How Fast Can You Read?

Seriously – how fast can you get through a 300 page novel?

If you’re like these folks on GoodReads you can probably get through a 300 page novel, non-stop, in about 3-6 hours.

Did you know that the average person speaks at about 180 words per minute (wpm)?

And the average person reads at about 250 to 300 words per minute with about 80% of that time dedicated to eye movement and 20% to interpretation of what you’re reading.

What if I told you there was a way you could double, triple, or even quadruple that? It’s true – with Spritz.

Check it out (just click this link and you’ll open up a Spritz window which will let you read this entire blog post in about 45 seconds).

Spritz works by finding a sort of balance-point for a word (where your eye would normally focus on it) and flashing it inside the reading window, lining up that balance-point with what they call a “Redicle”, like this:

The “o” in going is the focal point of the word – so it’s easier to read/comprehend it there and move on to the next word. Rinse and repeat – and suddenly you have read an entire book without having to read across the page. It starts out at 250 words per minute (it feels a little slow to me, but then again – I drink a lot of coffee). My default Spritz speed – when I can pay attention to something for a while without interruption and have rested eyes – is about 700 wpm. Any faster and I ‘skim’.

At that speed, the average person would finish a 300 page novel in 1-2 hours. You could have an entire library shelf in your head by the end of the day.

I’ve made it a project to go back and read some of “the classics” I missed in High School.

There’s an iPad/iPhone app where you can read ePubs and PDFs, as well as an Android app in the works.

The Spritzlet (the link you clicked on above) lets you read THE ENTIRE INTERNET using Spritz. Just highlight what you want Spritz’d and go. Did I mention, Spritz is totally free?

More of an audiophile? If you listen using your iPhone or iPad, you can listen to your OverDrive books at 2x speed:

Unfortunately, OneClick doesn’t offer that function yet short of physically holding down the fast-forward button (but odds are good they will add it soon):

Of course, if you listen on your computer or in iTunes on your device rather than the OneClick player, you can easily set iTunes to your preferred speed – for me this is worth the inconvenience of adding an extra step to the process.

So, how about it? How fast can you read?