How Long Does It Take to Read a Book? Pages, Words per Minute, and Reading Goals
October 21, 2026
Reading time is words divided by reading speed. The number of words in a book is often unknown, but you can estimate it from the page count: a typical printed novel has 250 to 300 words per page, with fewer in books with larger type or lots of dialogue. A 300-page novel at 275 words per page has about 82,500 words. At an average silent reading speed of 250 words per minute, it takes 330 minutes, or 5.5 hours. A slower reader at 200 words per minute needs 6.9 hours, and a faster reader at 300 needs 4.6 hours.
Genre, difficulty, and your purpose all affect the speed. Fiction is generally read faster than technical or academic writing, which may be read at 100 to 200 words per minute.
Skip the math and get your answer instantly:
Open the Character Counter →Reading Time Table
The table shows the time to read books of different lengths at three speeds. Typical lengths: a short novel 50,000 words, an average novel 80,000 to 100,000, a long fantasy novel 150,000 or more. A non-fiction title of 250 pages may have 70,000 to 90,000 words, depending on the layout.
| Book length | At 200 wpm | At 250 wpm | At 300 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 words (short novel) | 4.2 hours | 3.3 hours | 2.8 hours |
| 80,000 words | 6.7 hours | 5.3 hours | 4.4 hours |
| 120,000 words | 10.0 hours | 8.0 hours | 6.7 hours |
| 200,000 words (epic) | 16.7 hours | 13.3 hours | 11.1 hours |
How Many Books Per Year?
Reading time per day determines how many books you finish. At 30 minutes a day, you read 182 hours a year. At 250 words per minute and 80,000 words per book (5.3 hours), that is about 34 books. At 15 minutes a day, you finish about 17. At an hour a day, about 68. Even small amounts of time add up: 20 minutes a day, which is 122 hours a year, gives roughly 23 books of average length. Audiobooks are typically narrated at 150 to 160 words per minute, so an 80,000-word book takes about 8.5 hours, and you can listen while commuting or exercising.
Setting a goal in minutes per day is often easier to maintain than a goal in books or pages.
Adjusting for Your Speed
To measure your own speed, read for five minutes at a natural pace, count the words (estimate by counting words in a few lines and multiplying by the number of lines), and divide by five. Do this with the type of material you read most often. Speed depends on comprehension needs: skimming can reach 500 words per minute but at lower understanding, and speed-reading claims of 1,000 or more words per minute generally come with significant loss of comprehension. Improving speed comes mostly from reading regularly, expanding vocabulary, and reducing subvocalization and re-reading.
Tips to Read More
Keep a book with you and use idle moments. Set a daily time, such as before bed. Choose books you enjoy; abandon those that do not hold your interest after 50 pages. Mix formats: print, e-reader, and audio. Track your reading in a simple log. Limit screen distractions; leave your phone in another room. Join a book club for accountability. If you want to read 52 books in a year, you need an average of 7 days per book, or about 45 minutes a day for typical novels.
Reading for Study or Work
For textbooks and reports, speed is lower, and you may spend 2 to 4 minutes per page including notes. Plan study time using pages per hour: at 20 pages an hour, a 400-page text takes 20 hours. Use previews, headings, and summaries to improve retention. Spaced review beats rereading.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many words are on a typical book page?
About 250 to 300 words for a standard paperback.
How long does it take to read a 300-page book?
About 5 to 6 hours at an average speed of 250 words per minute.
How many books can I read in a year at 30 minutes a day?
About 30 to 35 average-length novels.
How fast do people listen to audiobooks?
Narrators typically speak about 150 to 160 words per minute.
Does speed reading work?
Modest improvements are possible, but very high speeds reduce comprehension.