This Week's Topic
Reading Rate
Last week, Tanya was talking about if the type of book affects your reading experience. It made me think about my own reading experience and what factors affect my rate of reading.
Factors that affect my reading include:
- Environment - I read best when it's quiet. This is sort of ironic as I was raised in a noisy home, but it's true. I have to put on my white noise machine to drown out chatter from the TVs or people talking. I also find it more difficult to read outside of my home. I read a lot at the train station and on the train, but I am easily distracted or trying to be aware of my surroundings. I cannot never really allow myself to really get carried away by the story.
- The genre of book - I have always found contemporaries to be the quickest reads for me with contemporary romances being the type of books I fly through. Fantasy books tend to be the slowest. It's a combination of details and the difficult names of the characters. Seriously, I have to slow down to say their names in my head even when I am trying not to "voice" my reading.
- Intended audience - Back when I was reading mostly all young adult, I found my reading rate to be much faster. I was reading a full 10 pages per hour faster than I do now. There are some authors whose writing is more dense, but in general, I read young adult books with more ease.
- Author's Nationality - I wasn't sure how to put this, but when I read books by non-US authors and they use a lot of local lingo in their books, I read a bit slower. This is not a bad thing. for example, an English author writing a story set in England would naturally use the local vernacular, but that's not the way I speak, and it usually takes me a bit longer to work through the text.
- Time of day - I am tired at night. I know I read so much slower, but it's ok because the reading puts me in a nice quiet mood as I wind down for bed.
What affects your reading rate or experience?
Now it's your turn!
What affects your reading rate?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
I think genre affects my reading rate - I think I read nonfiction slower than fiction. Also, the format of the book changes my reading speed - I definitely read ebooks way faster than physical books, although I'm not sure why!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think of that, but it's true for me too! I read ebooks faster. I think it has something to do with the font size and white space for me and less page turning struggles, readjusting.
DeleteI am normally a fast reader. Mostly because I read a lot of romance and those tend to move more quickly. Fantasy novels move so slow for me that I prefer to listen to them. Women's fiction can be that way as well for me at times along with slow thrillers. I guess it's really all about pace and info dumping in a way. If I'm tired, I have a harder time focusing and that will also slow my pace. This was kind of a mess of a comment. lol
ReplyDeleteI cannot listen to SFF books. I miss too many details, but I do read them slower. They tend to be more dense and have oddly named characters and places that I have to try to figure out how to pronounce.
DeleteI like to read early in the morning, right as the sun is rising and the world is quiet. There's just something to relaxing about that time of day for me--when I don't have any obligations yet--but I know not everybody gets up with the birds!
ReplyDeleteI do most of my reading in the morning. It's quiet and my eyes feel the best.
DeleteWell, since I talked about this last week you already know my answer. lol :) But it was fun to read about what affects your reading experience. Reading in public is tricky for me because there are so many distractions.
ReplyDeleteI am such a nervous nelly. I need to watch around me at all times. My paranoia gets in the way of my reading. I do better on the train than at the station
DeleteI read pretty fast as long as I'm enjoying the book.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say the same. You are lucky!
DeleteYes, to all of this! Surroundings can slow my reading rate, like if I'm at the pool or on a beach where there's a lot of activity I can't shut that out. I also need it quiet. Genre definitely impacts my reading speed. Generally, romances and rom-coms are a quicker read. Not a lot to puzzle over or figure out like fantasy where you're possibly get the lay of a new world. I can read when I'm tired at night, but I end up having to re-read because I can't remember what I read, lol!
ReplyDeleteI am terrible at shutting stuff out. I am that dog...SHINY! Yes, romances are the best for me. They are the best for me on audio as well. HA, I experience the same phenomena when I read when I am tired. I start up again in the morning, and am like "what happend? I read this?"
DeleteI only read at home, so there are less variables, but on the whole, reading is an immersive experience for me that drones everything else out. And I haven't noticed a different pattern of YA-vs.-adult...in my experience, YA doesn't necessarily equate with more accessible (or simplistic) writing, though the concepts are of course deeper and more complex if I read, for instance, adult sci-fi. But generally speaking, I wolf everything down 😂.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that your rate is not affected by any factors. I cannot say the same.
DeleteThe main influence on my reading rate is the genre. Contemporary romances (or YA) are usually fast reads while fantasy needs more focus with world building, strange names etc and I read at a slower pace.
ReplyDeleteI find the same for myself. I think it's a matter of having to collect and understand more information. It forces me to slow down.
DeleteGood points here. I also find the method of reading affects me. Like if it's an audiobook, it better be good. Alexa is not a good kindle book reader. If it's an ebook, it better be easy to read because my eyes get so tired. No tiny print, etc.
ReplyDeleteJulie @ chapter break
I get teased for how large the print is on my kindle, but I don't like wearing my reading glasses. I have the technology, why not use it. I like white space, too. If the words are too close together, it slows me down.
DeleteGreat points, Sam. Genre definitely affects my reading rate as well as the setting of the book (similar to the author nationality). If I am looking things up or checking pronunciation, it slows me down.
ReplyDeleteOMG, the pronunciations. I stop and if you look, you will see my lips moving with those really hard words.
DeleteThe older I've gotten, the more tiredness and font size impact my reading. I used to be able to read for hours. Now I get eye strain and fall asleep. :)
ReplyDeleteSome print books use really small fonts and like no white space. I can't even read the newspaper, so I don't want to struggle through hundreds of pages of tiny print.
DeleteI can't resist the impulse to add here: That's one positive point for ebooks. You can make the font as big (and even different typefaces) as you need it to be.
DeleteMary that is one of the biggest draws for me.
DeleteAlthough I'm a big advocate of slow reading and annotation, I agree with you that I read different types of books at different rates. Genre is a big determining factor. A good thriller just has to be read quickly. Thanks for an interesting Discussion topic.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I want to speed through anything where I cannot wait to get some answers, and a thriller/mystery would definitely have me rushing to the end
DeleteDefinitely agree about genre and age range. In fact, I have noticed that even with the same number of pages, the font almost seems smaller in adult books? Which is silly, because we can't see because we are old! But I agree- contemporary books are almost always quicker for me than fantasy or sci-fi, probably because the words are all familiar! It definitely plays a role!
ReplyDeleteWith font size not having a standard, there are all these "page lies". I specifically try to pick books of certain lengths to fit my week - some longer, some shorter to balance it all out, but I have grown to distrust page count. Familiar words are quicker. I know I will stop to try to pronounce an unfamiliar word and then I am slow over it when I see it again
DeleteGenre is a big factor for me. And, of course, when I'm reading middle grade, that's certainly faster. But I find that I tire from reading so much more than I used to! I find I can't read for hours on end anymore - I literally start to fall asleep, no matter the time of day. So sad!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I also find the target age makes a difference. I read YA and MG faster than most adult books. I have no problem with my morning reading, but I find myself waking up in my chair at night with my kindle in my hand on sleep mode.
DeleteFor me, the biggest factor is how I'm consuming the book. For some reason, I'm slowest when reading a physical book and fastest when using my Kindle. I can never understand why, though.
ReplyDeletePhysical book is always slower for me, too. I know I fumble with the pages often, have to readjust because of my carpel tunnel/arthritis, and the font is often small with not enough white space for me.
Delete