How long does it take you to read a tech book?

rockstar81

Got my eye on a couple books (400 pages and 800 pages). I am currently watching cbt nuggets on those subjects but just wondering how long it takes most people to get through techy books?

msteinhilber

Too many variables.

Depends on how well the book is written. Is the content fairly dry or does it capture my attention? How much do I already know about the subject, if it's a lot of new content I tend to read slower. I also often don't read books front to back, especially with content that can be applied to a lab environment. I'll generally take a chapter and read it through then if there is content I can lab, I'll explore that a while before moving on. I also often read a chapter once straight through, then go back and read again and take notes and/or prepare flash cards depending on the topics being covered. It also depends on how well of a reader someone is or how good their attention span is.

Basically, how long it takes me to get through a book varies greatly. A well written book ~500 pages or so that has content that captures my attention well I can probably go through in a week or two depending on my other obligations and how long I'm devoting to studying. Poorly written or dry content might take me three or four weeks. I avoid trying to rush through a book by covering too much content in one sitting or much less of it becomes committed to memory.

It's not a race though, quality not quantity.

dpsmooth15

yes, i agree 100% 400pages is about 8 or 9 days max.IF the author is not dry. he has to catch my attention with the typical author dry humor that only he thinks is funny every few pages and not assume the book is for a Harvard Professor. Let me tell you my secret. One particular book I am reading I have it broken down into pages. 48 pages if i remember correctly a day marked on my calendar on my laptop,…granted the end of chapter reviews and test questions take up a portion of that…but it is still included in the 48 so it is not actually 48 reading pages… and I do NOT mark the 48th page. I go over if boredom is not kicking me in the face.

DoubleNNs

A depressingly long time.

If it's for a cert and I'm taking notes, ~ 10 pages every hour.

But I'm keeping at it.

LittleBIT

I can power through about 150 - 200 pages in about 8 - 10 hours. If you can get past all the extra verbage, especially in tech books such as 'in my experience' or 'this happened to me' or ' Case Studies', you can cut out quite a bit of reading time. Obviously, if the topic is brand new to you, it may take a while.

I started reading the MTA Server Admin essentials book skimmed through 100 pages in under 4 hours, mostly because I skipped some things that I already knew about. I suppose some believe that depending on how long a page is written, a single page should be 90 - 120 seconds a piece. Trivial knowledge that I remember from my college classes ^^.

But, its better to understand what your reading, over reading it fast and getting through it. You will actually retain information when reading slow and understanding what they are talking about vs. not retaining much except for some key concepts, taking a $150 exam only to fail. Not to mention you won't learn anything. And in this business, from all the seasoned people on this forum, Knowledge and Experience > *

Asif Dasl

Yeah I'm with LittleBIT, I usually estimate 2 minutes a page, longer if I have to take notes. But now that I'm on Safari Books Online it's hard to make an estimate without looking at the print version's page count for reference.

Snow.bros

For me it will depend on the subject and how familiar i am with topics of the book.
I usually don't read through a topic without understanding it, if i read a chapter and i feel that i am not satisfied with the understanding of the whole chapter i reread the whole chapter from scratch, take notes and make sure that i really understand the whole chapter or topic to get started moving on to the next chapter.

So honestly on my end reading a 400-800 pages books with the working lifestyle takes me about a good 3-6 weeks to complete the whole book.

LittleBIT wrote: »

I can power through about 150 - 200 pages in about 8 - 10 hours.

I wish i had your reading speed and level of understanding then i would be done with my MCSE and working into getting my CCENT

DevilWAH

I base my reading time on 50 pages per sitting on average and I normally put aside 1 sitting per day for studying. I will decided where to read to by looking ahead 50 pages and then flip back or forward a few pages to find a naturally gap to stop at. Read the entire section in one go, marking he page with a pencil (normally just top corner to highlight it requires further thought). Once I have got to the end I will go back and make notes / flash cards from all the highlights before I am done. So the first read though is done in about half an hour, I don't skim read but I don't stop to ponder when I don't get some thing straight away. I find more often than not by reading on its often repeated. Then I spend about 1 hour going over the bits I highlighted as not getting first time or wanting to find more info on. and then about 30 min to an hour writing up notes and flash /cards.

I can read a novel in a single sitting through the night, what takes time is the note taking to make sure it sticks and researching the bits I don't fully understand.

So with writing notes about 25 pages per Hour

Params7

If its something I'm preparing for exam, then a really long time (given I'm working full time). Upto 2-4 months. I like to read, practice, skim through again and practice again. Then go on to the next chapter.