My two sophomore English classes have been reading a number of short stories over the past two weeks. Today they were assigned a science-fiction story and to mix it up, I told them I wanted them to read it solo. I usually try to vary how we read things in class-from reading with a partner, to class readings, and following along with an audio recording-I like the diversity and the way it makes each class day different.
Reading in class can be painful for some students, so by mixing it up this way, I try to prevent as much of that self-conscious feeling as possible. However, today I really wanted the kids to read the story on their own so I could check their reading comprehension. Makes sense, right?
Well, one of my classes got sidetracked into an intense discussion on reading and reading speed. We spent some time today talking about average reading speeds, skimming, and comprehension. Some of my kids admitted that they have a hard time reading on their own while in school. The pressure of watching other kids reading and flipping pages faster than they do stresses them out.
I never had that problem in school. I have always been a fast reader. I would say that on average, I read 2-3 pages a minute. That changes depending on the material (War and Peace averaged about a page/minute-YA novels can be read 4 or 5 pages/minute). Just the other night I read about 90 pages of The Three Musketeers in about 45 minutes or so.
So it has taken me some time to check the assignments I give my students. My reading speed and comprehension is faster and higher than theirs, so I have to slow it down.
But then I started wondering how fast you all read. As bloggers, reviewers, and dedicated readers, we (in general terms) probably read more than the average person. My questions to you are these: How fast do you think you read? What do you think is an average reading amount? Does reading quicker lower comprehension?
You get the idea, right? I'm curious to see what your answers are!
Good question. It depends on the writing and my interest in it. Classics take me forever (perhaps due to the more formal language). Current fiction I breeze through.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a really really fast reader, but then I made myself slow down just a little bit and I realised I could actually remember what I'd read by the end of the book! But I probably do read faster than quite a lot of people reading the same things as me... Does that make me sound really nerdy?! Hehe. I've never really timed myself reading though, maybe I should start doing that to really look at how fast I read!
ReplyDeleteI'm the slowest reader I have ever met. A standard page takes me about 3 minutes when reading classics or something of that ilk.
ReplyDeleteI have often tried to speed this up but have never taken any courses. I find that by attempting to speed things up my comprehension goes way down.
In general, I need to read as I speak... and I can't figure out how to break through that.
I'm a slow reader too, though I get through books pretty fast because I devote so much time to reading. I can't believe you can read 4-5 pages a minute in a YA book—that seriously blows my mind and I can't even begin to understand how you do it!
ReplyDeleteI've always been a really fast reader. If its something semi-mindless or Harry Potter or something - easy read and I can finish pretty fast. But it never ever fails that when I go back and reread, I find things that I missed the first time around.
ReplyDeleteI also tend to skim a lot when I need to catch up on message boards, blog posts, and twitter. Usually just because it takes the least amount of time, especially w/my twitter feed - as I follow over 200 people and I don't get to check it as often during the day as I used to be able to.
I have also always been a fast reader. I skim, too. There are some books that, to me, just use way too much description, and I will skim the heck out of those.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually find that it alters the meaning for me any. If I catch myself skimming too much, I go back and force myself to slow down.
Interesting question, though. I have to catch myself in class as well when I give students assignments. It's a hard thing to estimate.
I agree, it depends on the book. A YA or juvenile book is pretty fast because the comprehension is easier and the print is smaller. With classics, it depends on the writer and the edition -- some of those Dickens works have teeny tiny print! And the translation affects it also. I too found myself zipping through The Three Musketeers, but the Pevear translation is very easy to read. I'll have to try and time myself. Interesting question!
ReplyDeleteI generally figure 60 pages per hour for a "normal" book, with small variations depending on the size of the pages (ie: mass paperback editions have smaller pages than hardbacks). I read slightly faster than that for easy stuff like ya, and slightly slower than that for hard stuff like classics. So, roughly, 1 page per minute. Interesting question!
ReplyDeleteI don't really know if I'm a fast or slow reader. I do kind of have a philosophy that if a book is worth reading, it's worth taking my time to read each and every word. Listening to audio books has helped me to slow my mental pace a bit. I'm pretty compulsive about not skimming, although I have been tempted to as I make my way through Ulysses, which I won't comprehend no matter how slow I go!
ReplyDeleteWow, you are a fast reader. I am a slow reader and reading in school was always painful for me. Watching others turn pages faster than me was intimidating and made me feel stupid. I hated it. Now, I am not stupid, and I love reading, but I am super slow. You read 4-5 YA pages a minute, I read about 2/3 to maybe a page a minute, all depending on the book, font, and spacing. When doing in class reading, I never finished before the class discussion started up. Anyway, just a little perspective from a painfully slow reader.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fairly fast reader, though not quite as fast as you, and of course it depends on the book. I see skimming as a completely different thing than reading fast, though. I can skim very fast and get a basic comprehension of a book without really READING the book. I tend to do that with books I really hate but have to read anyway.
ReplyDeleteI am a very fast reader. My boyfriend is constantly amazed at just how fast I can get through a book. I don't mean to be a fast reader, it just happens. Some books do take me longer, especially non-fiction books that are science based, but even those I think I read at a decent speed.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a fairly fast reader, but my big pause in reading up until about a year ago slowed me down somewhat. I'm also trying to slow down a bit deliberately--I find I sometimes miss things when I read too fast, and I'm trying to stop that. That said, my speed definitely does vary by book. I remember reading Don Quixote (summer reading requirement in high school) and getting a bit glum when I timed myself because it took so long to get through a page, while there are some books I can get through in an afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty quick reader depending on, as you and several commenters have said, the material that I'm reading. But I don't necessarily slow down my reading bc it's complicated or boring (although that certainly happens at times). I have a tendency to slow down and "savor" a book. I'm reading The United States of Arugula today and it is literally jam packed with so much interesting information, name dropping, and presented in such an entertaining way that I just want to absorb every sentence :)
ReplyDeleteI don't believe reading quicker slows comprehension...but only IF that person who's reading quickly is really reading and thinking as he/she reads. If the person is skimming or spot checking a text that shouldn't be skimmed or spot checked (which depends entirely on the reader's purpose for reading), then the reader's comprehension may definitely be lowered.
Reading comprehension is such a complicated phenomenon which depends on so many variables and individual preferences and attitudes :)
I do Think Alouds with my students sometimes so they can see how I make sense of a difficult text...I've even let them bring in random texts to see how I handle something out of my league...it's a fun activity and one that seems to open their eyes to strategic reading.
I'm a moderately fast reader, but I'm also a very thorough reader. I won't always finish first but I remember a lot of details. Like a few people have mentioned, I tend to read and speak at the same speed. I usually "read aloud in my head" to get a good sense of the dialogue and the rhythm of the writing.
ReplyDeleteAllie you are intimidating to read along side of. You are flipping pages at a fast pace. That being said, I have gotten use to it. I think I am an above average reader, because I read so much. I think that has a lot to do with readers speeds. I think the more you read, the faster you go, along with the comprehension. It just goes with the more you do it, the easier it gets and the more you get out of it.
ReplyDeleteI understand how your students would feel bad, if they are hearing pages turn and they are only half way down the page. You start wondering if something is wrong with you. I would tell them that everyone reads at their own speed, for their own comprehension. There is no right speed, whatever it takes for you to get what you want or need out of what you are reading.
I agree that it depends on what I'm reading as to how fast I read and whether I will skim over too much background or fluff information to fill in a page. Sometimes I think they are like "Dickens" and filling up space.
Good topic.
Love, Mom
Interesting discussion. I've never timed myself, although I may do it now just to see!
ReplyDeleteI think my speed is moderate. I read faster than the average person but not as fast as many of my fellow book lovers. I know for a fact that I'm a little slower than my husband because we've been reading the same page at the same time before and he's always waiting for me.
I do like to savor the language sometimes. I think this slows me down a little bit. Sometimes I'll re-read a sentence, or glance back in the page or paragraph to remind myself of which character just said something.
I'm also easily distracted!
I'm ok with being a little slower than some other book bloggers - we're all different!
I'm a slow reader. I'm lucky to read a page a minute. I'm also a distracted reader. I read faster during the readathon for some reason but typically I'd say 50-60 pages an hour is good for me. If I'm at home I can rarely even sit for an entire hour just reading--even before pregnancy. Guessing I'm in the vast minority.
ReplyDeleteIt completely depends on the book. But book speed can be important - I couldn't get through Walden until I bought a tiny pocket-sized edition and in that book I could get through 10+ pages a minute, which finally provided the incentive for me to get through the first chapter. A childhood friend and I used to have speedreading races. Ah, memories.
ReplyDeleteI'm a pretty fast reader (especially with YA) and 3 Musketeers, despite being a classic, is also going pretty quickly. Dickens however was more like a page/minute or so. Generally though when we were assigned a reading in class, I'd be the first one done and would either reread the selection, read ahead, or stare off into space while everyone else caught up.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered if constant reading helps people read faster but it seems like that's not necessarily the case as other book bloggers chime in. Great question!
I've always considered myself a slower reader. I don't think I read like a fast reader nor do I feel like I'm average. However, in the last year or so (when my reading really picked up) I'd like to think I've increased my reading speed - perhaps to be equivalent to an average-speed reader. At the same time there are instances when I really want to savor the words and I revert back to my slower reading self.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the Pevear translation of W&P it was about a page a minute for me. Generally I probably read about 70-80 pages per hour. I've always wondered how my reading speed compares to other book bloggers.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I've ever counted. I'm a very distractable reader. if I could sit down still for a minute and read fine - but I read a page, look something up on Wiki, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'd say on average - I read a book as fast as I could read it out loud so I pronounce every word I read carefully in my head. However saying that, I'm rubbish at actually reading out loud because I seem to forget to say half the letter which is a problem, right?
But on average - if I could read out loud fluently and carefully. I don't like reading to fast, I read as fast as the story in my head plays out. Dialogue especially - you can't read dialogue faster then someone could speak it. A book's more then it's meaning or comprehension.
Obviously some reader faster and some read slower it depends on the feel of the book. And also the size of the page and font!
I don't know. I don't think if you skim, IMO, you can say you've read the book. That's cheating in my book.
I wouldn't say I'm a fast reader, but nor am I a slow reader. I think however I am a paced reader - I would prefer to read something slower then I in fact could. If I find myself reading fast then it's usually because the book is boring me, I have an obligation to read it, but I can't wait to be done with it.
It's hard to judge when I have no one to compare it to on a frequent enough basis to come up with an average.
How long does it take for me to finish a book maybe? Some people seem to read about 7 books a week. I read one book at a time and I might read one book a week. Lately less just because I've been out of a reading mood since August-September.
I guess there are a lot of factors.
I usually read about 70-80 pages in an hour, depending on font size. If it's super small font it takes me forever. My bf always comments on my being a fast reading. He reads about 50 pages in an hour.
ReplyDeleteHowever, reading aloud is a struggle for me. For some reason I stumble over words when I'm reading to an audience, but if I'm reading aloud when no one else is around I'm fine.
I read pretty quickly. I have to read a lot of term papers for my job (writing tutor.) And the students often ask - "Did you actually read that?" when I finish their paper. It doesn't occur to me I'm speed-reading, because I read so much.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Shakespeare's sonnets, and him I absorb. A slow read, a study of the wordplay, that sort of thing. It's like studying art: you don't race past it. You look.
Villette I read pretty quickly, because I feel a lot of her writing should be viewed as a whole rather than by individual sentences, if that makes any sense? I get more out of it if I press forward. I think on a reread, I'd go more slowly, because then I'd be reading to appreciate her prose (which is very beautiful.)
Wollstonecraft? That one took me a while! :P
Montaigne? I take him pretty fast. He's very conversational, and the beauty in the writing isn't that important to him, I think. He wants us to hear his ideas, not his words.
Before I started reading classics, I thought I was a pretty fast reader. I could finish a YA or commercial fiction book in one day. The classics changed that, though. It took me three days to finish something as short as Of Mice and Men and two days to finish Animal Farm.
ReplyDeleteI know other bloggers read faster than me, but I don't pressure myself to increase my reading speed. For me, the important thing is that I get something from the material I'm reading, and that I fully understand everything. :)
I'm a really slow reader. I was one of those kids that was frustrated having to read while in class because I could never finish on time. It would stress me out.
ReplyDeleteI read on average one page a minute and it generally takes me longer with classics.
I think you posted earlier about this, but didn't Mrs. Martin in high school not believe that you could read as fast as you did and comprehend what you were reading and somehow tested you on it. I laughed because I remember at conferences, she said she never had a student who could come close to what you were able to achieve. I'm a proud Mom :).
ReplyDeleteI think you posted earlier about this, but didn't Mrs. Martin in high school not believe that you could read as fast as you did and comprehend what you were reading and somehow tested you on it. I laughed because I remember at conferences, she said she never had a student who could come close to what you were able to achieve. I'm a proud Mom :).
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hated reading out loud in school. I could read much faster than the majority of my classmates and I found it excruciating to listen to them read out loud, especially when the book was of a particular interest to me.
ReplyDeleteI still read incredibly fast (even faster if I find the book particularly engaging), but I have noticed that sometimes I miss things other people noticed when reading a book. Don't know if that's because I read too fast or because I do not absorb as much information as others but I have felt a bit of a need to slow down when reading particular books such as those required for class.
I read about 45 pages in one hour. That said, I read most books in English which isn't my mother tongue. Nonetheless I consider myself a slow reader. I never skim over sentences or paragraphs in a book and my bf reads always faster than I, when we read a newspaper article together or something. I asked him, he speaks out in his head what he is reading just as I do. I wonder why he is so much faster. I'm always the one who talks too fast. Does that mean he could talk even faster if he'd like to?!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'm a fast or slow reader, and my reading speed totally varies depending on the book. It's somewhere between 60 and 100 pages an hour, though, I'd guess. When I'm reading YA, that goes up!
ReplyDeleteI consider myself faster than the average joe when it comes to general fiction...although I know quite a few bloggers are way faster than me. But for non-fiction and older classics (with older language that just seems more dense), I'm slower.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the average reading speed is, so I'm not sure where I would fall along that line. I don't think I'm a particularly fast reader. If I find that my mind has wandered I go back and reread the sentence or the paragraph. Lots of times I go back to verify that I actually read what I remember - wait! Didn't this character mention that earlier? That sort of thing. I like trying to figure out the plot as I go along and I love it when the author is so crafty that I'm still in suspense until the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a great discussion going! I'm spreding the word and linking this in my Friday Five at Kate's Library!
ReplyDeleteI read fairly quickly. One of the reasons I like classics, though, is that I have a reason to slow down: there is so much beauty in some writing that i can only appreciate -- or that is more fun to appreciate if I've slowed down. Modern fiction, nonfiction, some other things, though, I don't see a need to slow down. I still get things out of it. I don't know how my reading comprehension is, I think it's good? I don't feel like I forget things I read fast, although reading War and Peace over weeks is morememorable than a book I read in one night, just because there is more of it...
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the material, but I would guess a page a minute or so. I consider myself a slow reader because I think I savor my reading always. Going any faster seems a waste.
ReplyDeleteFor me, if I am too focused on my speed I don't pay attention to what I am reading. Which isn't the same thing as saying that fast reading is not good for comprehension. Some things whiz by and I get everything. Other things I am trying to make whiz by to the point where I pay no attention to what I am reading. Pretty ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI am a fast reader who wishes she were a slower reader. I think that generally speaking the slower you read the more you can probably take in. Not necessarily all the time - but I think that a more leaisurely pace at times might help me really think about a book as I read it
ReplyDeleteI read slowly. I wish I didn't; it takes me so long to get through books! I'd love to read faster, but every time I try, I feel like I'm missing things. If you can explain how you read so fast, I'd love to hear it :-)
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