How fast do you read?

[kyrilson]

As others have said, there's no "right" reading speed. Whatever speed you read at is the best for you. I suspect I'm a pretty slow reader. I average about a book every 5 days or so. Normal sized novels, around 400-500 pages (at least I think that's about a normal sized novel?). Plenty here probably read 2 or 3 a week, and there are others that might take a couple weeks to read one. Then there are binge readers like my wife, she'll go weeks without reading and then go through 10 books in two weeks! There's no right or wrong way to do it.

[Paperbackstash]

I read a lot, but don't consider myself a speed reader. I'm likely a bit faster than average.

[4691mls]

If you're talking about how many pages or books you read in a week (as opposed to a smaller timeframe like words per minute) then there's a lot more involved than reading speed - there's also whatever else is going on in your life. Are you retired? Working part time? Working full time? Have a lot of family responsibilities or other activities? All of that is going to affect how many pages you can read in a week.

[graycyn]

I read at different speeds, depending on the book. A straight story, with minimal description and where the writer is engaging me primarily by story line as opposed to language use, will tend to get read more quickly. (MUST FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!)

A book where the author is using language in a most delightful manner may take me longer, as I will be re-reading and savoring especially good sentences or phrases.

I don't think reading speed matters much, the only thing it affects is how many books you may get to enjoy over your lifetime. And as long as you enjoy and are engaged by each book you read, does it matter how many total? I don't think so.

My husband and I are on completely different poles regarding our read speed.

He devotes more of his waking hours to things like watching sports or YouTube videos or playing video games. He usually indulges in reading only before falling asleep, but every night, he's got that nose in his Kindle! He might finish a book in several weeks to a month or more, depending on what he's reading.

I read as often as I can. Before sleep, sometimes after waking, while eating meals, while waiting in line, and sometimes I just lay down to spend an hour or three reading. I can go through anywhere between 1-4 books weekly, because I don't watch TV. I just get more enjoyment out of reading so that's where I choose to spend my time.

[artekxp]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Speed reading is a skill, and requires focused practice. And the reason for wanting to read faster will vary depending on person and whatever their interests or requirements are: why do you want/need to read faster?

It's not a competition, I know. I only have limited time for reading and there are so many good books I have in the TO-READ list that I would like to read faster if possible.

I do enjoy my books tremendously even though I might read slowly and am not getting pressure to read faster. Just wanted to know what other people think.

Thank you for all the responses!

[Victoria]

I’m quite a slow reader of fiction too. I reread passages that I’ve just read, and have a whole choir of voices and faces in my mind as I read. I spent so much time under pressure at work, and had such a backlog of reading, that I love being able to just savour the words now.

[gmw]

My reading speed varies greatly depending on many factors including the type of book, how much sleep I've had, how much time I have for reading (I'm slower when reading in small blocks of time), how much work I have preying on my mind ... probably even the weather, although I don't actually know about that. As a result I might read a 300 page (give or take) book in a day, or it might take me two weeks.

[Deskisamess]

Depends on the book, and the content. I can't read a book like Jane Eyre fast, the wording and sentence structure needs more attention than a 220 page piece of lite fiction that was written by a 21st century "book-a-month" author.

[spacepope]

Depends on my mood. I've consumed a 700 page book in 2 days or 2 weeks. Life also easily gets in the way of things. If I'm having a hard time dealing with stress or emotions I might dive into reading more.

[theducks]

Way back in the dark ages, when I was in High School, we were given a Reading test (fiction).
I scored 800WPM and 80% comprehension. The instructor was disbelieving and made me take a second one.
Same results: Twice as fast as the next fastest classmate.

It was not unusual for me to finish a 60's era paperback (100-250 pages and only 75cents) in a sitting (after work). More modern books (more pages and a LOT more $) now take me 2-3 sittings.

[Deskisamess]

I do remember burning through the SRA's comprehension booklets, and being finished with all the levels well before the rest of the class. I don't remember what grade, 3rd or 4th? The teacher gave me real books to read while the rest of the class did the SRA stuff.

[tomsem]

So what is your fastest reading time for the epic novel Dick and Jane: Go, Go, Go?

[Lemurion]

I do much of my reading on nights when I have insomnia, and sometimes go through two or even three 300-400 page novels over a period of perhaps four to five hours in a single night.

[StephenQueen]

Not sure how much pages per hour, but what really amazes me is that in the past I couldn't read large books, it was an eternity. casually, I tried the OpenDyslexic font:
can't tell if I'm dyslexic or not, or if I read faster... what I know is that now I can read more time with less mental load, so now I can end large books and sagas. My mind feels now more like hearing music or watching tv than studying.

I tried several versions of that font... not the one that comes with readers that seems to me very dirty, I think version2 is the one I'm using, but not sure.

Dyslexic or not I enjoy much more reading that way.
other fonts that helps are Verdana and comic sans.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by StephenQueen

Not sure how much pages per hour, but what really amazes me is that in the past I couldn't read large books, it was an eternity. casually, I tried the OpenDyslexic font:
can't tell if I'm dyslexic or not, or if I read faster... what I know is that now I can read more time with less mental load, so now I can end large books and sagas. My mind feels now more like hearing music or watching tv than studying.

I tried several versions of that font... not the one that comes with readers that seems to me very dirty, I think version2 is the one I'm using, but not sure.

Dyslexic or not I enjoy much more reading that way.
other fonts that helps are Verdana and comic sans.

There are different types of dyslexia. You should get tested. My wife has three types. Two of them affect her ability to read and she likes to read. One is the standard everyone thinks of when the think dyslexia. The letters can become incomprehensible. For example, sometimes she cannot read a stop sign. She knows it is a stop sign by the shape, but the word makes no sense. The other is that the words move on the pages when she is trying to read. They most often affect her when she is tired.
Apache