How Fast Can You Read?

Apr
10
2012
Hmm... Ever wondered whether you're able to read faster than the average person? I've certainly been curious to see whether the amount of books I go through has improved my reading speed so when I spotted the Staples Speed Reader Challenge at Radiant Shadows, I could hardly resist.

It turns out, after three attempts my score is fairly dependent on how interested I am in the text. My score significantly improved when Alice In Wonderland popped up, proving that I should finally make an attempt to read the childhood favourite.

Overall, my score fell just below the average college student. Roughly 279 words per minute and 12% faster than the national average.

What Does This All Mean? I Could Read:
  • Harry Potter in 4 Hours
  • Lord of the Rings in 28 Hours
  • Catch 22 in 10 Hours
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four in 5 Hours
  • The Fountainhead in 18 Hours
  • The Grapes of Wrath in 10 Hours

It also means, I'd be able to read 3 books on a Sony Reader before recharging.
ereader test
Take the test for yourself, then pop back over here to share your score :)
Posted by at 15:00

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kate · 677 weeks ago

Seems I read 6% slower then the national Avrage meaning I fall right below 8th grade students in reading level
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Debz · 677 weeks ago

It says I read 44% faster than the national average, which seems strange because I usually read dreadfully slow!
Perhaps it's because I got Alice in Wonderland, which I've read several times. Whatever the case may be, I'm just happy reading!
1 reply · active 676 weeks ago
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Holly · 676 weeks ago

You're probably super good at remembering details from books, right? That's something I'd love to be able to do.
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Josette · 676 weeks ago

I just took the test and they say I'm 80% faster than national average! It cannot be as I consider myself a slow reader. I think it was because during my test, they gave me the text from Alice in Wonderland to read and that's fairly easy to remember as I've read it before!

Still, the results are encouraging to pick up those books that I'll never think of picking up.
1 reply · active 676 weeks ago
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Holly · 676 weeks ago

I'd love to know just how accurate the test is and I'd like to see the scores of all those bloggers who claim to be extremely fast readers.
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Arielle · 676 weeks ago

that test made me depressed! i read soo slow. like 250 words a minute. then the graph goes on to say high scoring college students read 800 words a minute!
i need to learn how to speed read ASAP!
loll
x
1 reply · active 676 weeks ago
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Holly · 676 weeks ago

It made me a little depressed too, so I took the test again. I know, sneaky, right? haha, turns out I could've really make a change to my score in the end :S
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Caitlin · 676 weeks ago

This was awesome! I got 682 words per minute, 173% higher than the national average and apparently I could read HP in 1 hour 53 minutes

Thanks for sharing this!

The Cait Files
4 replies · active 676 weeks ago
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Holly · 676 weeks ago

haha, wow. I'd love to see how long it would actually take to read HP in comparision to the test. Have you previously read the book?
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Caitlin · 676 weeks ago

Yes, but when I was really young! I read the 7th book in about 7-8 hours though, and that's around 750 pages, so my average actual reading speed is probably around 100 pages an hour
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Holly · 676 weeks ago

Nice, I tend to think my reading speed varies depending on how interested i am in the text.
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Caitlin · 676 weeks ago

I think mine does too. I definitely couldn't read textbooks and things that fast, and if I'm reading a book I've read before, I tend to read it a lot quicker.
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Cialina · 676 weeks ago

Ahhh, this was so much fun. I averaged at around 427. Thanks for sharing.

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