Are you a good reader?

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I've never been the type of person who reads books for leisure, but lately I've fallen into the bad habit of reading books on a daily basis. The only problem is that I am a very slow reader. For example, I'm currently reading an 800 page book. It took me 10 days (one 90-minute [approx] reading session per day) to read the first 100 pages. When we do the math, it means that it takes me about 9 minutes to read 1 page. The number of words per page vary from book to book, of course, but the book in question has approximately 40 lines per page, and an average of approximately 12 words per line. If you do the math, that works out to be approximately 480 words per page, and since it takes me about 9 minutes to read 1 page, it means that I read at the rate of approximately 53 words per minute. That's about 1 word per second. Did you hear that? It takes my brain, on average, about 1 second to process the meaning of 1 word. And how many people can't read a whole line of text, maybe more, in the same amount of time? I could force myself to read faster, but then I'd run the risk of reading lists of words instead of coherent sentences. It's not all a pity party around here: I actually feel proud of myself for making the effort to read literature; frankly, with my reading abilities, and at this point in my life (mid 20's), I shouldn't even bother.

Last edited by Mw99 on 17 Oct 2008, 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Do you get distracted easily? I'm getting tested for ADD because of a similar problem.

*Edited because I apparently couldn't read my own comment.

Last edited by theotherle on 17 Oct 2008, 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm a compulsive reader. I will be reading anywhere from 2 to 5 books at any given time. NOT simultaneously but one after another. I have a morning book and an evening book. Sometimes I also have two or three day-time books, depending on what it is I'm studying (teaching myself). I'm pro'ly an average reader by pace but I know I complete an average of 12 books/month.

12 books/month sounds good, but how big are the books?

I'm not a good reader at all. I'm very slow and also have a hard time focusing. I often end up reading the same line over again a few times, or lose my place, etc. However, I love reading. I've never checked how long it takes me to read a page or anything, but like you, if I try to make myself read faster I just end up looking at the words and not comprehending what I'm looking at.

I am currently reading:

The complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome- Tony Attwood- 347 pgs (morning, mid-morning book)
Bloodsucking Fiends- Christopher Moore (A Love Story) 290 pgs (afternoon book)
A Lion Among Men- Gregory Maguire- 309 pgs (evening, bedtime book)

I read mostly to entertain/escape. Not like War and Peace- 1 bazillion pages. I dont' have the desire for that kind of reading.

I'm an excellent speed-reader. A Horrible Histories or Horribly/Dead Famous book I can knock over in an hour if I concentrate. A few hours is all I need to read a novel about 300 pages long, if I'm motivated.

War and Peace is in the list of books I want to read. That book is like 6 inches thick, over 1000 pages, so if I read it, I'm prepared to read it over the span of no less than, say, 3 months.

Last edited by Mw99 on 17 Oct 2008, 8:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jeez, I wish I could speed read. Is that a learned thing Quatermass, or is that an innate talent? I'd like to have this ability.

^I'd like to know myself.



I am a terrible reader myself, to the point that I usually only read magazines, etc... I would like to read many books, but it is just too time consuming, because I'm so slow.

I'm a good reader. I've always read a lot. When I was a kid, the "ultimate" punishment that my parents only pulled out a few times was to not allow me to read for a whole day (of course I would sneak a little bit in my room). When I was a kid, I would often read a book a day, or more. Now I don't have as much time to read, but I can still plow through a good-sized book (300-400 pages) in a couple of days.

I actually don't think I'd want to be able to read as quickly as you, Quatermass- I already feel like I'm always running out of books! I've read all my Terry Pratchett books probably 10 times each, for instance. Although it would be useful for studying, if you can absorb factual information as quickly as you can read.

I like to read, but while I wouldn't call myself a slow reader, I'm not a fast reader.

I learned to read at age four and have been reading constantly ever since. I used to read a lot more when I was younger, but now it seems like I never have enough time to read all the books I want to read.

I don't have very good time perception, so I'm not sure how quickly I read, but once I got through Watership Down in three days. Just to illustrate how little time I have to read these days, I'm currently reading The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood, and I'm on my fifth week!

i read and take in information from a page at a completely average rate...i never felt it was a problem and certainly have never looked into whether people with AS are poor readers or great readers........im assuming...although we prefer to not read fiction...we're pretty much the same as NT's in terms of reading skills x

I go through reading phases lasting from a few weeks to a few months.
During this time, I acquire SF paperbacks by the shelf-foot and demolish them 2/day. (with the odd best seller)

My reading speed is dependant on my attention...dull books get speed read, and some detail is lost, something I'm fascinated in will take longer to read as I spend more time imagining.
If I'm distracted or interrupted for any length of time, I find it hard to reestablish the scene.
For this reason, I dislike not finishing a book before bedtime.

The reading phase usually follows a creative phase terminated by lack of resources.

I love to read however I am very selective of what I read, I love native stories they are my favorite I don't like reading anything else. If I really like book despite how big it is I can read it in a day, my all time best was reading a 800 page book with an average of 400 words per page in less than 16 hours.