Slow Reader or Fast?

[Tony]

I consider myself a fast reader. I managed to read War and Peace in a month (It was only three words. Think about it...), and The Count of Monte Cristo in five weeks. Classics are a little slower to read, I find.

I can usually finish a 80k-100k book inside a week. Gotta love the Kindle for that; my 'bookshelf' is now never empty of new books.

I'm limping along with Bleak House at the minute - time is becoming more precious, and I'm only managing to read 30 minutes or 40 minutes at a time...and I have my own books to write and promote as well! I also read two YA books (The last Artemis Fowl and BZRK) while I was working my way through BH, and I finished those two off in a few days.

I think the fastest I ever read a book was a Dean Koontz, probably 80k-100k, in a weekend.

[Yzabel]

It depends on the book. I can breeze through a YA book in a day, but of course, academic books take me much more time (especially if I'm taking notes—the way I've been doing with one specific book since August, argh... it's quite a daunting read).

[Suzannah]

It typically doesn't take me long to finish a book that captures my interest. But as far as reading fast, as in how many words per minute, I typically like to take my time. I never skim. If I'm going to read a book, I want to literally read every word. I want to grasp every scene, every conversation, etc. Kind of savor it, you know?

[Jacqueline]

It takes me about 1 day to read a 400 page book. I tend to read fast but I learned that way(Don't know how). I read whenever I can which is usually about 4 hours after school and 2 before.

[[deleted user]]

Slow but I don't really mind, I can enjoy it more that
way then just skimming. I can read two small books a week but that is how fast it goes.

[An]

I'm a fast reader.

[w :)]

I like to consider myself pretty fast (225 books 2012) but then I see how fast others are (my friend read 500) and I'm like yowch!

[Grace]

Depends. I read really fast. I got up to somewhere around five books a day, every day a while before.

[Alex]

Super fast. Can read about 600 pages in a day.

[Ikao]

I'm slow one. I spend 5 hours for about 200-300 pages.

[Shahbaz]

I dunno my wife thinks im a fast reader, but I say just above average. I do a book a night. Sometimes I dont finish until the next night so maybe 4-5 books a week

[Mehak]

I am a fast reader ... sometimes way way too fast so have to slow down then but i can easily finish 13-14 books min in one month... sooo a more 2 day per book of 500 pg ratio =D

[Robert]

I'm a very slow reader. If I finish a book in less than a month I'm doing well.

[Christen]

I actually read fastand I don't scan read. I don't like the skimming and scanning because I don't want to miss a single detail when reading. I can pretty much finish a book in one day but it also depends if the book is interesting too. I have always read this way and it just natural to me.

[Santana]

I am a very fast reader and have always been that way I can read a 600 page book in a day and that includes working and everything else on my schedule but sometimes I like to take days to read so its more enjoyable and I dont skim every word is important for details and thats what makes the book interesting

[Pip]

My reading habits really depend on the time of year. Fall-Spring I usually read pretty slow due to school (it is rare that I get through more than 4 books between that time), but during the Summer I can read a book a day (if the book is interesting enough).

[Sasha]

Valeria wrote: "It depends if its a good book if it's a good book I'll read rite through it.but if it's boring I read slow."

I'm the same way! Because of this I can actually judge how much I liked a book by how fast I read it XD

[Sophie]

It depends on if I find the book interesting or not but I'm a relatively slow reader.

[MaryAnn]

I read pretty quickly and I'll admit to struggling with some challenges that require reading a chapter/week. If I like the book I want to keep going! ;)

[Georgia]

Ikao wrote: "I'm slow one. I spend 5 hours for about 200-300 pages."

thank god, i thought i was the only one ! :P

[Amy (DemonKittie)]

I am fairly fast. I can read 3 books of about 200-300 pages long in about 16 hours.

[Tracy]

For me it depends on the book. If I just like it I read at a slower pace but if I am really getting into it I can read about 300 pages in a day.

[Cassandra]

Totally depends on the book, some can take me to or three weeks if its a bit slow or particularly challenging. Other books that are less challenging or really engaging can take me 1-3 days. So it's very subjective for me :)

[Aliyah]

moderately fast, I can finish a 300 page book in 2 days, but I take roughly 1-2 weeks with classics. I don't know my speed when it comes to long books about 800-1000 pages.

[Erin]

Depends if I keep getting interrupted! lol. Then I have to take time out to threaten the person interrupting my reading time, hehehe.

[Sam]

I'm a bit of a slow reader, it takes me awhile to read a book. On average it take me a week or longer to read them. I think the quickest I've read a book was 2 days and that was a very very rare event.

[Brie]

Depends. I can not read a true story that is over 300 pages in a week but I can read 300 fictional in a few hours.

[Tasha]

I'm a pretty fast reader. I read between 5-20 books a week... But I frequently don't remember much about them unless I start to reread, read another in the series, or read the blurb and my review. Prior to using Goodreads and reading ebooks my husband kept track of what I read and whether I liked it.

Books are an escape for me so while reading I'm totally in that world but as soon as I put it down and real life intrudes poof gone.

[Ralica]

Normally I prefer to read slow but once I get into the story I just go no breaks :) I like to reread books though especially the one's that I really liked or depending on my mood.
As to long books I just read the first on last week Kushiel's Dart
and I must say I did better than I though although I would not try the next one in the series immediately (I thought that only Russian authors were man of many words:) )

but at the end does speed matter? I would like to read it not only for the story but also to be able to recall the books and discuss with friends when the topic come up. I dont know. To me the question is what is the purpose of the books?

[Elsa]

Good grief, there are some really really fast readers and compared to most I'am a slow reader. I can read about 3-4 pags a minute about 180 pages an hour 720 pgs in 4 hours but i usually don't have that much time to read. If I'm lucky I get to read about 2 hours a day. That's probably why it takes me forever to finish a book. Working seven days a week and four out of seven doing double shift sucks!

[Holly]

I think, for me, it depends on what type of book it is, and whether it is keeping my interest or not.
Like, for example, a novel and a manga/graphic-novel could both be interesting, and I would surely finish the graphic novel first. Graphic novels, even when at the same amount of pages, tend to have less words. And, I do tend to like mangas/GNs better, because they show me what is going on, instead of just telling me.
Also, I think we tend to read slower as we get older, but I still try to read an average of a-book-a-day regardless.

[Sydney]

I'm a very fast reader. Sometimes I wonder if I miss somethings because of it.

[Brandy]

I just took about 10 different random reading speed tests I found online and I read from 250-300 words per minute which is considered average but my comprehension was above 80% which is above average.

And now I want to take a speed reading course to improve it all!

[Jennifer]

Depends on the book actually. I read the ones I like really fast, like I consume them. If they start off boring its hard for me to stay focused.

[Trent]

Sometime I read fast , and sometimes I read slow. I can read a book in a day, but sometimes, for some odd reason I take me up to seven days to read some books .

[T.A.]

I'm a really fast reader. When it was younger it was worst and I would go through multiple books in a day. If I didn't have a book in my hand something was seriously wrong. I'm a lot better about it now. I don't have to read everyday but when I do I still finish a book in less than a day.

[Lydia]

fast reader. I get it from my dad. Used to make the librarian laugh when I was younger as we'd both be taking out 12 books each for the fortnight. My consumption of books has decreased thanks to university work. I'm now taking 2 to 3 days on average to finish a book as I have to commit so much time to my degree/socializing. Hopefully I'll speed up again during the break!

[Erin]

I'm fast if the book is good. If it's boring, I'll keep putting it off and reading a chapter at a time...

[Emily]

some books really capture me, and then i can read a 600-pages book in two days. but some books take more time than others, depending on how appealing i find them.

[femme fatale]

I don't know to be honest! when I like a book, I like to enjoy every words I read, but then maybe it makes me a fast reader, because I want to read more as each chapter in the book interest me! If I like a book I can read it less than 5 hours! :D so yeah..

conclusion: I am a fast reader XD

[Elsa]

Brandy wrote: "I just took about 10 different random reading speed tests I found online and I read from 250-300 words per minute which is considered average but my comprehension was above 80% which is above avera..."

Just took one of those test Brandy was taking about and I tested at 365 words per minute. Don't know whether that's slow, med or fast? Any ideas guys

[Iris]

It would all depend. I've been known to read a full length book in a day, but I've also been known to struggle my way through a novella. It all depends on whether the book captures my attention and keeps it past the first few pages.

[Brandy]

Elsa wrote: "Brandy wrote: "I just took about 10 different random reading speed tests I found online and I read from 250-300 words per minute which is considered average but my comprehension was above 80% which..."

Per the websites that is above average! So I'd say that equates to fast. :)

[Jenny]

I use to consider myself a fast reader. A 300 page book in a day. Anything with more would be a few days. Some smaller page number books, a couple in a day. Now it'll take a couple days to finish a book unless it really grabs my attention. Then I could finish it right away. Just to much of the real world intruding on my favorite past time.

[Yangsze]

What a great post! I didn't know that there were online reading tests for speed, so of course I rushed off to try them! I agree with what previous posters have said -- if a book is gripping, I'll read faster. If it doesn't catch my attention then it's very slooooow.

[Raven]

I'm a slow reader I can read up to 250 pages in a day, any more then that and I get eye strain. I'm going to look for reading speed tests online.

[Stan]

I used to be a very fast reader, but as I've aged, I've slowed down. Also, when I'm really into writing, I read a lot less.

[Erin]

Stan wrote: "I used to be a very fast reader, but as I've aged, I've slowed down. Also, when I'm really into writing, I read a lot less."

Funny how that happens! I'm the same way. I sort of have to force myself to take the time to read. But of course, once I 'force' myself I love it, haha.

[Liv]

Well, I guess I could be considered a fast reader. But, sometimes I get that one book that just seems to drag on forever, and it's like "Why am I reading this?", this usually results in me giving up on the book for a while and coming back to it with a clear mind. I usually try and read every other day, when I can. So I can usually read around 300 pages a day.

[J.L.]

I used to be a fast reader before my stroke and now I consider myself a slower reader. I used to consume several thousand words within an hour, reading a 100K book in days, but now I struggle with 100K in weeks.