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For me it boils down to a few different factors.
1. Amount of free time. I usually only get to read when I'm on the train commuting back and forth to work, an hour and a half each way. I don't read as much on the morning commute as I used to. Since my first child was born, at 5:00am I'm usually a zombie. I just can't stay awake long enough to read anything until I get to work and have some coffee. The afternoon ride home, I read the entire time. This is my time to forget everything at work that ticked me off and gives me enough time to unwind and prepare for everything I need to do once I get home. At home there are too many distractions, too much stuff to do and I just don't have enough time to sit down and read except early morning on the weekends, and that's usually only during the summer. 6am on the front porch with a book and a cup of coffee as the sun comes up is pretty nice.
2. Content. While it only take me a few days to read a Tarzan novel, it has taken me months to even get half way through The Federalist Papers. Being able to comprehend what your are reading takes different amounts of energy and time depending on content.
3. Ease of reading. Let's face it, some books aren't at the same level when it comes to reading. Dean Koontz, which I considered to be the literary version of crack cocaine at one time, is much easier to read than, let's say...Jules Verne. The styles are totally different and Koontz doesn't use as many "big words".
4. Style. Different authors have different styles to their writing. If it's a book that I'm really into, it stops being a book and unfolds as a movie in my mind. These are usually the books that I have read more than one time. I'm not a big Stephen King fan. It takes me a lot longer to slug through one of his books than it does for other authors.
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