How much can you read in one sitting?

[leroybrown]

I have 60 pages left in the particular book I'm reading and then I'll be done with it. Those 60 pages are two chapters, about 30 each.

This is generally the max I can read, actually that's too much. I'd say the most reading I can do 'effectively' is about 40-45 in one sitting. By effectively, I mean I will retain all of that information. If I finish this book tonight, I won't retain all the info clearly.

However, this book is very in depth and it can get really boring. I usually read books like this because frankly, they make me smarter.

If I read a good fiction book then I may be able to read 100 pages, depends on how much I'm into it. I don't read fiction though, I've only read a couple Dune books, several of the Wheel of Time, and all of Lord Of The Rings (and the Hobbit).

I bring this question up because I think I'm slower than average. Some of you folks casually mention reading 100+ pages.

So what say you? Are you like me where in depth books are read at a much slower pace? Do you even read non-fiction? I really am curious what Norroen's reading habit is like. Her pace is truly admirable.

[ZeRoc]

The max I did was read 200 pages at once. Only took 4 hours of my life...

I get most of my reading done in 30 minute periods, so my average is around 20 or so pages in a sitting. But I swear that I have some level of ADD, so who knows.

[scribbane]

If I'm involved in a book, any book, I can easily read for hours on end. Depending on the difficulty or complexity of the material, it will naturally take me longer. For reference, I recently reread The DaVinci Code, which is just under 500 pages, and I read for about 2 hours a night, and it took me 3 nights. Now I've read the book a few times before, and that will help with speed. But I'm a decently fast reader, though I'd say I'm more endurance than speed. As long as I'm engaged, I'll read til I can't see anymore.

[The-Shadow-One]

I can easily read for ages, and at a considerable speed too, I'd say around.. 40 pages in a sittin on average, I had game of thrones finished in two to three days in about 4 hour segments.

[the Savage Hippie]

I mostly don't measure how much I read in pages, but I measure for how long I read, and I always stop when I feel I have grown too weary to continue, but I always make checkpoints before reading saying "I am gonna read from here to there" and if I am not tired after that I will continue reading.

[Wolf]

I can't honestly tell you because when I read, time sorta slows down. I only figured this out about six months ago, but it happens any time I'm thinking intensely about something. What I can tell you is that I spend countless hours on wikipedia without meaning to.

[Deandra]

I assume you're talking about books, because I spend pretty much my entire day at work either in meetings or reading (whether it's documentation, code, emails, or this forum when I need to goof off).

I can read interesting fiction all day long (I've gotten through one of those aforementioned Wheel of Time books in a weekend), but if I'm reading something super dry that I just need to learn for work, I need to take a break every half hour or so and space it out over several days.

[leroybrown]

But I swear that I have some level of ADD, so who knows.

You think that helps you read? ADD is an in depth topic and is a catch term to refer to a complex topic, so if you say it helps then I believe you.. There are many manifestations of ADD and they aren't all the same. I have it too, but the kind where it makes it hard to concentrate and is detrimental to my reading.

However, I take a nootropic and it really really helps. The vitamins I take help as well.

But I'm a decently fast reader, though I'd say I'm more endurance than speed.

I'm very much an endurance reader, but I wouldn't say I'm remotely fast.

[Тeatime]

I'm a fast reader, when I'm actively reading I tend to finish a 200-300 pages book every other day.
I can read extreme amounts when the mood grips me though, when the last harry Potter book came out I finished it in one day. The same sort of thing can happen when I discover a new series that I really like.

[Taters]

I usually do most of my reading before bed, and I'd say then I can handle between 70 and 80 pages before I start to muddle them together. However, during waking hours, I can read a lot more. A few years ago my hard drive got fried and I spent a couple of weeks passing time waiting for it by reading Harry Potter, and I could get through half a book in an hour and a half or so.

[Dark Lord Cam]

I'm not a fast reader, so much as I am intense reader. If I'm in the mood, I can easily read a book in the middle of a football game, inside the stadium surrounded by thousands of cheering fans, and it won't bother me at all. I tune them out. Because of that, I tend to finish books quicker than other people, just because I get really into them.

[leroybrown]

I'm a fast reader, when I'm actively reading I tend to finish a 200-300 pages book every other day.

That is incredible. Do you use any kind of speed reading techniques, or are you naturally a fast reader?

[ZeRoc]

But I swear that I have some level of ADD, so who knows.

You think that helps you read? ADD is an in depth topic and is a catch term to refer to a complex topic, so if you say it helps then I believe you.. There are many manifestations of ADD and they aren't all the same. I have it too, but the kind where it makes it hard to concentrate and is detrimental to my reading.

I meant that when I'm doing things other than reading I can't focus on things, which makes it odd to me that I can focus on reading so well. I mean, I can hardly play one video game for 5 minutes before I feel the need to change to something else unless it's a game with a story that just sucked me in. (TES!)

[Тeatime]

I'm a fast reader, when I'm actively reading I tend to finish a 200-300 pages book every other day.

That is incredible. Do you use any kind of speed reading techniques, or are you naturally a fast reader?

I've always read a lot, especially during the years before high school. So I think I've just had a lot of practice, and good books to keep me reading!

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

I'm not sure how much I can read in one sitting. If it's an interesting book I like, I'd probably spend a few hours reading it. Like I finished Inheritance in 3-4 days.

[scribbane]

I'm a fast reader, when I'm actively reading I tend to finish a 200-300 pages book every other day.
I can read extreme amounts when the mood grips me though, when the last harry Potter book came out I finished it in one day. The same sort of thing can happen when I discover a new series that I really like.

This is very true for me as well.

[Gideon Dragontongue]

When I'm really in the mood, I can do around 200 per hour. I tend to sort of glance at the page, absorb the paragraphs in a couple of seconds, and then move on. It slows down in material with a lot of dialogue because it's a little more difficult to keep track of the conversation that quickly.

[MARS]

I'm not a fast reader, so much as I am intense reader. If I'm in the mood, I can easily read a book in the middle of a football game, inside the stadium surrounded by thousands of cheering fans, and it won't bother me at all. I tune them out. Because of that, I tend to finish books quicker than other people, just because I get really into them.

This. I can read anywhere.

If I'm really into the book, I guess I can make up to 200 pages or so in one sitting.

[Dirty Spaceman]

I've always been a fast reader. I read Harry Potter 7 all in one day the day it came out, and I remember last year I finished the entire LotR series + The Hobbit in a little less than a week, also I read The Outsiders in half an hour. I can read a lot in one sitting, as I'll just get "into" it and keep reading. I tend to have a hard time putting books down, although that pretty much goes for most leisure activities for me.

[yodah]

Depending on the book, I can read the entire thing in one sitting if I feel like it. Mostly though, I would read about 100 pages or so per sitting, taking about 1 and a half hours to do so. I really just love to read

[Taters]

My problem tends to be that very rarely am I truly "hooked" by a book. If I am, I can speed through it lightning fast, but the rest of the time, my mind will start to wander after a while and I'll have to go do something else.

[Avron the S'wit]

I can read a 200-300 page book every three days if I'm not careful. I read pretty quickly (in case you haven't noticed by my rapid response time all over the forums, provided I'm not multitasking). But I also have a lot of time to read. With two one-hour commutes each day, I do a majority of my reading waiting or riding trains and buses, and I seem to get a lot in.

But I don't read if I don't want to. I'll get out the iPod and listen to that or read the news casually on my phone some mornings. Not forcing it is half the battle.

[Musicman247]

I'm not a fast reader, so much as I am intense reader. If I'm in the mood, I can easily read a book in the middle of a football game, inside the stadium surrounded by thousands of cheering fans, and it won't bother me at all. I tune them out. Because of that, I tend to finish books quicker than other people, just because I get really into them.

I have done this exact thing. I had just gotten The Half Blood Prince and my in-laws took me and my wife to a football game. I'm not a sports fan, so I took my book and read through the whole game. I think I got through half of it by the time the final buzzer sounded.

[The Loner]

also I read The Outsiders in half an hour.

Reading that in class. The teacher reads it waaay too slow. On the other hand, I read faster when I get into books, but I wouldn't consider myself a fast reader.

[Gideon Dragontongue]

For me, the problem is finding enough to read. Lately I've been reading older stuff that takes me longer to process. I simply digest the style of about 1990 onwards too quickly to really get involved in a book.

While we're discussing Harry Potter, I read the entire series in three days last summer. I was really, really bored.