How fast do you read?

[artekxp]

I have never read many books in my life until I got an eReader. Slowly I am getting faster and wonder how fast do people read on average? Seems like I am consuming 250-350 page novels in about two weeks. Is this a good pace?

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by artekxp

I have never read many books in my life until I got an eReader. Slowly I am getting faster and wonder how fast do people read on average? Seems like I am consuming 250-350 page novels in about two weeks. Is this a good pace?

There's no "good pace" except whatever works for you. Read because you want to read, don't worry about how fast or slow you read. It's not a competition, there are no prizes for reading 100 pages a minute and no penalties for reading 100 pages a year. When you're enjoying your reading, and getting the most out of the books you're reading, you've found the pace that is right for you

[drofgnal]

It depends on how much you read per day. I'm not a speed reader, but given a good 4 -5 hour time block, I might knock a 250 page short novel out in that time. My problem is I'd fall asleep probably before the time was up! At thirty minutes a day it'd take me a over a week.

I also read at different speeds depending upon the book. Nonfiction takes longer, fiction will vary depending upon the author and his writing. Some novels are pretty simple reads and I go through those rather quickly, others are a bit more complex (Say Geraldine Brooks or older classics) and I slow down to not miss anything.

But what Uncle Robin says is very true, don't worry about it. I think you'll find your time picks up some the more you do it. Just read at an enjoyable pace to you and enjoy the book. For me an enjoyable pace might be different depending upon the book.

[Karellen]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

There's no "good pace" except whatever works for you. Read because you want to read, don't worry about how fast or slow you read. It's not a competition, there are no prizes for reading 100 pages a minute and no penalties for reading 100 pages a year. When you're enjoying your reading, and getting the most out of the books you're reading, you've found the pace that is right for you

Well put. I totally agree.

[rantanplan]

According to bookly, I average out at ~48 pages per hour. I'd imagine that I'm a somewhat slow reader.

[Apache]

I have never cared about how fast I read. I read because I enjoy it. For me it is not a race to the finish line. I finish a book when I reach the end. I do not care if it takes me two hours, two days or two weeks. the only thing I am concerned about, when I finish a book, is what am I going to read next. And it is a lot easier to find something to read with the availability of eBooks. I do not miss the days of trying to find a DTB to read.
Apache

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

There's no "good pace" except whatever works for you. Read because you want to read, don't worry about how fast or slow you read. It's not a competition, there are no prizes for reading 100 pages a minute and no penalties for reading 100 pages a year. When you're enjoying your reading, and getting the most out of the books you're reading, you've found the pace that is right for you

This!

I know there's at least one person on Mobileread who claims an incredibly fast reading speed but I don't compare myself with that. If I'm reading for entertainment and enjoying it speed is not important.

[LDB]

Originally Posted by artekxp

I have never read many books in my life until I got an eReader. Slowly I am getting faster and wonder how fast do people read on average? Seems like I am consuming 250-350 page novels in about two weeks. Is this a good pace?

If you read what you want, when you want, at a comfortable for you pace, then you've hit on perfection.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

This!

I know there's at least one person on Mobileread who claims an incredibly fast reading speed but I don't compare myself with that. If I'm reading for entertainment and enjoying it speed is not important.

As the likely person being referred to, I would object to your statement that I "claim" an incredibly fast reading speed. Ghod knows that when we did some reading speed tests in high school, I had to take repeat the tests multiple times with different texts before the proctors agreed that I had no previous knowledge of the texts and that my comprehension level of ~93% for the material was correct.

Not the first time, I've had my reading speed questioned and all too likely, not the last.

OTOH, one disadvantage for me is that unlike what quite a few people say, I don't 'hear' people's voices when reading so I find statements that the voices used in audiobooks or movies based on books either match or don't match the 'voices' from text-based books hard to follow.

However, I have to agree that whatever speed someone is comfortable reading at is the best reading speed for them.

[Sirtel]

I don't hear any voices either, and my reading speed is certainly much lower than yours.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by DNSB

As the likely person being referred to, I would object to your statement that I "claim" an incredibly fast reading speed. Ghod knows that when we did some reading speed tests in high school, I had to take repeat the tests multiple times with different texts before the proctors agreed that I had no previous knowledge of the texts and that my comprehension level of ~93% for the material was correct.

Not the first time, I've had my reading speed questioned and all too likely, not the last.

OTOH, one disadvantage for me is that unlike what quite a few people say, I don't 'hear' people's voices when reading so I find statements that the voices used in audiobooks or movies based on books either match or don't match the 'voices' from text-based books hard to follow.

However, I have to agree that whatever speed someone is comfortable reading at is the best reading speed for them.

I couldn't remember who it was. I probably could have chosen a better word. I didn't intend to imply you weren't being truthful! I'm sure that as with many other activities, mental or physical, there are some people who naturally perform well above average.

My point was intended to be that I don't compare my own reading speed with others who read faster than I do.

[tomsem]

It’s pretty difficult to objectively measure reading speed without some dedicated feature. Moreover reading speed is not constant, depends on how much cognitive load the reading material imposes, level of alertness, etc.

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?

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I don't hear any voices either, and my reading speed is certainly much lower than yours.

I am not conscious of hearing characters' voices in my head. However, when I watched a film version of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth) there were characters who just sounded wrong to me, so I guess at some level I do hear them.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by tomsem

...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?

Exactly. I think I'm capable of reading a book in a day, if I really make an effort (at least I have done so when I was younger); but why would I want to do that when reading for pleasure? I want to enjoy the book, not to feel like I have a deadline.

Of course that doesn't mean that every person who reads extremely fast is unable to enjoy their reading. We are all different, the things we enjoy are different and the way we enjoy them are also different.

[hobnail]

I'm again reminded of those Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics commercials back in the 1970s or whenever it was. I could see needing it if you're a slow reader and have to do lots of reading for your job, school, etc. but like the rest here I don't want to make reading a chore and prefer reading at whatever speed is enjoyable for me.