Kindle PW Time to Read discrepancy

Katsunami · 02-08-2013, 04:59 PM

This is quite strange. I've measured "Time to read" a few times, and it is spot on most of the time, being off by less than 2 minutes when measuring chapters.

Now I've spotted some strange stuff. I've put three new books onto the Kindle. Page numbers are determined by the device, I assume.

Book 1: 1375 pages, Time to read: 41 hours, 25 minutes
Book 2: 1395 pages, Time to read: 27 hours, 10 minutes
Book 3: 1681 pages, Time to read: 15 hours, 18 minutes.

I have all three books as hardbacks as well and their page counts are 929 pages, 979 pages, and 1121 pages, by the way, so it is indeed the case that the first two are similar, and the third is much longer. (They have similar print with regard to size and spacing.)

Whaddayknow. The longer the books become, the less time it costs to read them. How can there be a 14 hours difference between two books of equal length? Of course there can be, if one is more difficult than the other, but the Kindle will not be able to determine this.

pidgeon92 · 02-08-2013, 05:09 PM

Perhaps check locations vs. pages. They might be more accurate in terms of "time to read."

jersysman · 02-08-2013, 05:18 PM

Any maps in either of the books?

Katsunami · 02-08-2013, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Perhaps check locations vs. pages. They might be more accurate in terms of "time to read."

Book 1 Locations: 18.444
Book 2 Locations: 23.257
Book 3 Locations: 22.125

Another strange result. How can book 3 have less locations when it has 300 more pages? Also, the difference in number of locations is not that big. Book 2 is only 5% longer than Book 3, but costs nearly twice as much time according to Time To Read.

Heck, I think I'll reset the function using ";ReadingTimeReset". (Why did I need to find that on the internet? It seems to not be documented anywhere FAIK.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jersysman

Any maps in either of the books?

Nope, not in this one, but there was a map in the previous one. What difference would that make?

AnemicOak · 02-08-2013, 05:30 PM

Kindle page numbers are related to a specific print edition of a book, that why not all books have page numbers. A hard cover or trade paperback will often have a much different page count than a mass market paperback of the same book, not to mention some books have larger fonts than others or different margins. Lots of things can come into play when talking about a page in print, which will then reflect in the Kindle edition as well due to how page numbers are setup on Kindle.

Katsunami · 02-08-2013, 06:06 PM

I understand, but there are two things at play here:

1. I don't know where the Kindle gets the page numbers for non-Amazon books. These are converted EPUBs. If I remember correctly, Calibre has an estimation function for pages; so maybe Calibre puts them in.

2. I have read all three books as hardbacks. There is NO way I would need almost 40 hours for the first (much less), and NO way I needed only 15 hours for the third. These books are all in the same ballpark with regard to reading time. I know from experience.

VaultBoy · 02-08-2013, 06:52 PM

Weird.

Maybe you can use those numbers in a "study" that shows using ereaders makes you a faster reader.

Blossom · 02-08-2013, 09:41 PM

If the chapter navigation isn't made correctly on the book the Time to Read will be off. It's the same navigation used to jump chapters on the K3, K4 and KT.

Katsunami · 02-09-2013, 05:46 AM

Chapters seem to be correct. Checked it with Sigil.

I've reset the Time To Read. It quickly stabilized, indicating a speed of around 37 paged per hour. The measured time was accurate. After checking the three books above again, times were all over the place; it now indicated 4h for the first book, and around 40 and 13 for the second and third.

Maybe the kindle needs some time to stabilize with each book.

HarryT · 02-09-2013, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Maybe the kindle needs some time to stabilize with each book.

Yes, it does. Reading time won't mean anything until you actually start reading the book.

Katsunami · 02-09-2013, 07:26 AM

Oh, OK. So it's not the case that the Kindle just determines the speed you read at and then carries it over from book to book, only slightly adjusting. It starts (partially?) over with each new book, apparantly.

02-08-2013, 04:59 PM	#1
Katsunami Guru Posts: 723 Karma: 5188726 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Kindle PW Time to Read discrepancy This is quite strange. I've measured "Time to read" a few times, and it is spot on most of the time, being off by less than 2 minutes when measuring chapters. Now I've spotted some strange stuff. I've put three new books onto the Kindle. Page numbers are determined by the device, I assume. Book 1: 1375 pages, Time to read: 41 hours, 25 minutes Book 2: 1395 pages, Time to read: 27 hours, 10 minutes Book 3: 1681 pages, Time to read: 15 hours, 18 minutes. I have all three books as hardbacks as well and their page counts are 929 pages, 979 pages, and 1121 pages, by the way, so it is indeed the case that the first two are similar, and the third is much longer. (They have similar print with regard to size and spacing.) Whaddayknow. The longer the books become, the less time it costs to read them. How can there be a 14 hours difference between two books of equal length? Of course there can be, if one is more difficult than the other, but the Kindle will not be able to determine this. Last edited by Katsunami; 02-08-2013 at 05:25 PM.

02-08-2013, 05:18 PM	#3
jersysman Guru Posts: 899 Karma: 1707478 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Device: Nook Color, Sony PRS-T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW	Any maps in either of the books? __________________

02-08-2013, 05:30 PM	#5
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 7,393 Karma: 18771935 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: AuraHD, Nook HD+, Kindle 2,3,T , Opus, TF101, Nexus7, iPT, iPhone5	Kindle page numbers are related to a specific print edition of a book, that why not all books have page numbers. A hard cover or trade paperback will often have a much different page count than a mass market paperback of the same book, not to mention some books have larger fonts than others or different margins. Lots of things can come into play when talking about a page in print, which will then reflect in the Kindle edition as well due to how page numbers are setup on Kindle. __________________ ~Brian "The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell together, as quickly as possible." — Mark Twain

02-08-2013, 06:52 PM	#7
VaultBoy Addict Posts: 206 Karma: 1683142 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: Kindle of many shapes, PIPBoy 3000	Weird. Maybe you can use those numbers in a "study" that shows using ereaders makes you a faster reader. __________________ Revolutionizing safety for an uncertain future.

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02-08-2013, 05:09 PM	#2
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 1,885 Karma: 3627630 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle 2, Kindle PW, Kindle DXG, Sony 950, Boox M90, Kobo Aura	Perhaps check locations vs. pages. They might be more accurate in terms of "time to read."

02-08-2013, 06:06 PM	#6
Katsunami Guru Posts: 723 Karma: 5188726 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I understand, but there are two things at play here: 1. I don't know where the Kindle gets the page numbers for non-Amazon books. These are converted EPUBs. If I remember correctly, Calibre has an estimation function for pages; so maybe Calibre puts them in. 2. I have read all three books as hardbacks. There is NO way I would need almost 40 hours for the first (much less), and NO way I needed only 15 hours for the third. These books are all in the same ballpark with regard to reading time. I know from experience.

02-08-2013, 09:41 PM	#8
Blossom Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,759 Karma: 4481760 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Eastern TN Device: PW/K4B/K4S/K3+3G KFire/SGP 5.0/LG Vortex	If the chapter navigation isn't made correctly on the book the Time to Read will be off. It's the same navigation used to jump chapters on the K3, K4 and KT.

02-09-2013, 05:46 AM	#9
Katsunami Guru Posts: 723 Karma: 5188726 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Chapters seem to be correct. Checked it with Sigil. I've reset the Time To Read. It quickly stabilized, indicating a speed of around 37 paged per hour. The measured time was accurate. After checking the three books above again, times were all over the place; it now indicated 4h for the first book, and around 40 and 13 for the second and third. Maybe the kindle needs some time to stabilize with each book.

02-09-2013, 07:26 AM	#11
Katsunami Guru Posts: 723 Karma: 5188726 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Oh, OK. So it's not the case that the Kindle just determines the speed you read at and then carries it over from book to book, only slightly adjusting. It starts (partially?) over with each new book, apparantly.

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