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How long does it take to read popular books?
At an average adult reading speed of 238 words per minute, and at 400 words per minute — for example, reading one word at a time in readerr. Tap a book to open it in the calculator.
| Book | Words | At 238 WPM | At 400 WPM |
|---|---|---|---|
| MetamorphosisFranz Kafka | 22,000 | 1 h 32 min | 55 min |
| Alice’s Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll | 27,000 | 1 h 53 min | 1 h 08 min |
| A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens | 29,000 | 2 h 02 min | 1 h 12 min |
| The Time MachineH. G. Wells | 33,000 | 2 h 19 min | 1 h 22 min |
| The AlchemistPaulo Coelho | ≈ 39,000 | 2 h 44 min | 1 h 38 min |
| The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald | 49,000 | 3 h 26 min | 2 h 02 min |
| Treasure IslandRobert Louis Stevenson | 68,000 | 4 h 46 min | 2 h 50 min |
| The Catcher in the RyeJ. D. Salinger | ≈ 73,000 | 5 h 07 min | 3 h 02 min |
| FrankensteinMary Shelley | 75,000 | 5 h 15 min | 3 h 08 min |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s StoneJ. K. Rowling | ≈ 77,000 | 5 h 24 min | 3 h 12 min |
| The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde | 79,000 | 5 h 32 min | 3 h 18 min |
| Nineteen Eighty-FourGeorge Orwell | ≈ 89,000 | 6 h 14 min | 3 h 42 min |
| The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien | ≈ 95,000 | 6 h 39 min | 3 h 58 min |
| The Hunger GamesSuzanne Collins | ≈ 100,000 | 7 h 00 min | 4 h 10 min |
| To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee | ≈ 100,000 | 7 h 00 min | 4 h 10 min |
| The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesArthur Conan Doyle | 105,000 | 7 h 21 min | 4 h 22 min |
| Wuthering HeightsEmily Brontë | 117,000 | 8 h 12 min | 4 h 52 min |
| Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen | 128,000 | 8 h 58 min | 5 h 20 min |
| The OdysseyHomer | 130,000 | 9 h 06 min | 5 h 25 min |
| A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens | 136,000 | 9 h 31 min | 5 h 40 min |
| DraculaBram Stoker | 161,000 | 11 h 16 min | 6 h 42 min |
| Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens | 186,000 | 13 h 02 min | 7 h 45 min |
| Little WomenLouisa May Alcott | 186,000 | 13 h 02 min | 7 h 45 min |
| Jane EyreCharlotte Brontë | 187,000 | 13 h 06 min | 7 h 48 min |
| DuneFrank Herbert | ≈ 188,000 | 13 h 10 min | 7 h 50 min |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsJ. K. Rowling | ≈ 198,000 | 13 h 52 min | 8 h 15 min |
| Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky | 204,000 | 14 h 17 min | 8 h 30 min |
| Moby-DickHerman Melville | 215,000 | 15 h 03 min | 8 h 58 min |
| Anna KareninaLeo Tolstoy | 351,000 | 24 h 35 min | 14 h 38 min |
| The Count of Monte CristoAlexandre Dumas | 464,000 | 32 h 30 min | 19 h 20 min |
| The Lord of the RingsJ. R. R. Tolkien | ≈ 480,000 | 33 h 37 min | 20 h 00 min |
| War and PeaceLeo Tolstoy | 565,000 | 39 h 34 min | 23 h 32 min |
Word counts for classic books were counted from Project Gutenberg editions and rounded (some editions include a preface or notes). Counts marked ≈ are commonly cited estimates. Editions vary, so treat every number as approximate.
How the calculator works
Reading time is simply the number of words divided by your reading speed in words per minute. For pages, the calculator multiplies pages by words per page — about 250–300 for a typical novel, more for dense non-fiction or large-format books.
What is an average reading speed?
A large review of 190 studies found that adults read English non-fiction silently at about 238 words per minute on average, and fiction at about 260. Most adults fall between roughly 175 and 300 words per minute.
Source: Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many words do we read per minute? A review and meta-analysis of reading rate. Journal of Memory and Language, 109.
How can I read faster?
Part of the time spent reading a page goes into moving your eyes: jumping from word to word, landing a little off target, and jumping back. Reading one word at a time in a fixed spot removes that movement. Try it on any text in the free online speed reader, find your pace with the reading speed test, or read whole books with readerr for iPhone and iPad.
Questions
How many words are on a page?
About 250–300 words for a typical paperback novel. Hardcovers, textbooks and non-fiction with small type can have 350–500. If you know your edition, change “Words per page” in the Pages tab.
How long does it take to read 100 pages?
At 275 words per page that’s about 27,500 words — roughly 1 hour 55 minutes at an average 238 words per minute, or about 1 hour 10 minutes at 400 words per minute.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser.