Reading time vs word length.

Anonymous Traveler said:

What does novel length translate out to in reading time?

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Why do people insist on asking questions for which there are so obviously no answers? It's one of the great AW mysteries.

Why do people insist on answering questions with questions?

I read very fast and can read any of my five completed first drafts within a single evening, but none of them are <112,000 words (Average is ~120,000). I figure that's a decent length to fill in an empty evening of reading.

Maybe I misunderstood the question ...?

I can write a book in under a week, but it takes six months or so to read it.

No, wait...

Okay, here's my take on the question.

If I enjoy the book, I usually want to read it slowly and capture the feelings of the characters and visualize the setting, such as with Jane Eyre. But on the other hand, there are books I enjoy that I read fast, such as any of Janet Evanovitch's. I really don't need to savor it. (I'm usually laughing too hard anyway.)

On the other hand, if I find the book dull, but I want to try to finish it, it becomes tedious and I have to reread the page maybe three times to have it register. If that happens too often, though, I end up throwing it across the room. You should see the walls in this house....

So--final answer: It depends.

Anonymous Traveler said:

I have been listening to classical music all day and marvel how composers can take a theme, and IMHO work it to death and remain famous for centuries. If I repeat a thought or a phrase I'm pounced on.

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Because music is fundamentally different from a written work of fiction. You're comparing different kinds of fruit here.