My mother can read a 400 page novel in within one evening, usually in about three hours. I can read at best about 100 pages in that sort of time, which I think is true for most people.
How common are the "can read a novel in a single evening" people?
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
I don't think we need this thread to know your Mom's one in a million, Clive.
Hobbes Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
For me, it really depends on the book. I can read several hundred pages of Harry Potter in an evening. Reading Hesse or Faulkner will take me many times longer.
For most people, I think there is a trade off between speed and comprehension/retention. My husband reads very fast but can rarely remember any details a week later. I read much more slowly, but can remember details from books I read for decades.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote: How common are the "can read a novel in a single evening" people?
I don't know, but I've done so several times.
As The Rabbit points out, it often comes down to what I am reading. It also helps if I've read the book before. Several of OSCs books I've read 3+ times, and I fly through those.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
It depends on the book for me. It took me forever to read Years of Rice and Salt (robinson) but for say Berg, I can read in one night (though I don't let myself have her books until I don't have anything else to do). I actually enjoy both and have a pretty decent memory and comprehension of both. I sorta took a class on increasing reading and comprehension and not using their special techniques, my starting was what the end goal was (though they said, if you start that fast, just imagine how fast you will be at the end of this course). Sylvan teaches it so all the teachers were supposed to take it, but very few actually did.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
I read much more slowly now than I used to, but I had to work hard at it.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hobbes: I don't think we need this thread to know your Mom's one in a million, Clive.
Hobbes
Wow.
Posted by Clive Candy (Member # 11977) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hobbes: I don't think we need this thread to know your Mom's one in a million, Clive.
Hobbes
You really think my mother is one in a million?
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
to be accurate, his mother would be one in roughly 7 billion.
Posted by Clive Candy (Member # 11977) on :
*continues to bask in reflected glory*
Posted by Christine (Member # 8594) on :
The question isn't how fast can a person read, it is how fast a person can read *and still comprehend the material*. Of course, there are degrees. Sometimes you can get away with a bit of skimming and still get as much as you need.
For me, this isn't a particularly relevant concept any longer. Before I lost my vision, I used to swallow up novels nearly as quickly as you described your mother doing, albeit with some skimming. Now I'm stuck with the speed of the reader (although I put my tape player at a faster speed).
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
Hi Clive. Don't worry about me and my smarmy remarks, it’s just that I’m so hilariously funny these things happen sometimes.
Most of the people I know don’t read at all, or read only the scriptures (LDS community). I assume they wouldn’t be able to read anything very fast and I think that’s typical society or American society anyways. Personally I used to be able to read faster than I do now but I think I got a lot less out of it. As has been mentioned many times the biggest factor is the book itself. Everything from print size (check out the size of the Harry Potter font!) to density of the writing style. I’m currently in the middle of Gravity’s Rainbow, after having recently finished Lonesome Dove; I’d say I’d be lucky if I was reading one page of the former for every two of the latter.
I’ve been thinking that I’d like to try and read a book a week, but I know besides a continuous flux in time I can realistically devote to this, there’s such a significant difference in the amount of time required to finish a book that’ll be hard to keep up. I’m definitely not someone who can put down 400 pages an hour (which I realize is different than your original figure). As engineer here’s my range (for myself): 30 to 100 pages an hour, with an average around 50-60.
These numbers brought to you by the element handwavium.
Hobbes Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I can read a novel in one sitting if it's something like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings (which I've read dozens of times). I can read a little over a page a minute for something like that.
If I'm reading a novel for an English class, it's about a page a minute to comprehend, but not with notes.
If I'm reading a book for a history class, it's more like a page every two minutes, especially if I have to stop to take notes along the way.
Posted by Clive Candy (Member # 11977) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hobbes: Hi Clive. Don't worry about me and my smarmy remarks, it’s just that I’m so hilariously funny these things happen sometimes.
"I'm just busting your chops man. Why you so serious?"
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
It all depends on the book. If it's something I don't care to remember in detail (e.g. Harry Potter) then I fly through it. If it's something that I want to remember (usually non-fiction), I read it much, much more slowly. If I take notes, it's even slower.
But I am having trouble figuring out if I retain more from a slow read-through without notes, or a really slow read-through with notes. When I'm taking notes, I tend to not try hard to remember the details, since I'll have the notes to look back on in the future. When I don't take notes, I try to commit the major points to memory. I don't know which method is better.
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I can read a novel in one sitting if it's something like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings (which I've read dozens of times).
You've read LotR in one sitting??? I have the unabridged Robert Inglis recording, and it's 55 hours!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sorry, LOTR would probably take me two sittings. Books I-III and Books IV-VI.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I can devour books pretty fast. Which is not always a good thing, because I think I read TOO fast. I devoured HP 7 in just a few hours for example.
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
I was actually having a conversation with the check-out person about this. Most academic books where I need the argument and not the content I go through about 200 pages an hour. For one that I do need the content (which is quite rare actually) I'd say 50-75 pages an hour. As far as fiction, a 400 page novel in an evening would be quite doable. The seventh Harry Potter took me 5 hours. I tortuously read all the Twilight books over a one and a half day span. Most OSC books would take 2-3 hours, tops.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I savored HP 7.
I blasted through the first half of it in a couple hours and realized that it was half over, and that finishing it was something I could only do once, so I slowed down considerably.
It still went by too fast.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
When the 5th Harry Potter came out I remember reading it in a day. I was bedridden with a broken leg (karate or wrestling injury I can't remember which) and I stayed up really late reading it.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wave]](graemlins/wave.gif)
Don't worry about me and my smarmy remarks, it’s just that I’m so hilariously funny these things happen sometimes.