Reading is a fun-filled activity. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading soft or hardcopy. However, reading speed differs from person to person. Several factors also affect reading speed. So, how many pages do you think can you read in an hour?
Most people are scared to read cumbersome books because of the time. They believe finishing the book would take time. So they don’t see any good reason to invest a second in the book.
Now the big question many readers and authors keep asking. Check it out below.
How many pages can you read in an hour?
Many factors will determine the number of pages you can read in an hour. So the answer is subjective. You can read 10 pages per hour, while someone could be doing over 60 pages per hour.
Factors that affect reading speed are the book’s complexity, writing style, interest in the book, and the reader’s proficiency level in the language. Your reading speed will increase if you’re reading a book you’re familiar with than one you barely know.
So, on average, you can read 40 to 50 pages of a book in an hour.
Table of Contents
Why Every Page Of Your Book Should Be Top Notch:
Being an author is not all about writing books. How good are your books? That’s the crucial question authors should be asking themselves.
So, why should authors aspire to make every page of their books a must-read? To answer this question, we must revisit the reason people read books.
Most people read books to gain information. They say the most profound secrets in the world are hidden in books. Just like students read books to acquire knowledge and pass exams, to move to the next academic phase, non-students also need and read books to climb the hurdles in life.
The information gained from reading books can help people scale through life’s hurdles. Married couples can treat themselves better and stay married with the help of information packed in books. What about someone who’s about to give up hope? There are myriads of motivational books that could speak to your soul and uplift your spirit.
People also read books to while away time. Such individuals may benefit from knowledge gained from a book but aren’t focused on the knowledge aspect. They just read for fun, and that’s it.
So, as an author, when you write, put down the best information you possibly could get. Research thoroughly and deliver books with top-notch pages that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.
When people pick up your book to read, they shouldn’t regret their actions. Your text should give them reasons to continue reading. It should not be boring in any way.
The reason thousands of people have read books like Harry Potter, Eat that Frog and co, from start to finish, is because they are interesting to read. Harry Potter, for example, has over a million pages in total.
So tell me, if Harry Potter was a boring or poorly written book, would people be anxious to pick it up to read? Of course, such won’t happen.
If you’re an author, it’s essential to produce quality books. Each page should add meaning to your targeted audience.
To do this, you also need thorough research. Research would expand your knowledge-base of the book.
Different Ways People Read Books: Types Of Reading
Readers read books in different ways. They could skim, scan, and do an extensive or intensive reading. Skimmers and scanners don’t enjoy wasting time on books. But if the book is interesting, they may end up spending more time on it.
Let’s talk about the various reading patterns.
Skimming:
Skimming is done to obtain a general view of the book. It will help readers know if the book is worth reading or not. Many readers skim through books at a bookstore before splashing the cash.
In skimming, readers don’t carefully read through books for more details. Instead, the goal is to evaluate and check the story, characters, and write-up, and others to have a general idea of the book. When skimming, fact-finding is not an option.
Scanning:
This mode of reading seeks to achieve finding the relevant information in a text. Scanning through an article does not require complete immersion in the text. Deep comprehension is also not what scanning hopes to achieve. Scanning wants to pick out facts and significant points from a text.
When scanning, the focus is not on analyzing the grammatical constructions of the article. Usually, in the scanning mode of reading, you read texts and check for unfamiliar words so that after you’ve translated them, it will be relatively easy to read the text thoroughly. This method of reading is also called diagonal reading.
Intensive reading:
Intensive reading is thorough. Here, readers examine grammatical constructions and more. Readers can conduct a further check on phrases and words used in the book.
Intensive reading is used on books that are exciting to read. The reader is confident that they would benefit immensely from the book after reading a couple of pages.
Extensive reading:
Extensive reading aims at getting acquainted with new information. Readers read without paying attention to new, unfamiliar words, as long as the meaning of the text can be maximally understood based on the context in which they exist.
In this type of reading, a full understanding is critical. You may want to answer questions regarding the text after extensively reading it. Extensive reading makes it possible to summarize the whole text.
Each of them provides different positions in the text, different ways of perception, and different time you spend reading. However, they contribute to the improved understanding of written speech.
Factors That Determines How Many Pages Can You Read in an Hour
40 to 50 pages on average is what an adult can read per hour. However, certain factors determine if you would read more or less per hour. These include the book’s complexity, writing style, reader’s interest, concentration level, and proficiency in the English language (that’s if the book is written in the English language).
Again, if you’re reading a book you have read before, your reading speed would be higher than when you’re reading a book you’re not familiar with.
Now, let’s explain each of these factors in detail.
The book’s complexity:
Complex books take time to read. You would need more time to process and digest the meaning of certain words as you read. Let’s use a chemistry textbook as an example. As you read such books, you have to note complex phrases, words, and definitions. These take time.
So, if you’re reading a complex book, you may end up spending more time unless you’re planning to skim or scan through the book.
Writing Style:
What’s your book writing style and readability? What font sizes does your book have? According to research, font size and typography can affect speed. The best, according to the study, is a font ranging from 8 to 12. The typeface also includes monospaced, sans serif, and roman styles. Using these would make your book much easier to read.
About writing style, books with shorter sentences and paragraphs would be much easier to read. How the writer simplifies complicated phrases and words would also have a massive impact on reading speed.
Reader’s interest & concentration level:
Lack of interest in a book can increase one’s reading time. Interest determines the level of concentration readers would give to the book they’re reading. This explains why authors should always aspire to deliver exciting copies. As an author, don’t just think about the readers when planning or writing your book. Put yourself in the writer’s shoes.
Proficiency in the language:
People enjoy reading books in other languages besides the English language. That is why publishers publish books written in English first and then translate them to other languages like Spanish, French, and others. What’s the reason behind such decisions? Generating more revenue and ensure people from different dialects selects can read the book with ease.
So a reader’s proficiency in the language affects reading speed. The rate at which a Native speaker would read a book published in the English language is not the same as someone who isn’t a native speaker.
Conclusion
Diverse factors can affect reading speed. The rate also differs from person to person. Most people have mastered the art of reading. And as a consequence, they can read the same book faster than others. The comprehension level also plays a crucial role, most especially if you’re looking for an in-depth understanding of a book.
