How long does it take you to read a book

icklemiss21

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While I haven't been working I have been reading a lot and am running out of books (YAY for my Chapters discount card and their awesome sales, I got $120 worth of books for $28!!)

How long does it take you to read a typical book and what time(s) do you prefer to read
 

sarahp

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If it's just a few hundred page trashy romance novel I'll finish it within a day or so
Once I get my head stuck in a good book it's so hard to put the book down!

I bought a Nora Roberts last week (it was 2 books in 1), and finished both books within about 3 days. I finished at about 2am this morning.


If I don't get completely into it, I generally lose interest pretty fast.
 

emrldsky

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Nuh uh...might give me away!
Depends on the book. I can finish a romance novel (typical size) in less than a day during the weekend (during the week, my reading time is limited because of work), but longer books take me a day or two longer. I finished the last Harry Potter book in one day, because I refused to put it down, lol.

My average reading speed (with 80%+ comprehension) is about 350 words per minute.
 

adymarie

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I am very quick...as long as I get the time. I can't read with the kids around they always think I should read to them. So I tend to read on the bus and during breaks/lunch at work. But I am a very fast reader. I am re-reading the Harry Potter series and I finished the 1st 3 books in 3 days of bus and work reading.
 

crittermom

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I love to read.
and so do 2 of the kids.If it's a really good book, in a day or two.A kind of good book about a week. I read Lord of The Rings in 2 weeks and 2 days--it's a LONG book.
 

proudkittiemom

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it all really depends on how interesting the book is and wheather or not I can put it down
like the chicken soup for catlovers soul I read in like 3 days, my other books take me a week to 2 weeks depending on the book itself!
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

How long does it take you to read a typical book and what time(s) do you prefer to read
I do not know what a typical book is. 300-400 pages? Last year I got hold of a list of the 100 greatest books ever written and I decided to read at least half by the end of this year. That would be 50 books in about 75 weeks. (I had already read 21, mainly English lit, on the list.) I started with Don Quijote, which was listed as the number one book ever written for the simple reason I was actually in La Mancha at the time. That took about three weeks so I was already behind but then I started reading some of the short books like Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe to make up for lost time. Then I decided to read all of the Russian books on the list and I am down to two. Presently I am wrapping up Dead Souls (which came in at number 33), but the biggest one of all remains; War and Peace, which was rated number two on the list. I am on time as far as to the number of books but the ones that remain like Tom Jones are all huge so I don't know if I will make it. DW works nights, teaching school and that is the time that I can put in about 3-4 hours reading. BTW, I agree with Don Quijote being the greatest of them all. I read the latest translation, which scholars agree is the best.

I realize there are other lists, but here is the one I am working from:
http://www.adherents.com/people/100_novel.html
 

mirinae

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I read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere on my breaks over the course of two days, so it took me about two hours, give or take. Most books take me a little longer than that, but on average I'd say I go through about three books in a week. Fortunately I can read my favourite books over and over again, because even with a library card there's no way I could afford to be this voracious!
 

snosrap5

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Originally Posted by sarahp

If it's just a few hundred page trashy romance novel I'll finish it within a day or so
Once I get my head stuck in a good book it's so hard to put the book down!

I bought a Nora Roberts last week (it was 2 books in 1), and finished both books within about 3 days. I finished at about 2am this morning.


If I don't get completely into it, I generally lose interest pretty fast.
That's me too!
 

sofiecusion

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For me it depends on the book and my time! I read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince the same day it came out! I plan on doing the same with Book 7!


It really depends on my interest and how tired I am! Usual pace is about a week for a good sized 300 - 400 paged book!
 

katiemae1277

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depends for me too, if its a book I am really interested in and want to finish it to find out what happens, I can read like a maniac, and will stay up waaaaaay past my bedtime to get thru it, but average reading, like a 300-400 page novel, reading probably 2 hours a night might take me 3 days
 

jean-ji

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I usually read before going to bed with a book that is not a "barn burner", otherwise I get very little sleep. I read very fast and finishing a book in a day is not a problem, other than nothing else gets done that day. I try not to do that often. Rainy days for reading are perfect.

One autumn, my mom started reading a Bobbsey Twins book to me after dinner each evening. I had just started second grade and could not read on my own yet. When it got closer to Christmas, she didn't have time anymore since she was busy making presents, so we had to stop. I couldn't stand the suspense and just had to know what happened to the twins, and that was when I started reading on my own. It's been a lifelong love every since.
Thanks Mom.
 

gingersmom

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I read a couple of hours every night and I am a self-taught speed reader.

Once upon a time, I would go through upwards of a dozen fiction paperbacks in a week - this was back when I rode a train in and out of Boston to go to work.

When I was a little girl, I read Gone With the Wind in just 3 days, and it has just over 1,000 pages. (1,037 to be exact.
)

So nowadays, I still read at a high rate of speed, but the time available to me for reading is GREATLY limited. As is my ability to keep myself in unread books. I can't go to the library anymore - I'm a serial library book thief by accident.


I guess depending on my schedule, the author, the way it is written and the length of the novel, anywhere from 2 hours for a 250 page book to several weeks for a book that is 800+ pages.
 
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icklemiss21

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I too am a commuter reader, and that was all I had time for before so I ould read 2 books a week in 6 hours or so of travelling and 20-30 minutes before bed.

Now I have more time, I have read 5 books in a week and really need to go to the bookstore, our library sucks (I should take this pile of books and donate only they never put them on the shelves for others to read, they sell them) and the $2 hardback sale is cheaper than the late fees when I forget to take the books back
 

mirinae

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Originally Posted by icklemiss21

I too am a commuter reader, and that was all I had time for before so I ould read 2 books a week in 6 hours or so of travelling and 20-30 minutes before bed.
I wish I could read in transit, but I get motion sickness when I try to read or focus on something while the vehicle is moving. *le sigh* It would've made the loooong drive to Florida pass a bit more quickly!
 

urbantigers

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It varies and can be anything from a day to several months. usually I only have time to read in bed before going to sleep and no time during the day. If I'm very tired I might only get a couple of pages read before falling asleep so it takes a while to finish, but if I can read during the day or am reading a particularly good book I'll get through it a lot quicker. The current book Im reading I've been reading for about 10 days (although I have been reading some other non fiction too), but the 2 before that I romped through in about 24 hours each.
 

lunasmom

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wow I guess I'm the slowest reader here.

If its stuff like Harry Potter or Michael Crichton, I'm done in 5 days (or less).

If the book is LOTR or something slightly more difficult, a month.

If its one of my computer books for class, forget it...that sucker is NEVER gonna be finished.

Actually I starte a book at the end of 2006 and am still in the middle of it
The book is REALLY good (Reading Lolita in Tehran), but I just haven't had the proper time to finish it.

I think I have ADD though...when I do read a book that isn't 120% intense, then my mind wanders at the borin parts. After 3 pages I'll realise that I had stopped reading, drifted my mind, but flipped the book. So then I have to go back and reread the last 3 pages.
 

crazyforinfo

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Originally Posted by Mirinae

I wish I could read in transit, but I get motion sickness when I try to read or focus on something while the vehicle is moving. *le sigh* It would've made the loooong drive to Florida pass a bit more quickly!
I can finish a book in little over a day, as long as I like it. I just can't put the books down and I ignore everything around me. I will stay up all night too. I try not to read as much because of my addition. LoL
 
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