Reading Speed: Cheetah, Sloth, Or Somewhere In Between?
Hi guys! How are you doing? How are your 2016 reading goals going so far? I know we’re not very far into the new year yet, but I’ve been thinking a lot about reading challenges and the goals we set for ourselves, and how some people just seem more successful at those challenges than others. And a HUGE factor for me is reading speed.
I am a SUPER SLOW READER. I’ve kept track of my pages read over the span of an hour on several different occasions, and I’m pretty firmly at 40 pages/hour. I can sometimes read at a faster pace, but I usually either stick at 40 pages in an hour OR I get incredibly distracted and I read like 5 or 10 pages in an hour. I also don’t have much time to read, which is a big factor on how many books I can read each year, but that’s another topic for another discussion post.
Sometimes I wish that I could read as fast as some of my blogger friends. But I know that some of them say they feel like they don’t retain as much since they read so fast. Then again, I still read more books than the average adult, and my memory isn’t what it was in my teens and twenties so I don’t remember a lot of the events in many of the books I read myself.
And sometimes I think that maybe I should take a speed-reading course. Or get one of those apps that helps you learn to speed read. I don’t want to be the fastest reader in the world or anything, it’s not a competition to me, really, but I just feel like there are SO MANY BOOKS that I want to read every year and I only get to a tiny tiny fraction of them. If I could just read a bit faster since I can’t, at this juncture, allot any more time to reading, then maybe I’d be able to read more of those great books that come out each year, and I’d also feel a bit more accomplished when it comes to reading challenges.
What about you guys? Are you a super slow reader like me, or are you lightning fast, or somewhere in between? And would you like to read at a different pace than you currently do?
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Majanka Verstraete
January 26, 2016 at 9:01 amI'm a fast reader. Not always good either since I tend to skip over details or end up not enjoying scenes as much as I think I would if I read slower.
Majanka @ I Heart Reading
Kate Midnight Book Girl
January 26, 2016 at 2:44 pmI'm definitely in between. I read faster than some people, slower than others. It often depends on the book and how absorbed I am. I often set weird goals for myself- like I can't get up to pee unless I've made it to a certain page number. My reading retention totally depends on the book too, some books I remember a lot of, others I barely remember reading.
Amber Elise
January 26, 2016 at 8:39 pmI feel you Andrea. I tried doing a reading sprint for the hell of it, and I think I managed to read about 25 pages in 30 minutes. That was me being really focused, when I'm casually reading for an hour I tend to get really distracted. Nothing is no frustrating than realizing you've only read 10 pages in an hour.
And then there are people who can read one book a day. WHAT IS YOUR MAGIC?
Micheline D
January 27, 2016 at 4:56 pmI used to think I was a fast reader, before blogging. I certainly read faster than all my friends growing up, not to mention faster than my mom LOL! But since seeing that some people read like 200+ books in a year, I feel slow but I'm probably around average, I guess. I have a seriously good memory though so I remember most of what I read. I do wish I could read faster without losing any memory recall skills though – it would certainly help to make a dent in the ever growing tbr shelf haha!
Amber (Books of Amber)
January 27, 2016 at 8:48 pmFor me it depends on the book, but for the most part I'm quite a quick reader! It's something I'm rather proud of haha. I tend to read YA at about 100 pages per hour, and I go down to 50-60 if the book is more challenging like a classic. I was at 65ish with A Game of Thrones. I would love to be able to read even faster because, like you, there are are SO MANY BOOKS that I want to be able to read. But still, 100 pages isn't too bad a pace. Nor is 40!
Meghan K
January 28, 2016 at 3:43 amI'm in the middle. I would say that I read 50-60 pages in an hour. It's hard to not get caught up in the whole book totals thing. I only had 60 as my goal for last year and didn't make it. However I was pretty happy with the 57 books I did read. Since I don't read that fast and don't have tons of time to read on a daily basis, I try not to waste my time on books that just aren't working for me. I can always come back to them later, but I just can't afford to wade through weeks on one book that I'm not even enjoying.
A part of me is jealous of speed readers, but I also like to enjoy my books (not saying speed readers don't, but I wouldn't). Reading is my time. It's relaxing and I like spending time with characters. :)