How long does it take to read a book?
An average novel of about 90,000 words takes roughly 6 to 6.5 hours to read at an average silent speed of 238 words per minute. Shorter books finish faster and dense non-fiction slower, but as a rule of thumb you can read most books in a handful of focused hours — often a couple of evenings.
| Book length | Approx. words | Time at 238 wpm |
|---|---|---|
| Short novel / novella (~150 pages) | ~40,000 | ~2¾ hours |
| Average novel (~300 pages) | ~90,000 | ~6¼ hours |
| Long novel (~500 pages) | ~150,000 | ~10½ hours |
| Epic (~1,000 pages) | ~300,000 | ~21 hours |
Reading an e-book or a specific excerpt? Paste any text into the reading time calculator and set your speed — it works entirely in your browser.
Why page count is a rough guide
Pages vary enormously by trim size, font and spacing, so two "300-page" books can differ by tens of thousands of words. Word count is the honest measure of reading time. If you only have a page number, assume about 250 to 300 words per page for a typical trade paperback, then divide by your reading speed.
Your reading speed matters most
Average adult silent reading is about 238 words per minute, but the range is wide: a careful reader of difficult prose may sit near 180, while a practiced reader clears 300 or more. That difference turns a 90,000-word book into anywhere from about five to eight hours. See average reading speed by age for where you likely fall, and how to read faster for evidence-based ways to improve.
Reading a book in a day
Finishing an average novel in one day means about six hours of actual reading — very doable across a long afternoon and evening with breaks. Longer books simply need more sessions; break the total word count into hourly chunks (roughly 14,000 words an hour at average speed) and the goal stops feeling vague.
FAQ
How long does it take to read a 300-page book?
About 5–7 hours for a typical 300-page novel (~75,000–90,000 words) at an average 238 wpm. Faster readers finish in 4–5 hours.
How many words are in an average book?
Most adult novels run 70,000–100,000 words, with 90,000 a common average. Non-fiction and literary fiction often run longer.
How many pages can you read in an hour?
Roughly 40–50 pages an hour at average speed, assuming ~250–300 words per page. Dense or technical books read slower.