Reading a book can be quite tasking. If you’re reading for fun, then there might be no pressure to finish the book. But, when you’re reading to meet a deadline, you set a reading schedule.
A reading schedule helps you set the number of pages you should read in a day. The more pages you read in an hour, the faster you can cover the book you scheduled for reading. This only raises the question “How many pages can I read in an hour?”
The number of pages you can read in an hour varies for each person. It also largely depends on the type of book and the purpose of why you are reading. While some people can cover over sixty pages in an hour, others might cover only twenty pages of the same book in the same hour.
I can read up to 50 pages of a fictional novel in an hour. Sometimes, I can cover just 40 pages or fewer in the same time frame, especially when the book contains some unfamiliar content.
However, I cannot cover the same amount of pages when reading textbooks or other educational text. This is because I have to read at a slower pace to understand the text. Apart from this, the book size and text type determine how many pages I can cover at once.
For readers who have been wondering how long it takes to cover a book, this article shall answer your questions. Here, I shall explain how many pages an average person can read in an hour and how to cover more pages in an hour.
Why Do People Read Books?
Most people read books in order to expand their knowledge. For students, reading is important because it helps the student gain more knowledge before moving to the next educational level.
Some believe that books contain some of the world’s most profound secrets. Unlike students, non-students could read to get information outside educational purposes. They could read for fun, to understand certain circumstances, and sometimes to learn new skills.
Reading books can offer people information that will help them overcome problems in their lives. Married couples can improve their treatment of themselves and their relationship with the use of information preserved in books. For people on the edge of giving up on life, there are several motivational books available that can speak to their soul and inspire them.
Reading books plays a significant role in the development of a person’s intellectual capacity. You cannot compare a person who has a reading habit to one who doesn’t. Obviously, a more ardent reader will have broader knowledge than a non-reader.
For people who are not interested in learning new things, reading could be entertainment. Reading also expands your vocabulary irrespective of the genre of book you are reading.
As a result, Authors make it a point of duty to make every page of their work engaging. When writing, they include the most precise information that concerns their audience. This content usually comes from in-depth research of the subject, most times, reliable.
Different Methods of Reading
Different people read books in different ways. They could skim, scan, and read in depth or extensively, depending on the context they are reading. Individuals who scan and skim through books regularly dislike wasting their time on books and other reading materials.
If the book is something they are interested in, they may elect to dedicate more time to it. Let’s discuss these reading types and the best situation to use them.
Skimming
I recommend skimming through a book if you want to quickly gain a general overview of a book. Readers who skim books do not read them thoroughly in order to get further knowledge. They use it instead to evaluate the story, characters, and synopsis in order to gain a general impression of the book.
Skimming assists readers in assessing whether the book is worth their time to read. Many individuals look at a book in a bookstore before deciding whether to purchase it.
Scanning
Scanning is the process of extracting facts and important information from a piece of writing. This reading technique aims to help you identify the most significant information in a text as quickly as possible. The act of scanning an article does not need complete immersion in the material.
Scanning does not provide profound understanding and has nothing to do with assessing the grammatical structures of the article. It is similar to skimming, but on a more in-depth level. While skimming gets only the general information, scanning gives you a deeper understanding of the book.
Intensive Reading
An intensive reading program includes many hours of reading time. Here, readers aim to learn about grammatical constructions and other topics. Readers double-check the phrases and terms that appear throughout the book by looking them up online.
Intensive reading is usually to review the work. This is most common with students focused on analyzing the integral part of the book.
Sometimes, a reader can read a book intensively even if it’s just for fun. It helps the reader comprehend more information about the text.
Extensive Investigation
Getting acquainted with new knowledge should be the goal of thorough reading. If readers do not understand several words in a book, they will not appreciate the concept. In these situations, use extensive investigation. This means that the reader must perform more research on some elements of the books.
This type of reading demands a solid understanding of the material. After you’ve thoroughly read the content, you may wish to react to questions regarding it. With this, it is possible to summarize the entire work.
There is something distinctive about each reading type, Each has a different way of interpreting the material and a different amount of time you have to spend reading it.
Factors That Influence How Many Pages You Can Read in an Hour
An adult can read 30 to 50 pages per hour on average. But there are some factors that determine how much you read each hour and how much you read in one sitting. The book’s complexity, writing style, reader interest, concentration level, language skills, and certain circumstances are all variables to take into consideration when selecting a book.
I’ll discuss each of these factors in greater detail below.
The Complexity of the Book
It takes time to read a book with a lot of information. During your reading, you will require more time to evaluate and internalize the meanings of certain words and phrases. Consider the case of a chemical textbook as an illustration.
When reading such literature, you must take particular note of any difficult phrases, terminology, or definitions that you come across. These things require time to complete. Thus, an individual might averagely cover less than ten pages of such work.
The less complex a book, the more pages you can read in an hour. For instance, you can cover 40 pages of a simple novel in an hour.
The Writing Style
The writing style and how easy it is to read are also important when reading. What font sizes does the writer use in the book? How many words are in a page?
The font size and typography of a text can affect speed. The best font for easier reading ranges from font 8 to 12. For younger children, larger fonts are best as it helps them identify words easier.
Typography, also known as fonts, come in several styles, including Sans serif, and New Times Roman. When a book’s text is upright and clear, you realize you read faster than when you’re reading books with cursive writings. Thus, publishers usually decide on the best font for the work while considering how it will affect writers.
For literary style, novels with fewer words and paragraphs are far easier to read than novels with more words and paragraphs. The capacity of the writer to reduce hard sentences and words will have a big impact on the speed with which the reader will read.
Reading Interest and Concentration Level
A lack of interest in a book may cause the reader spending more time with it. The level of interest that readers have in the book they read determines the level of concentration they dedicate to it.
When a reader’s full focus is on the book, the reading process is faster. This explains why authors should attempt to write a copy that is both interesting and informative at all times.
Language Skills
When a writer writes a book in a language you’re familiar with, you will want to read more of it. Take German and English novels, for instance. I, as an English speaker, prefer to read texts written in English because I understand the language better than German.
However, if I decide to go for a book with a language I am less familiar with, I will spend more time trying to assimilate its contents.
Tips That Help You Read More
There are several tips that can improve your reading speed.
Read Physical Books
With the rise of modern technology, several readers have taken to reading e-books on their mobile devices. However, according to the University of Texas, reading on a screen slows you down by 20-30%.
According to studies published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, reading from a physical book promotes a stronger “ready-to-learn” mindset than reading from a computer. I prefer print over digital when I actually want to absorb, take notes, or underline something.
Establish And Stick to a Reading Goal
When I want to meet deadlines, I make a goal of reading one chapter per day, no matter how long or short it is. You can either choose a page count or a time limit. For instance, you could decide to read two chapters every day or read a book for two hours every day.
You might also create a schedule based on the time of day. Reading times differ for each person. Some might comprehend more during the early hours of the morning, while some might prefer to read in the evening.
Read in a Comfortable Spot
Choose a favorite spot in your home, an overstuffed chair, a rocking chair on your porch, or anything else that creates a peaceful atmosphere for you to relax in. Here, you can understand the concept of the work better.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Textbook Pages Can You Read in an Hour?
The basic line is that the number of pages you can read in an hour varies depending on the subject, your reading habits, your goals, and a variety of other considerations. With 250-300 words per page, a slow reader can get through 30 pages in one hour, an average reader can get through 40 pages in an hour, and a fast reader can get through 50-60 pages in an hour.
Can You Read 100 Pages in an Hour?
Some people read faster than others, while other people read slower than others. However, regardless of how fast you are, reading 100 pages of a conventional novel is unattainable. This scenario is only possible if the book in question in a picture novel or if the reader is only glancing through the work.
It is also possible to read 100 pages if the book is small with large fonts. An average reader will spend 2 hours and 45 minutes to read a hundred pages of a normal novel with a minimum of font 8.
Can You Read 300 Pages in an Hour?
You cannot read 300 pages of a regular novel in an hour. Skimming or scanning through a small book makes it possible to cover a significant number of pages, but only gives you a brief insight into the book’s content. If you plan to read and understand, then you take extra time, going through each line in a book.
With this, a conventional novel will require a reader to spend over two hours to cover 300 pages of a book.
