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Ernest Hemingway

How long does it take to read The Old Man and the Sea?

The Old Man and the Sea is ≈ 27,000 words. At an average adult reading speed of 238 words per minute it takes about 1 h 53 min to read.

At your speed
1 h 53 min

27,000 words at 238 WPM · about 6 days at 20 minutes a day

238 WPM

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The Old Man and the Sea reading time by speed

SpeedTotal timeAt 20 min a day
Audiobook pace150 words per minute3 h 00 min9 days
Slow200 words per minute2 h 15 min7 days
Average adult238 words per minute1 h 53 min6 days
Fast300 words per minute1 h 30 min5 days
readerr400 words per minute1 h 08 min4 days
readerr600 words per minute45 min3 days

Reading time is the word count divided by reading speed. 238 words per minute is the average for adults reading silently (Brysbaert, 2019). The orange rows are speeds you can read at one word at a time in readerr.

Read The Old Man and the Sea faster

Part of the time spent on a page goes into moving your eyes from word to word. readerr shows any book or document you own one word at a time in a fixed spot, so your eyes stay still and you can go faster — at 400 words per minute The Old Man and the Sea takes about 1 h 08 min.

Questions

How many words is The Old Man and the Sea?

The Old Man and the Sea is ≈ 27,000 words (a commonly cited estimate; editions vary).

How many pages is The Old Man and the Sea?

About 100 pages in a typical paperback with about 275 words per page. Your edition may have more or fewer.

How long does it take to read The Old Man and the Sea?

About 1 h 53 min at an average adult reading speed of 238 words per minute, 1 h 08 min at 400 words per minute.

How long does it take to read The Old Man and the Sea at 20 minutes a day?

About 6 days at an average 238 words per minute.

Books of a similar length

BookWordsAt 238 WPM
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis Stevenson26,0001 h 49 min
Romeo and JulietWilliam Shakespeare26,0001 h 49 min
Alice’s Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll27,0001 h 53 min
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens29,0002 h 02 min
Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck29,0002 h 02 min
Through the Looking-GlassLewis Carroll30,0002 h 06 min

All 136 books → · Open in the reading time calculator →

Word count is a commonly cited estimate. Editions vary, so treat every number as approximate.