I like to read in the evenings. My problem is I get absorbed in the books and can't stop! If I'm reading something lighter, I'll read it in 1 night. If it's a little heavier I might have to put it down a few times.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
How long does it take you to read a book
- Thread starter icklemiss21
- Start Date
If a story is compelling, holds my interest... I can read the average novel in an afternoon.
But if it's also well-written, with vivid characters and vibrant dialog -- then I don't want to read it fast! I want to savor the language, "hear" the voices of the characters in my head, sometimes even read some of the dialog aloud (in private), performing it as if I were an actor.
As you might imagine, that slows me down a bit!
Just this afternoon, I finally got my hands on a copy of "Heart Shaped Box," the recent novel by Joe "Hill," who is actually Joe King, son of Stephen. I was in the middle of another excellent book when I got hold of this one ("Ghost Dancer," by John Case), and I tried to go ahead and finish it first... but my mind just wouldn't stay on it. Had to go see whether Joe could shake me up as thoroughly as his father does.
And oh boy, can he!
But if it's also well-written, with vivid characters and vibrant dialog -- then I don't want to read it fast! I want to savor the language, "hear" the voices of the characters in my head, sometimes even read some of the dialog aloud (in private), performing it as if I were an actor.
As you might imagine, that slows me down a bit!
Just this afternoon, I finally got my hands on a copy of "Heart Shaped Box," the recent novel by Joe "Hill," who is actually Joe King, son of Stephen. I was in the middle of another excellent book when I got hold of this one ("Ghost Dancer," by John Case), and I tried to go ahead and finish it first... but my mind just wouldn't stay on it. Had to go see whether Joe could shake me up as thoroughly as his father does.
And oh boy, can he!
I read at night after the animals and Ari are put to bed. It usually takes me two nights of 2 am readings to get threw one book. Im a very fast reader! Before I had Ari I could read 1 1/2 books a day.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #44
Oooh I will have to grab a copy on my next bookstore visit!
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
- Messages
- 4,092
- Purraise
- 543
Same as most people. If the book is compelling, and i am not distracted i may take a few days or a week. I cant sit there for 10 hours and speedread. Bad for my eyes lol
i like to read almost all the time. and i read pretty fast, i usually don't have a timetable because the books i read are all different lengths. but it takes me, i think, about an hour to read 100 pages. with small font. but it depends on the book, where i am, and what i'm doing at the time. it mostly depends on the book, and it has to catch my attention and everything has to be interesting or i skip parts or stop reading the book. i can read while walking and commuting, although planes give me a headach after a while and on long trips i can only read if certain conditions are met, ie. good lighting, lots of window view, interesting book, people aren't super loud or keep talking to me, i don't have a previous headache, etc. my comprehension is very good. i understand most of what i read unless it is like a textbook or something. simple fact. i don't really like to speed read, i miss a lot of the subties of the written language. i don't really see a picture in my head, it is more like vague misty shapes or ideas. actually, now, a lot of the time, when i dream it isn't in pics, most of it is in text. or what is annoying is when i read a book and i realize i've dreamed it before. i know i haven't just read it before because it happens with newly printed books most of the time. i literally remember reading the text word for word. or the plot line with details i shoudn't have. either way, it is odd.
I used to be able to speed read but somewhere along the line I seem to have lost the ability. Not sure how. So I don't read as quickly as I used to but I'm mostly happy with that as I don't like to read so quickly that I miss out on the detail and the language. When the new Harry Potter book comes out I'll probably take 1-2 days to read it. I could never read it as quickly as some people do, but I could get it finished in one day quite easily. However, I'll try to make it last until the following day and resist the temtpation to race through it as quickly as possible. After all, it's the last book and once I get to the end of it there'll be no more
Most books take me 6 to 8 hours to read, depending on how well they capture my interest. I just read the latest Lee Childs book, Hard Luck & Trouble in about 6 hours and the latest Lincoln Child book, Deep Storm, in about 8 hours. If it isn't something that really grabs me, it can take me two or three evenings to finish a book. I love to read!
I'm addicted to charity shops and second-hand bookstores, too. My main problem is that my husband of 27 years has imposed a maximum limit of about 1,000 books in the house at any one time (our third floor consists of bookcases), so I have to do some weeding out before I go and buy more.
No, it's not impossible at all, but largely a matter of practice, meaning the more you read, the faster you get. As I mentioned in a previous post, I studied literature, so got quite used to reading books by a very close deadline. Since I'm a language teacher at a junior college, I still have to read a lot while searching for suitable material and marking tests.Originally Posted by TortieBaby
have to ask, do you actually READ the book, or just skim it. Not to be rude, but reading over 4 pages a minute is humanly impossible.
I also think people's brains work differently. Some people's brains can grasp words and meanings faster, while others' see geometric patterns more quickly, for example.
Some can skim a 500-page book in 15 minutes, IME, but it takes them hours to figure out a simple Soduku.
I like to read when I go to bed so sometimes it takes me a while to finish a whole book. Especially when I fall asleep and lose the page
If it`s a really good book then I can read it in 2 days.
