Poll

Melanie wrote: "Though it does depend on the book."

I agree. If the book is boring, then it could take 12 hours. If it's a good book, it could take 2 hours. However, if the book was boring, then you wouldn't want to read it nonstop. Plus, sleep and eating must also be taken into account, unless it's a really good book with large print letters. Oh, yeah, print size also comes into account. So does bathroom breaks. I think I'm taking this too seriously.

it depends on the book....

Heli wrote: "I see that many respondents say that their reading speed is dependent on the type of books. I suppose that means they skim through some books without worrying about missing some details or messages..."

I'm interested in this as well. But no one seems to answer. My native language is also not English, but I find if you read enough in English you will pick it up fast. I'm studying at a university and we almost only read academic English books and articles. So you pick it up fast that way. I was always good in English as it is normal in my country (the Netherlands).

But yeah, how do you people read?

I read We were liars last august and I was not able to see the signs. I was just thinking how rude those kids were. Yeah well they were not. Please read that book. It's sooooo good.

How many words per page?? I've seen books with 100 words per page, and books with 1000 words per page... that's totally different story...

Depends on the book but my fastest speed is 60 page/hour. But I cannot read more than 6-7 hours (non-stop) my head feels like exploding.

1 hour, i'm a fast reader

For me it depends on the book and wether or not i have read it. Pour example if i am reading Harry Potter or Hunger Games its around 4 hours per book; a bit longer for the later ones. But when I am reading a new book i need to absorb the story line so its about 30-90 minutes longer.

Wow. I guess i really am a quick reader... I said 1 hour or less... cuz it's true!

LIGHT wrote: "Wow. I guess i really am a quick reader... I said 1 hour or less... cuz it's true!"

how much do you remember?

Like everyone is saying, it depends on the book. If it is a dense book it might take me 4-5 hours, but if it is light YA it takes me more like 2.5 hours.

Julia wrote: "Today I read two 300 page books in a total of 5 hours. But they were really good! I couldn't put them down"
You've made a point here- if they are good books and nothing will distract you from finishing them, then you fly through them.

Grace wrote: "I finished the entire Harry potter series in two weeks with limited time... Is there something wrong with me?"
No, i finished them within a week! I think it's just because they are easy, fun books and hard to put down, so you read them really fast.

Petra wrote: "1 hour, i'm a fast reader"
but how much did you actually absord and understand?

all of it.

It really depends on what I'm reading. And I rarely have the opportunity to do absolutely nothing but sit and read all day anymore.

As others have pointed out, if the language is familiar and does not cause me to rip out a dictionary every other page, then 1-3 hours is a good guess for a 300 page book.

Nerdiac wrote: "As others have pointed out, if the language is familiar and does not cause me to rip out a dictionary every other page, then 1-3 hours is a good guess for a 300 page book."

One doesn't necessarily need a dictionary if there's enough context around the word to make a fair guess.

Callan wrote: "Nerdiac wrote: "As others have pointed out, if the language is familiar and does not cause me to rip out a dictionary every other page, then 1-3 hours is a good guess for a 300 page book."

One doe..."

True. Anyways, I timed myself while reading 'The Maltese Falcon' and it took me just over 4 hours to read the 217 page book. I guess I'm not as fast a reader as I had thought.

if its really interesting i can read it in a couple of hours, but otherwise it takes longer

Maybe the faster readers here should give the slower readers some tips on how to improve speed. I'd love to get some tips.

Desiree wrote: "Maybe the faster readers here should give the slower readers some tips on how to improve speed. I'd love to get some tips."
Set goals- like "I'm going to read 20 pages in 15 minutes."

Desiree wrote: "Maybe the faster readers here should give the slower readers some tips on how to improve speed. I'd love to get some tips."

I always just try to reach the end of a chapter before I stop. I think it's just because I can't stop in the middle of the chapter and feel complete, but it does also help me read a lot faster.

If the chapter is divided into sections separated by a space or line I'll try to use that as a stopping place.
Sometimes I read TOO fast and can't retain much, so I have to slow myself down.

Jeremiah wrote: "I am pretty quick, on my days off I can read a book or two in an 8 hour window."

Howwwwwww? I cant finish 500 pages in 5hours

It really depends on the book. Like, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West this one is about 400 pages according to my memory. I'm still reading it, which took me 20 min a day for a while (I think). Anyway, I like the book but not THAT much. So I guess I won't read it as fast as I will read Harry Potter :)

It actually depends on the kind of book. It would take me forever to read 300 pages of a chemistry book!

It would depend on the book.

10+ years is most accurate for me.

I read about 100 pages an hour unless it's an informative text such as a science or philosophy book, and then it could take days while I look up sources and extra information to study. If it's a poetry book it may take me an hour to read a single poem because I like to think through the layers.

It really depends on the book!

Reading fast 3-4 hours, if I was reading slower to savour it around 6 hours. But agree with others, it depends on the book.

If i were to read at my usual pace, without stopping, it would take me about 5 hours. It's been a while since a book so caught my interest that I couldn't stop. I miss the feeling...

it depends on the book

I read mostly social science/theory and do about 50pgs at one sitting, I did a 550 page book w/ notes in about a week reading about 45 mins-1 hour total a day.

Probably about 3-6 hours, but it really does depends on the book and it's font size. If I really like a book's story, I can devour it faster compared to a book that interests me mildly. Also, books that are 300 pages long and bigger font sizes are quicker to read because the letters take up more space. The ones with smaller font sizes take longer seeing as there are more words to read per page.

Depending on the book and author.

It completely depends on the book and the language. I tend to find myself absorbing a lot of what I read, processing and daydreaming which adds to the time spent reading (4-12 hours or longer). I like to savor the material rather than simply reading to complete. If it were simply reading for the sake of getting through it then probably 2-4 hours.

6-9 hours for me. It takes me about 2 min on a page.

It depends on how dense or confusing/have to read everything the book is!!

I read an average of 20 pages per hour so it would take me 15 hours. I am quite slow compared to everyone else.

I find using strategic/inspectional reading helps me read a 300 page book in 2 hours without speed reading.
http://www.growingstartup.com/the-met...

Actually a week or more... >_>

I like to read so it will only take me an hour and a half or less depending on the book. I timed myself and it took me four hours to read eight hundred pages so to read two hundred it takes me an hour.

Depends on the book but I just finished one in 6 hours. Granted I did fall asleep and then I took some breaks plus I was having a conversation through text messages so maybe without all of that I would take even less time.

Nowadays I use audiobooks to accompany me while reading. I absolutely love that. I read so much more now. I can concentrate better. I can read a 300 page book in a few hours now and can even do two on one day.

I had given up on reading kinda because i thought i was dumb as it takes me up to 3 months to complete a book :(.or even 6.It took me 3 months to read Norwegian wood .I have adhd and i can't concentrate for very long,At most i feel like i can only read up to 15 pages a day, 20 if i'm feeling particularly focussef.But after telling my friends who read all the time i was suprised to hear that it can also take them months to read a book too.I'm very hard on myself.Last few books i've tried to read i didn't finish.Not because i didn't like them, but because i couldn`t focus.I do like audiobooks but i årefer reading as i fewl like audiobooks take away some of the imagination for me.I love stories but my adhd means i sadly hate the act of reading :(. if anyone knows any tips on reading with ADHD , i would love to know . :) thanks.

I have a bad concentraties too and I use audiobooks to read along with the book. That way I can stay focused. I read a lot more this way. I used to secretly hate reading too, but this year I already read more half february than I read the whole year last year. I looove audiobooks.

Ellese wrote: "I can't read nonstop...but I do read for long periods of time...I finished the host reading it for several hours over 2 days and that is like...yeah."

I did the EXACT same thing with the EXACT same book.

I'm right around the 3-hour mark for non-stop reading, so right on the cusp of two options.

It does depend on the type of reading. I gave my response based on a simple fiction book. I can read about 100 pages in an hour if it is a low content sort of book, about 50 pages if its a deep content fiction book. If it's a text book, it can take me several hours just to read 10 pages.