time I have sitting around doing nothing. I have far less of that now than I did earlier, so most Trek books I can probably finish in about five or six days. In the past, I had quickly polished off many good-sized novels mostly while languishing in various waiting rooms...

 

[Joel_Kirk]

If I like the book, and I don't have anything immediate to do, it usually takes me about two to three days to finish a book...maybe earlier or less, depending on the length. Otherwise, I toss the book in the donation bin--if I own the book--or return it to the library, if I borrowed it.

I find that I'm really picky on books, so I'm now borrowing them from the library rather than buying them. A couple of books I've bought on a whim years ago, and just now getting to read....

 

[Rosalind]

I go through 40-70 pages an hour, so it takes me an afternoon + evening to finish one modern day Trek book. but I rarely have that sort of time any more, so usually it takes me a few weeks to finish one of them because I only read when I'm on the train, and that only happens once or twice a week.

for scientific papers, where I have to read and think about every single sentence, compare results, and follow diagrams and plots, I can be as slow as 10 pages/hour.

I consider that fast. I remember some 6 page papers taking me several hours to go through.

6 books at once?! Wow, I don't think I could read that many at once and keep up with all the plots.

I have multiple books going at once too. Right now I've got about 5 books that I'm reading. I find I can easily pick up the plot of a book even if I left it for weeks.

 

[T'Ressa Dax]

It varies, depending on a lot of factors. But my average is about 30 pages an hour and I tend to get tired after about 3 hours. Most Trek books take about 5 days, the big ones up to 2 weeks especially if the fot size or type used is making my eyes tired faster than usual.

 

[AdmiralSteven]

For me, how fast I read depends on just how much time I have sitting around doing nothing. I have far less of that now than I did earlier, so most Trek books I can probably finish in about five or six days. In the past, I had quickly polished off many good-sized novels mostly while languishing in various waiting rooms...

I like the way you wrote that.

 

[Radio Cicero Rockettes]

I usually read narratives at a speed of roughly 100,000 words per hour. Technical material and information I need to cross-reference is read rather slower.

100,000 words PER HOUR ? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that roughly 28 words per second? Is that even humanly possible? Maybe 10,000 per hour, but 100,000 is just insane! You should contact the people over at Guiness World Records. That has to be some kind of speed reading record...

28 per second sounded high, so I just tested my speed with a handy novel. I tried to read as if I weren't being timed, but I think I by turns rushed and intentionally slowed my reading, nonetheless. The average speed I calculated (after several five-minute trials and laborious counting) was 30 words per second.

Also, curious, I checked the record. It currently stands at roughly 130,000 words per hour. Thus, my usual reading speed is not freakishly fast.

 

[Thrawn]

So, that's like each Destiny book in an hour. I take about three to four times that, so that seems pretty fast to me!

 

[Cap'n Crunch]

For an average size Trek novel, it takes me about a week, sometimes a little less. Occasionally, I'll take about two weeks for longer novels (I'm looking at you David R. George III). I was reading a little faster until a few months ago, then I just slowed down a bit for some reason (don't know why).

 

[JD]

On average it takes me about 2 weeks to get through a 300-500 page book, but since I usually read two or three books at one time you need to mutiply it by that number. I'm actually reading six books right now ( I didn't do it on purpose, I just kept finding books I wanted to read) so I've been on the same books for a while. I'm almost done with three of them, and I've decided that once I'm done with them, I'm never going to read more than three at once because this is taking me way to long to get through the books.

6 books at once?! Wow, I don't think I could read that many at once and keep up with all the plots.

The most books I've read in the shortest amount of time was 6 books in a month and a half. I was reading for the 2 hours on the train each day, giving up my morning paper, plus my hour lunch.

Yeah, it actually is to many for me to. Which is why I've decided that from now I'm not gonna read more than 2 or 3.

 

[Kopernikus]

As with everything else in life, that changes every day. On a good day, with a nice book I read roughly one page per minute in German, in English it's usually a bit slower, more like 40 to 50 pages per hour. But of course, if the story fascinates me, that speed can be quite variable. For example yesterday, I read about 150 pages of Titans Synthesis in about two hours.

 

[Technobuilder]

when it comes to novels i read very slowly, i like to play it out in my imagination as i read.

^Truth!

I think one of the reasons I like to read as much as I do is that when I'm reading... I'm watching a movie unfold in my head.

I set the scene, visualizing the room, the characters appearances and how their interactions... it's fun.

On average it takes me about 2 weeks to get through a 300-500 page book, but since I usually read two or three books at one time you need to mutiply it by that number. I'm actually reading six books right now ( I didn't do it on purpose, I just kept finding books I wanted to read) so I've been on the same books for a while. I'm almost done with three of them, and I've decided that once I'm done with them, I'm never going to read more than three at once because this is taking me way to long to get through the books.

6 books at once?! Wow, I don't think I could read that many at once and keep up with all the plots.

The most books I've read in the shortest amount of time was 6 books in a month and a half. I was reading for the 2 hours on the train each day, giving up my morning paper, plus my hour lunch.

Yeah, it actually is to many for me to. Which is why I've decided that from now I'm not gonna read more than 2 or 3.

Yeah. I accidentally found myself reading 3 books simultaneously when I'd started a rereading of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files: Turn Coat, then my amazon order shipped and I got David Weber's Torch of Freedom and then Jim Butcher's First Lord's Fury arrived a week later.

Since the first was a reread it took lowest priority, and then I knocked out FLF before going back to ToF.
There might also have been a Trek book in there somewhere.

Not going to do that again.

 

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

I envy those that can sit for many hours and read without stopping. A gift that must be.

Well, it's a gift and a curse, really. Yes, sometimes it's useful to be able to rapidly wade through a book, but my problem is that I can't afford to keep myself in new literature. I end up having read everything in the house a couple of times. It's also a nightmare when it comes to the various Star Trek series, since I chew up a book in a day or two, then it's months or years until the next installment.

For those of us like me, I recommend (again) the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien. That's my standby; at 7000+ pages, by the time I finish it, I'm just about ready to start it again - there's too much to remember all at once, so I can still discover new things . I've been working my way slowly through the 20.5 book series for the second time. I'm just about done.

So, counting the latest O'Brien book, I've been reading 4 novels, including Synthesis, Romulan War, and Unworthy (a recent birthday trifecta from my bro). I think I might start through on the Harry Potter series next. It's been a while.

 

[kes7]

I envy those that can sit for many hours and read without stopping. A gift that must be.

Well, it's a gift and a curse, really. Yes, sometimes it's useful to be able to rapidly wade through a book, but my problem is that I can't afford to keep myself in new literature. I end up having read everything in the house a couple of times. It's also a nightmare when it comes to the various Star Trek series, since I chew up a book in a day or two, then it's months or years until the next installment.

Yes, this. Plus, in addition to reading very quickly, I also have the "problem" of an insanely good memory for the written word, so it's not like I can read a book a second time and get anything new out of it. Once it's read, it's read. I'm done. Thank God for the library!

 

[Nardpuncher]

^^ You said you read "Atlas Shrugged" in a day! Wow! Did you sleep that day? If you gave me a day to read that ( I read it about 15 years ago) I need the whole 24 hours and I'd probably be going crazy.
I mean, I'd even get bored enough of the story that I'd think I'd put it down till tomorrow.

 

[kes7]

^^^I think it took me about ten hours. So, a little over one hundred pages an hour. That sounds about right for me. I took breaks to eat and pee and stuff. I was on pregnancy bedrest at the time and needing something to do.

 

[Nardpuncher]

^^^I think it took me about ten hours. So, a little over one hundred pages an hour. That sounds about right for me. I took breaks to eat and pee and stuff. I was on pregnancy bedrest at the time and needing something to do.

OMG because most editions of Atlas Shrugged are really small type!
Hopefully you didn't rest that big book on baby's head!

 

[kes7]

^^^ *facepalm* Maybe that explains what's wrong with him!

(Nah, he's great. He's five now. He's weird, but he comes by that honestly as he has a very odd mother. )

 

[lstyer]

How fast do you read?

Not very. On average probably somewhere between one and two minutes per page. As I read longer I get faster unless I'm tired, which slows me down. As I read more often for a while, I speed up a bit, too. But judging from the speed at which folks on this board and others seem to read, I'm on the slower end.