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Thread: Reading Pace

  1. #1
    Registered User sHaRp12's Avatar
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    Reading Pace

    Whats your preferred reading pace?

    I usually read around 50 pages a day. 100 pages if Its light reading. But If Its a verbose and cumbersome book 35.

    Do some of you read them in 1 day just right off. Or you take youre time and read them slowly?
    Last edited by sHaRp12; 06-07-2006 at 09:37 PM.

  2. #2
    Registered User Asa Adams's Avatar
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    I have come to learn, from Lit in University, that to achieve the better grades you need to fully comprehend all the meanings and significant symbolism, etc, and by doing this i tend to re-read several pages, and Paragraphs. so it all depends on the volume of the piece and its complexity.
    But if i want to just sit down and read a flop book, which is rare for me, then usually it takes about 2 hours to finish a 200 page flop. lol
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    Two Gun Kid Idril's Avatar
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    It really does depend on the book, I had to force myself to read at least 20 pages at a sitting when I was reading Don Quioxte and I'm not quite sure why because it's not that I didn't like it, I thought it was quite clever in spots, it made me laugh out loud on several occasions but there was something about the style of writing that really slowed me down but then I could get through 100 or more pages a day of War and Peace without even trying...go figure.
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    Registered User Asa Adams's Avatar
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    lol, now war and peace was a little bit of a struggle for me...
    penuriosus est is quisnam denies scientia

    Asa Adams

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  5. #5
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    About 150-250 pages / day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It depends.

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    Just as with everyone my pace greatly depends on the content of the book; for obvious reasons, some heavy fiction, philosophy, and poetry, I read very slowly, and it also depends greatly on my schedule as a student, having also to read all sorts of scientific and nursing textbooks.
    My large range, however, spans perhaps from 20-150 per day.

  7. #7
    Martian King AimusSage's Avatar
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    I prefer to measure my reading spead at the number of pages per hour, since the time spend reading each days vary greatly.
    And obviously as is mentioned, the contents influence it to, but I have to say that it can vary from 5-60 pages an hour. Perhaps even more, never really payed attention to it, but this is a good estimate.

    40 pages above would be a more skimming approach, picking out the important stuff, mostly for textbooks. Mostly it's 15-45 pages, this is for mostly for fiction etc. Below 20 pages an hour is mostly comprehensive reading, like philosophy, or poetry. I prefer to take my time with such reading material.
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    Prefer just 15-20 pages a day max., savoring the book. However, just this week I read the entire book "The Wal-Mart Effect" in one day, 259 pages, an easy read. Like a novel, some wit, plenty of smarting upon Wal-Mart. Similar to the "Wal-Mart" movie of 6 months ago, but in book form. Recommend it. Oh, by Charles Fishman.

    Also, I often just take one line of a book and work with it for a day or a week. Now, that is slow reading!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Idril
    It really does depend on the book, I had to force myself to read at least 20 pages at a sitting when I was reading Don Quioxte and I'm not quite sure why because it's not that I didn't like it, I thought it was quite clever in spots, it made me laugh out loud on several occasions but there was something about the style of writing that really slowed me down but then I could get through 100 or more pages a day of War and Peace without even trying...go figure.
    Try reading Don Quixote in the original Spanish. It definitely is slow going, there's just something about it. A lot of outdated Spanish could have something to do with it .

    And yeah, the pace definitely depends on the writing style. I read Of Mice and Men in about 2-3 hours but it takes me about an hour to get through 30 pages of Richmond Lattimore's translation of The Iliad (which I'm currently reading).
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  10. #10
    Boll Weevil cuppajoe_9's Avatar
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    I just read The Catcher in the Rye in about two days, but I was hurrying because my friend lent it to me and he hasn't read it yet.

    50 pages per day is usually good for me, but I sometimes wish I didn't read so fast. It takes some of the pleasure out of it sometimes.
    What is the use of a violent kind of delightfulness if there is no pleasure in not getting tired of it.
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    Quote Originally Posted by cuppajoe_9
    I just read The Catcher in the Rye in about two days, but I was hurrying because my friend lent it to me and he hasn't read it yet.
    I, too, remember flying directly through The Catcher In The Rye, hardly having the ability to place the book down, loving it so much; somewhat related to this, I recall reading Lord Of The Flies by William Golding very quickly, also.
    Ironic that we read the book in almost the same length of time of which J.D. Salinger wrote it.

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    That depends completely on the book! And what do you mean by "a day"? If you sit and read for 10 h/d, you'll finish War and Peace in few days. Unless one drops dead out of boredom. But reading... let's say... Heidegger at least I have to reread one and the same sentence several times, which takes time.

  13. #13
    closed Bysshe's Avatar
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    Generally, I'm a quick reader, but I don't read huge amounts a day. I only read huge amounts if I can't physically put something down. Stephen King book sare always page-turners, and I tend to finish them over a couple of days (with the exception of The Stand - much too long to cover in two days!).

    I don't measure by pages. Instead I'll read a couple of chapters a night.

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