# How fast do you read books/how long does it take you to read a typical 350 page book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476 "2003-10-04T01:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/1 "2003-10-04T01:39:10Z")
I’m rather slow in my reading, but mostly because I want to read leisure stuff for comprehension, thus, it takes me about a week to get through a 300-350 page book. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/2 "2003-10-04T02:25:14Z")
Usually about two days. Less if it’s not a work day. ---
**Author:** ![Corixidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Corixidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corixidae)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/3 "2003-10-04T02:28:49Z")
If it’s workdays, a couple days. On a weekend I could clear a 350-page book in a single day, easily. ---
**Author:** ![DeepPurple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@DeepPurple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepPurple)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/4 "2003-10-04T02:46:32Z")
Five hours, give or take. I can read a mass market size page of print in 30 seconds. I figured this out over the years because I like to read while cooking. It’s quieter than setting the timer on the oven. So biscuits go in oven, read 20 pages, check biscuits, one or two more pages, biscuits done. Read rest of chapter while eating warm biscuit with butter. I do read some things very slowly. I love novels & anything written before the popularization of television will take me longer. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/5 "2003-10-04T03:51:54Z")
It very much depends upon the complexity of the writing. I can read a Jonathan Kellerman mystery in a day or 3, but reading Dune, about 2 1/2 times as long, took me 3 weeks… hrh ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/6 "2003-10-04T03:56:09Z")
If the book is a real page-turner, about 1 minute per page (not counting going back over sections that I like). So a 350-pager would take me about 6 hours of solid reading. Rare these days to find a book that good, but they’re out there. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/7 "2003-10-04T04:07:23Z")
If it’s a page-turner (like a John Grisham book), between two to four days. Anything else, maybe a week to ten days with my current schedule ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/8 "2003-10-04T04:25:51Z")
On a day whith nothingmuch to do, I’ll kill a 350-page book in about five hours. I finished HP & the Order of the Phoenix in ten. Yeah, straight-through. I’m a geek. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/9 "2003-10-04T05:20:06Z")
My Brother timed me when I was younger. I was readin 170 page books in an hour 5 min. I don’t know if I’ve gotten slower, but I like to take my time now. Maybe two days? Unless it’s really good. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/10 "2003-10-04T05:27:50Z")
About the same–5 hoursish. That’s if I like the book and I’ve got the time. It depends. I picked up _The Eye of the World_ last night and felt my eyes glazing over instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Granuaile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Granuaile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Granuaile)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/11 "2003-10-04T05:35:23Z")
Fluff or something I’m interested in…1½ to 2hrs Very involved or very boring 1 to 4 days The above time estimates only apply if nobody is bothering/wants something from me ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/12 "2003-10-04T05:37:59Z")
I went to bed at 11:00 last night with the new Terry Pratchett book, and didn’t go to sleep until I was finished with it at 5:00 AM. 353 pages in about six hours. On the other hand, I’ve been reading Salman Rushdie’s _The Satanic Verses_ for a month now, and am barely two hundred pages into it. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/13 "2003-10-04T08:12:57Z")
If it’s something that doesn’t require too much analysis, such as fiction for pleasure, 3 to 5 hours, depending on how “into it” I am. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/14 "2003-10-04T08:25:58Z")
I can read about a page a minute or less, if the book is a real “page turner” or if it’s kind of “fluffy.” (Harlequin Romances—which I don’t read all that often—fall under that category.) I can read a 180 page Harlequin in about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. No problem. I used to have a job where we had plenty of time to read or watch TV, and I could almost finish two Harlequins in a shift. But for more substantial books, maybe a page a minute or a little more. I think I could get a 350 page book done in 7-9 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/15 "2003-10-04T10:29:19Z")
I guess it depends on the book. If I’m enjoying it my mind will kinda zone out and I fly through the pages absorbing what’s going on really quickly. Defiantely putting me well within the page a minute range. Although now I ration myself to just a few chapters at a time with breaks in between since my eyes tire more easily then they used to. If however I want to really get the point of a book and its arguments then I’ll much slower and aloud. For some reason I adopt a refined British accent too. That takes much longer. ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/16 "2003-10-04T11:47:48Z")
It depends on how “into” the book I am. My time in reading a book of that length has taken anywhere from a week and a half to a day and a half. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/17 "2003-10-04T14:06:12Z")
I average about a page a minute, slower for dense stuff, faster for fluff. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/18 "2003-10-04T14:48:45Z")
I timed myself while reading the unabridged version of Stephen King’s “The Stand.” 20 hours 34 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Keek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Keek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keek)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/19 "2003-10-04T14:52:21Z")
Just out of interest, Annie, why did you time yourself? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476/20 "2003-10-04T14:56:58Z")
Depends on the book. If I love it, about 5 or 6 hours. If I am struggling with it, it could take months. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-do-you-read-books-how-long-does-it-take-you-to-read-a-typical-350-page-book/205476.md?page=2)