“I read it in one sitting” ...really?!

[Offred2]

I often see claims like this in the blurb on the cover of books or in book reviews. And every time I wonder - is this the truth? Is it even possible?

I’d say I’m an average speed reader and I read approx 25 pages an hour. So let’s be very generous and say someone can read twice as fast as me, so 50 pages an hour. I saw this claim on a novel that is 400 pages long. That would equate to 8 hours of solid reading time. Is that really possible in one sitting, even getting through it in one day works be a push wouldn’t it? Plus I think your reading speed would slow down over the course of that many hours.

Probably I’m being overly pedantic and it’s just an easy way of expressing how much you loved reading a book, but for some reason it always irks me! Anyone else ever thought this?

Oh yes I’ve done it quite a few times. But only with some books - if I truly love the story or the writing or something about it resonates with me particularly well I will consciously slow my pace right down, in order to fully appreciate it. I’d rather read a few chapters at a time than rush through a really good book. Thrillers or mysteries, I generally read those pretty quickly.

I reckon I read 100 pages an hour minimum if I'm not distracted and it's a bog standard novel. So if I sat down for 3-4 hours I can easily read a book. In a week's holiday without kids I used to get through 20+ books.

I tend to read a book a day on holiday, if having a lazy reading day

Depending on the subject of the book I can often finish a book in an afternoon. Romances average about 150 pages an hour, proper fictions more like 100 pages an hour and study / work books like 50 an hour. My mum can still read about twice as fast as I can but I’m convinced she skips words. It’s a great skill and it took a long time to get this fast so I’m fairly pleased but it gets to be an expensive habit when I’m in the mood to read now, especially with kindles.

I did once waste 3 days reading a series of books, pretty much none stop ... (Harry Potter) so I could enjoy an upcoming film. Couldn’t do this now with work, and baby, and general life

Yes, I can easily do this on holiday/day off with a good book. I’ve managed two in a day if I’m not up to much else and if I’m involved in the stories. I’m a fast reader.

Pre-baby I did this regularly. Post-baby, it's a miracle if I finish a book a month!

Well I read quicker than you OP but slower than everyone else
About a page a minute.
At my library they have a lot of quick reads, I'm sure you could manage one of them in one sitting

Yes, I used to do this very frequently. The last book I read, I did in two sittings, just because I started it in the evening on one night (and needed sleep) so carried it over to the next day.

I always know if a book is good or not (well, to my taste). If I put it down part way through, it's not a good book. A good book dominates your thoughts so that you're compelled to read more.

I read very fast and tend to read an average length book over 2 days leisurely reading so could easily do one in a sitting I think. It's part of the reason I dont read as much as I'd like- I find it hard to do anything else once I'm stuck in

I have been known to read two books in one night. I'm an avid reader an a terrible insomniac. It's not hard if you are deep in to a story.

I'm a very fast reader, and read a 'light' novel in under an hour. As I travel a lot for work, the advent of the Kindle was a wonderful thing as I'd need so many books to go to the US and back. I read three coming back from Italy this week, and have just been sorting out a book supply for tomorrows trip.

I always say that university ruined me for reading. We had to plough through 4 novels a week and I've never slowed down since. DH says I eat books I don't read them. It would be nice to take my time over a novel but I just can't. I recently read Elinor Oliphant for a book club. It's one book a month. I read it in a day at the start of the month, then had to read it again just before the discussion as it had been so long!

The last one I read in a day was the biography of Kim Gordon from sonic youth when DD was about a fortnight old and mostly asleep or on the boob.

I often get misty eyed about the days I used to cut through a book in 24h, did the Dolly Alderton one over two days recently but TBF I was quite ill and DH was in charge of DCs.

To completely hijack the thread what are these books that everyone has read in a day?

I'm like several of the other posters and a very quick reader. I read an average paperback in a couple of hours no problem. I always read quickly, even as a child, and one of the things I still feel bitter about was at primary school when we got to pick a reading book I would belt through it and want to change it the next day - only to have the teacher refuse to believe I'd read it. When I insisted I had I was told 'read it again then'! So frustrating when I wanted a new book to read.

I quite often read a book in an evening, but then I'm an extremely fast reader. I think it's just a knack.

Wow, I’m seriously impressed at the speed so many of you can read at! I’d love to know how you you do it but I fear that my reading pace is simply my natural pace and I couldn’t really speed up without losing a lot of the reading experience & meaning.

I’m a very fast reader. I did the last Harry Potter in 5 hours (I know it’s not a particularly difficult read).

We had to do some terms and conditions comparisons at work where one person was reading out loud from one sheet and the other was reading another sheet to compare word for word. I could read and say out loud quicker than people could read in their head. That was an eye opener! I didn’t realise people read so slow

I can read a novel in 2–3 hours. It’s been a long time since I had the opportunity to. I remember reading Anna Karenina in one go waiting for a delayed flight, for example.

I’ve read a book in a day a few times. If it’s really good and there’s nothing else going on

Another quick reader here. I read 3 books on Sunday but I pretty much did nothing else.

I read around 100-125 pages per hour (it takes me around 3.5hrs to read a 400 page book).

I go through phases where I do a book an evening.

I have never consciously learned to speed read and would hate to. However, I don’t hear a voice in my head when I read. Apparently it slows you down if you do.

As a child I'd mow through books. Most recently, I stayed awake all night one night reading a book called The Witness. Or Witness. Can't remember.

Oh gosh yes before I had children I used to do this all the time. I would frequently read a book in a day at the weekend. I really miss being able to do that, spend a whole day reading? What utter luxury.

Now I get ten minutes squeezed in before I fall asleep if I'm lucky!

I've listened to a lot of books in one sitting and I read The Diary of Frank in one sitting. I was meant to be getting an early night but I couldn't put it down, I weirdly didn't want to leave her.

I'm a slow reader. I read words, feel the emotions etc. I don't skim read - I like to absorb what I'm reading. Slower brain maybe.