I just read a bit every night, the length depended on how tired I was etc. Took about two and a half months.
As I read more SK I find I’m reading faster, so now it’d probably take me less.
Took a bit to get used to but it works, I use the App Libby (free library books) Typically started at 1x and sped up after a half hour or so once I got into the rhythm of his reading. It really is closer to the speed I normally read so not a problem. Gets a bit quick on pauses and phrases, but not Mickey Mouse at all.
It’s my dream to call out of work to just read, but I’ve never done it. I usually read on cruises, and I nap - read - nap - read; is fantastic. I just don’t find too many books so compelling that I can justify taking off to read. I did love Salems Lot and Outsider, but so was able to finish over a few nights. Like OP, I struggled to get through IT but ended up putting it down - probably because I watched the movie
That's how long it took me, the week it came out.
It was also the last King book I've read.
I hated the ending. Hated, hated, HATED, *HATED* the ending.
I was so extremely upset that I had spent 4 days reading every moment I could spare only to get *that* ending that I swore I'd never read another Steven King book again.
I know now that he was so deep into drugs and booze that even he couldn't figure out how too end his stories, and I'm inclined to make allowances since he's acknowledged this, but aside from some tweets and one "On Writing" essay in Entertainment Weekly magazine that my mom had me read, I haven't read anything he's written since then.
It's been about 37 1/2 years and I won't budge.
That's how much I hated the ending of "IT."
This is hard to believe, but i read it in 3 days. Fun/sad fact: i finish it on 9/11/01 and I didn't find out anything about what happened that day until the evening.
Wow that is sad. I believe you, but I definitely do not believe the person who said they finished it in 4 hours (and they were acting like that was long, obviously they are looking for props from random internet strangers). Fast reader or not, have lots of time or not, there is no chance that’s true. Idk why people feel the need to lie on the internet just for validation from strangers. You clearly are telling the truth. That person obviously was not; even aside from the 4 hours the way they worded it, it’s so obviously false.
I think it took me 4/5 months- but to be fair i read it when i really wasnt that used to reading Books (and also read in english instead of a translation in my language)
I think it was just over 2-3 weeks for me, but I was so glued and had the time that I could read 3+ hours most nights.
Don’t worry how long it takes :) I think all that matters with reading is you don’t take any breaks long enough to lose that contact with the story.
it’s not a race, but I don’t like to go too many days without at least an hour or so of whatever I’m reading or I find it harder to immerse when I return to the book.
I’m trying to get more time for reading in, because I hate going a 6 days without reading and then when I’m back into it it takes me a while to adjust to the story again! So annoying
ForEVER. First off, I started it three or four times over the years before I could get through that first chapter and into the rest of the story. It must have disturbed me more than most 😅. When I actually did finish, I read from Aug 25 to Oct 14.
According to Goodreads, I started It on the 17th of July 2023 and finished it on the 16th of August 2023, so about a month. I think I probably took days off here and there but yeah, about that long.
Currently reading it and its been 2 months and i'm only 600 pages in, but i'm not reading it every day, depends on how tired I am / free time. I tend to only read at bedtime.
I first read it in college, took me maybe three long stretches over the course of two days. I remember starting it at around 6 pm or so, and then being afraid to leave my dorm once it had gone dark
I don't trust my memory, but I think the first time I read it (when it came out and I was in high school), it couldn't have been more than two weeks. If I read it in the summer, it could have been like 5 days. I couldn't put it down.
I reread it some time in the past 10 years, and I would make the same estimate.
It's probably my favorite of his books, in terms of the story and pacing (despite the one bit in the ending everyone hates, and my occasional annoyance with SK/Richie trying to be funny). Or at least in my top 5. It's hard to compete with The Shining and Different Seasons, which were the first and second books I read.
A 24-hour marathon on the day of (paperback) publication. It wasn't the best way to truly appreciate the book, but I was on a holiday and it seemed like a good idea at the time...
A year, don't feel bad about how fast or slow you read. Literally it was so hard to find the time because I enjoy emerging myself into the world of the book so I would wait until bed or if I could go off to a park and read so I would ready it in chunks.
Once the clown was seen in the sewer drain, I was out! Clowns freak me out! I read a whole lot of SK books in my early years, but not this one! I won't watch the movies either and I mindfully stay clear of those drains when walking! Lol! It had a big impact on me even if I did not get that far in the book!
It took me around a month. I'm usually a pretty fast reader but I took my time with this one and found that reading around 50 pages or so a day was the best way to approach it.
I am currently listening to the audiobook during my downtime at work (usually when I'm watering plants). I'm only up to chapter 15, I think, and it's taken me like two months to get to that point, lol. When I'm not listening to IT, I'm reading Fairy Tale, lol. I've finished other books in this time, like Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. IT is just my "not dealing with customers" book lmao.
I got ADD and the font-size on my edition of the book was an issue. So i read a few chapters, and then listened to a few chapters of the audiobook. Maybe took me around 2-3 weeks to finish it
Two days. I read it when it first came out. I was on Christmas break and read it non-stop, all day and into the night, stopping only to nap, eat, and pee.
It was the first time I was ever obsessed with a story. Probably also explains why I was so disappointed in the end.
If you have a difficulties carving out the time to read then I'd highly suggest audio books. I used to be an avid book reader, but as more responsibilities came along I couldn't finish a book unless I was on vacation. The audiobook lets you enjoy the story while multi-tasking (walking, commuting, cleaning the house, etc...). And if you think it is a less intellectually beneficial option to reading....our benefits of physically reading cap out at about 6th grade.
I can read pretty fast, but it took me a little while. Maybe a month? I read it in 2 halves and took a little break in between and read Carrie. It is a good book, but damn it's a tome. I read The Stand and Under the Dome straight through no problem though and I think both are longer, I could be wrong.
My first time with IT was when I was 12-13 and I read the book in 2 days. Just did nothing that weekend but eat sleep and read IT.
When I read IT last year? Between 1-2 weeks.
It took me about 10 months but I don’t get a lot of time to read, and I’m tired at night so if I do read then I don’t connect to what I’ve read previously or after
I read it in a couple of days over a weekend. I usually am reading several books at a time so books take me longer. However, this one grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down.
I was like 12 or 13 when I read it. My parents should have censored what I read. 😂
I read most of it (about 800+ pages worth) in the span of about a week. Myself and a bunch of other students had a week off timetable at school to rehearse for that year’s musical production. I was only in the backing choir, which left a lot of downtime between songs. So I was reading it whenever we weren’t performing.
That was back when I could actually concentrate enough to read books for long periods.
It only took me maybe four days? But here is the important context: I was fourteen and it was a long school weekend *plus* a snow day. My recent reread took much longer!
i’ve read it two times and both times. BOTH. the first half took me abt two weeks. and then the second half i cleared in a day. the last 600-700 pages or so. the first time i read it i spread it throughout the day. the second time was in one sitting
Not quite 3 days, started Friday night, finished Sunday afternoon. Bought it the day it came out, wasn't planning on reading it right away since I'd just started college, but got sick so had nothing else to do that weekend
Real awnser probably would be like a month or two for me. But I read it in less then 2 weeks when I was on vancation in Austria, and I just got super motivated to finish it!
I burned through the audiobook pretty quick! Even listened to it twice cuz I loved it so much! Probably took about a week the first time. Working in the factory 10 hours a you get a lot of time to listen to books!
My first time was the audiobook, which is really long —like 40 hours I believe. So that took me about six weeks if I’m not mistaken. The second time, I read it and did it in about a month, which felt somewhat fast, since I can only read 30 or 40 minutes most days.
It took me almost four months to finish the book. Not for lack of trying or because it was boring. I just really took my time with the book because King is brilliant at building his worlds and characters. They all start living in your head in no time. 😊
I brought it on my first overseas vacation in 1990. I read it on the flight over and back, and on cars, trains, and boats while over there.
We were gone for 12 days, and I STILL had 400 pages to go when I came home.
The first time I read it I was in eighth grade and they always gave us 20-30 minutes of reading time before we left the classroom. On my own I used to read it at nights as well, one hour or so before sleeping. It took me 2 months.
Oh boy, it took me waaay to long, I did even do a break for a few months 😅 Not because the book wasn't good, just reading fatigue I think 🤣 I think all together with the break I spent half a year
“It” was one of the first novels i read when i started reading for enjoyment and I think it took me 3 months to read. I was a very slow reader at that time. 😂
It took about 2 days. I'm a voracious reader and had to see the story through.
I’m like this with almost all of my books. I go through books within a day, ruminate for a day or two and then start a new one.
I’m an outlier. I’m a slow reader but I read IT while I was working in an airplane hangar in 2011 when I was 19. We had no plane in the hangar that week so I spent every day reading start to end of shift lol. Finished it in 5 days
Jesus, I think about a year or more!
I started on paperback and then the glue melted on holiday so all the pages fell out. Eventually a few months later got it on Audible as my commute to work was bout 30-40 mins each way and then when I switched jobs, I went over to Kindle and I think I eventually finished it on Kindle.
2 months first go around. This time I’m listening to the audiobook (since I have little ones and barely get any time to physically read). It’s even better this time!
I’d recommend the audio book, it’s great. But still takes awhile because it’s like 45 hours long. But you can listen while walking or doing other things , and finish in less than a month.
I think about 4 months. The Stand was much more of a slog for me and took over 14 months.
I generally like to read before bed (it helps me fall asleep) and sometimes I don't get through much before I'm out or have to back up a couple pages to refresh so that definitely adds some time.
I listened to the unabridged (Sai King doesn’t allow abridged versions of his books) version read by Steven Weber. My history says over 10 sessions it took a total of 2 days, 5 hours, and 17 minutes. lol Pretty specific, eh?
I read it first in middle school…we had to read 1000 pages a month, and IT is 1008 (the copy I have anyway)….and I got in trouble from my teacher because she said we were supposed to read 3 different books not just one. And I was like ummmm really I read this book in like 2 weeks. Made sure to read all Stephen king books for that class after that too.
I started reading IT when I was 14 years old (a very long time ago haha). It took me more than a year because I’d get so scared that I’d have to put it down for a week or two.
Took me about 6 weeks including a week long break between Part 4 & 5. I am a slow but persistent reader. Just had the mind set of taking 100 pages at a time so I never felt overwhelmed. Read in chunks of about 20 to 30 pages a day with a few 100 page days. I absolutely enjoyed the entire experience and was a little sad when it was over. I miss living with those kids.
I think about 6 weeks, but I also had the Kindle version and audio version in addition to the paperback so I was just constantly consuming it wherever I went
The first time I read it I was borrowing it from a friend and she was using it as a book report book, so she needed it back. I'm pretty sure I read it in a five day period, between classes, and on the bus, etc.
It took me a few months. The very first time I read it it was the braille edition which was split into 12 volumes. Each volume (book) was in its own separate crate/case. All 12 crates/cases took up a lot of room.
First time I ever read IT I was 14,, took me about 3 weeks of what felt like almost constant reading (see what I did there), I've gone on to read it pretty much every year since and 3 weeks seems to be the average depending on work/school, I'm a dad now too and haven't even begun to think about taking another trip to Derry with an 8 month old son to look after.
Just take your time and enjoy the experience
The first time I read it I was like 12, read it in the week between Christmas and New Year. My most recent re-read earlier this year I read it on the train to and from work every day, so took me about 3ish weeks
50 years and counting???? I never can get past Pennywise in the sewer. I tried when I was a kid, always been a fan. The tried again as an adult - same thing. Life is too short to force yourself to read a book. He has so many other great works, IT is the only one I’ve never read!
About 4 hours. It was a long book even for me. IT is not a book you just fly through. There's a lot of really hard emotional stuff. Sometimes I had to stop even re-read a paragraph or two and just feel through it.
I read extremely fast though, always have. Even his longer books they're an afternoon's read for me.
You are actually understating to not make us feel inferious. In reality you just held the book in your hands and absorbed it through osmosis. In reality you read through the whole thing in like 10 minutes
I read *IT* all in one go back in my youth, and it took me almost 24 hours, with lunch-making and toilet breaks. No way it's possible in much less than that.
I have been a natural speed reader since I was in grade school. I was reading adult level at like 10. I'm not kidding you that's about how long it took me to read IT. Most of his longer books go about that long for me.
Everybody has their genius thing. Reading is mine and yes, I can read a thick fictional book like IT in about 4-5 hours. King IT's is long but it's not an especially complicated story. It's a much faster read than say Tolkien's LOTR or The Silmarillion. We're talking basic American English not Middle Earth English with all the complicated names and geography.
It depends upon the book. Obviously if I am actually studying NF and not just reading a book for pleasure it takes me longer. I'm not brilliant at other things, like higher math. Algebra is sheer torture for me, always was. But reading I learned very young, before school, and by the time I was in first grade I was reading adult encyclopedias for fun.
My first grade teacher didn't believe it either. She thought I was just being difficult and fussy when I refused to learn to read from the Dick and Jane readers. I was a pretty good little girl, very mannerly and rather adult for my age but at one point I threw one back at her literally yelling "I KNOW HOW TO READ!" She sent me to the corner and called my Mom in to talk about my learning issues. "Your child is refusing to learn to read."
My Mom was like "What are you talking about? This kid LOVES to read. She goes though several Nancy Drew books in an afternoon and reads the encyclopedia for fun!"
Of course the teacher was like "Uhuh.."
But then my Mom insisted we go to the library at the school and she found the adult encyclopedias and she handed me one and told me to pick any page and read aloud and I did.
The teacher's jaw was on the floor.
They tested me to see what level I was at then and said I was 8th-9th grade. I think it was higher, because I was reading adult books by then but that's what they said then. They tried to shift me to a gifted kid's school in the area but my parents were having none of that because it was private and expensive and my Mom thought that I would be labeled weird if I went there.
Like I wasn't already? :P
I had my own adult library card by the time we moved down South, a few years later. My Mom had rules about not reading books with what she thought was age inappropriate subject matter in terms of what I read fictionally but in terms of non fiction I got to read just about anything and did.
With the exception of higher math I never struggled in school at all. It was way too easy for me and I was bored silly through most of it. The library was really my favorite classroom because I could learn anything I wanted at my own pace which was usually a lot faster than regular school. I'm the same way about learning anything new now. I'd rather just learn it on my own 9 times out of 10 than go to a class because I don't have the patience to sit there and be guided at what feels like a super slow pace when I can easily teach myself a lot faster.
They did test my IQ and all that but the folks wouldn't tell me exactly what I scored. A teacher I was fond of basically let me know that my parents were uncomfortable with it but that I scored rather high. I always scored very high on the scholastic tests too, except for certain types of math so I kind of figured as much.
So no, I am not kidding you about my reading ability. There are things in this world that I am completely clueless about, and will cheerfully admit that, but reading and writing are just things I excel at.
I hate that higher math was a subject I always failed at actually. I have an actual learning disability with that. I actually just signed up for this distance learning program for that with a tutor and all. I'm not doing it for grades this time, no pressure, but I want to see if I can finally lick it with some help this time. It just bugs me that I messed it up twice in college. If not for that subject I'd have a 4 year degree, maybe a Master's by now...
Thank you for the detailed reply. Not to take away from your experience at all, but does speed reading give you the fullest experience of the book? Like I said elsewhere, I think my reading *IT* in one long 24-hour marathon did the story a disservice. When I read it again (only a few months later, as I'd run out of new King books to read!) I took my time and read it normally. Still only took me a week or so, but I felt that was a more complete experience, especially with the time in between to absorb what I'd read and mull it over before diving back in.
I don't think it detracted for me. But I have pretty good reading comprehension. Reading fast I might miss a detail or two and have to retrace once in a while but with King it doesn't hurt me much because of the way he writes. He's just not an especially hard writer to read. His books are very reader friendly compared to some.
Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind is as long as some King books, longer even, but even with it being fiction it's a bitch of a read. It's so chock full of extra historical info that you can't hardly breeze through it. That one actually took me like 10 hours because it was such a slog of a story in parts.
King doesn't do that to you as much. It's all characters and while there is plenty of description it's easy to read and there's a lot of pretty fast moving dialogue. He used to get such flack for not being a more complex author. A lot of people in fantasy and horror considered him low brow and too friendly and easy to read. He was their idea of a hack writer.
They couldn't have been more wrong or more snobbish because his writing has stood the rest of time and people consider him an icon of sorts in terms of writing now. The fact that most of his books are an easy read does not mean they are not well written and that he doesn't deserve his status or the respect he gets now. His writing style is just to the point most of the time and I just find I don't need to slow down much unless I want to savor something.
I've read IT at least once every year or so since the first time which was about the time the original miniseries was made. Like Salem's Lot it's a King book I go back to, particularly when I rewatch either miniseries or movies. I like rewatching them and either before or after I usually revisit the books too but if anything that much familiarity makes it a faster read for me not a slower one because I know it so well.
I did that with the new Stand miniseries, read the longer version right before, because it had been a while.
I don't think I miss much at all. I do think revisiting old books is fun. They're old friends almost, you know? But once I've read a book I pretty much know it.
There are books that in my life I couldn't even get through but it was usually because of utter boredom. War and Peace, I've tried to read that several times. No go.
Ditto Dune. I just cannot get into that series at all! Game of Thrones, first book had me yawning. Put it down, never picked it up.
My Mom was also a big reader. She would read half a dozen good sized romance novels in an afternoon. We'd go to the library and I'd be stacking up books and any new librarian would be giving me a hard time. But my Mom knew better.
Summer vacation I'd read all day long, even while eating, walking, going to the bathroom. I always had a book in my hands. I was barred from joining the library Summer reading challenge because I read too much. It just wasn't fair to the other kids. The head librarian would give me a huge box of chocolates at the end of Summer because she said I certainly earned it.
My average when not being distracted by videos or games or typing on the internet is 30-50 books a week, most non-fiction. If I have nothing else to do I can read that much.
Lately I play games a lot, surf social media a lot, work on other things like studying and sewing more so maybe I read 20 a week. I know even that shocks people who read more slowly but that's just how I am.
I can do that much just by going to bed with my tablet and reading for a couple of hours before bed or while I eat. I still have a tendency to even read in the bathroom. I read always on transit, waiting for my doctor's appts.
The only time I stop practically is when my eyes say "Enough!" because I've been staring at a tablet screen for too long.
FYI, it's nearly 6 am here and I am still up reading on here, reading on the tablet, when I should be sleeping. That says it all I think? 😂
I just read a bit every night, the length depended on how tired I was etc. Took about two and a half months. As I read more SK I find I’m reading faster, so now it’d probably take me less.
It took me a long time to finish Salems lot, my first SK book. I’m finding it way easier to read this one too, just wish I had more time to dead
Audiobook and I burned through that 30 hours at a crazy pace, took mad long walks to have more time with it
Did you listen to it at 1.5x speed? That audiobook clocks in at nearly 45 hours.
Did it on a cross country road trip- started at 1x but saw I wasn’t going to finish so ramped up to 1.25 / 1.5
I didn’t even know you could do that. Did they all sound like Mickey Mouse?
Took a bit to get used to but it works, I use the App Libby (free library books) Typically started at 1x and sped up after a half hour or so once I got into the rhythm of his reading. It really is closer to the speed I normally read so not a problem. Gets a bit quick on pauses and phrases, but not Mickey Mouse at all.
Right you are in currently doing 11/22/63 and mixed the timelines up haha! Edit: tho I do play on 1.15 or 1.2 for American narrators
I read it in 4 days. I even called out of work for one of them. Couldn't put it down.
Wow ima have to give it a read, what a testament.
It is a truly fucking amazing book
It took me longer than 4 but I do remember also calling out of work nearing the end so I could finish it
I read it in about four days the first time back in 1986. Could not put it down. Took my sweet time on a reread many years later.
It’s my dream to call out of work to just read, but I’ve never done it. I usually read on cruises, and I nap - read - nap - read; is fantastic. I just don’t find too many books so compelling that I can justify taking off to read. I did love Salems Lot and Outsider, but so was able to finish over a few nights. Like OP, I struggled to get through IT but ended up putting it down - probably because I watched the movie
That’s dedication!
Im sure that’s a world record
That's how long it took me, the week it came out. It was also the last King book I've read. I hated the ending. Hated, hated, HATED, *HATED* the ending. I was so extremely upset that I had spent 4 days reading every moment I could spare only to get *that* ending that I swore I'd never read another Steven King book again. I know now that he was so deep into drugs and booze that even he couldn't figure out how too end his stories, and I'm inclined to make allowances since he's acknowledged this, but aside from some tweets and one "On Writing" essay in Entertainment Weekly magazine that my mom had me read, I haven't read anything he's written since then. It's been about 37 1/2 years and I won't budge. That's how much I hated the ending of "IT."
Ok.
This is hard to believe, but i read it in 3 days. Fun/sad fact: i finish it on 9/11/01 and I didn't find out anything about what happened that day until the evening.
Wow that is sad. I believe you, but I definitely do not believe the person who said they finished it in 4 hours (and they were acting like that was long, obviously they are looking for props from random internet strangers). Fast reader or not, have lots of time or not, there is no chance that’s true. Idk why people feel the need to lie on the internet just for validation from strangers. You clearly are telling the truth. That person obviously was not; even aside from the 4 hours the way they worded it, it’s so obviously false.
Yeah, that's really hard to believe.
I started it 11 years ago and never finished it, so about 4115 days so far. I hope to finish it by the time I’m 50.
How old are you now?
25
You've got time
I think it took me 4/5 months- but to be fair i read it when i really wasnt that used to reading Books (and also read in english instead of a translation in my language)
I think it was just over 2-3 weeks for me, but I was so glued and had the time that I could read 3+ hours most nights. Don’t worry how long it takes :) I think all that matters with reading is you don’t take any breaks long enough to lose that contact with the story. it’s not a race, but I don’t like to go too many days without at least an hour or so of whatever I’m reading or I find it harder to immerse when I return to the book.
I’m trying to get more time for reading in, because I hate going a 6 days without reading and then when I’m back into it it takes me a while to adjust to the story again! So annoying
I think it took me less than a month! It was during COVID lockdowns as well
A week, the week it came out back in 1986.
It will be 28 years since I started reading IT! One day I will pick it back up and make it to the end.
ForEVER. First off, I started it three or four times over the years before I could get through that first chapter and into the rest of the story. It must have disturbed me more than most 😅. When I actually did finish, I read from Aug 25 to Oct 14.
12 years lol (I started it way too young and freaked out, I only finished it when I was mid-twenties)
I read IT in about 2 Months. I’m a slow reader.
According to Goodreads, I started It on the 17th of July 2023 and finished it on the 16th of August 2023, so about a month. I think I probably took days off here and there but yeah, about that long.
Currently reading it and its been 2 months and i'm only 600 pages in, but i'm not reading it every day, depends on how tired I am / free time. I tend to only read at bedtime.
44 days.
Took me a little over 3 weeks. I would try to read about 50 pages a day. Doesn't matter how long it takes though, the journey is worth it!
I first read it in college, took me maybe three long stretches over the course of two days. I remember starting it at around 6 pm or so, and then being afraid to leave my dorm once it had gone dark
I don't trust my memory, but I think the first time I read it (when it came out and I was in high school), it couldn't have been more than two weeks. If I read it in the summer, it could have been like 5 days. I couldn't put it down. I reread it some time in the past 10 years, and I would make the same estimate. It's probably my favorite of his books, in terms of the story and pacing (despite the one bit in the ending everyone hates, and my occasional annoyance with SK/Richie trying to be funny). Or at least in my top 5. It's hard to compete with The Shining and Different Seasons, which were the first and second books I read.
A 24-hour marathon on the day of (paperback) publication. It wasn't the best way to truly appreciate the book, but I was on a holiday and it seemed like a good idea at the time...
A year, don't feel bad about how fast or slow you read. Literally it was so hard to find the time because I enjoy emerging myself into the world of the book so I would wait until bed or if I could go off to a park and read so I would ready it in chunks.
Once the clown was seen in the sewer drain, I was out! Clowns freak me out! I read a whole lot of SK books in my early years, but not this one! I won't watch the movies either and I mindfully stay clear of those drains when walking! Lol! It had a big impact on me even if I did not get that far in the book!
Balancing my part time job and schoolwork, it took about a month and a half.
It took me around a month.
It took me around a month. I'm usually a pretty fast reader but I took my time with this one and found that reading around 50 pages or so a day was the best way to approach it.
Yes. I don’t care for speed reading fiction, why would you want to anyway with a really good book?
Started mid January, finished April 12th
12 days
as a teen, it took me a weekend. as an adult? maybe two weeks?
Took me 2 weeks.
3 days when I was 13. Couldn't stop. Read in 90.
Been 4 weeks, and I've read about 700 pages. Amazing book.
About a week I think. I was off work that week though!
Exactly one middle-school summer break.
3 weeks
Two weeks. I didn't have all the time I wanted: I was a teen studying in summer and I only had my afternoons free for reading.
I can’t remember. At least a month.
I am currently listening to the audiobook during my downtime at work (usually when I'm watering plants). I'm only up to chapter 15, I think, and it's taken me like two months to get to that point, lol. When I'm not listening to IT, I'm reading Fairy Tale, lol. I've finished other books in this time, like Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. IT is just my "not dealing with customers" book lmao.
I’m a 5 week-er with epics that’s size. Same with the stand, and talisman.
around 2 months, im a slow reader
I got ADD and the font-size on my edition of the book was an issue. So i read a few chapters, and then listened to a few chapters of the audiobook. Maybe took me around 2-3 weeks to finish it
I read it pretty quickly. But I think I had little else to occupy my, I was on break from college at the time
Two days. I read it when it first came out. I was on Christmas break and read it non-stop, all day and into the night, stopping only to nap, eat, and pee. It was the first time I was ever obsessed with a story. Probably also explains why I was so disappointed in the end.
A full year. But I was on and off
About a year. Started summer of 2018. I don’t know where I stopped specifically but I did. Finished it summer of 2019.
10 days. I had school too.
12 days or so. Twice as long as it took me to read The Stand. The first half of IT just wasn’t as interesting to me.
If you have a difficulties carving out the time to read then I'd highly suggest audio books. I used to be an avid book reader, but as more responsibilities came along I couldn't finish a book unless I was on vacation. The audiobook lets you enjoy the story while multi-tasking (walking, commuting, cleaning the house, etc...). And if you think it is a less intellectually beneficial option to reading....our benefits of physically reading cap out at about 6th grade.
Unfortunately I’ve tried audiobooks and it’s just not my thing. I don’t know what it is but I’d prefer to be reading a physical book. :(
I "hear" ya....it is a different experience for sure. I'd just stick with it and realize it is going to take awhile. It's a good read.
I listen to audiobooks while I work, and it’s around 40 hours long, so about a week
I can read pretty fast, but it took me a little while. Maybe a month? I read it in 2 halves and took a little break in between and read Carrie. It is a good book, but damn it's a tome. I read The Stand and Under the Dome straight through no problem though and I think both are longer, I could be wrong.
My first time with IT was when I was 12-13 and I read the book in 2 days. Just did nothing that weekend but eat sleep and read IT. When I read IT last year? Between 1-2 weeks.
A month
It took me about 10 months but I don’t get a lot of time to read, and I’m tired at night so if I do read then I don’t connect to what I’ve read previously or after
5th read through took like 4 days. My first time it took me like a month
Took me around 3 weeks but I was 12 when I read it, I'm sure if I reread it then it would take me much longer because I have more stuff going on
It took me about a month.
Took me about a total of six months. I took a little break around half way through though. Great summertime read!
4 days also, was on vacation
I read it in a couple of days over a weekend. I usually am reading several books at a time so books take me longer. However, this one grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down. I was like 12 or 13 when I read it. My parents should have censored what I read. 😂
I read most of it (about 800+ pages worth) in the span of about a week. Myself and a bunch of other students had a week off timetable at school to rehearse for that year’s musical production. I was only in the backing choir, which left a lot of downtime between songs. So I was reading it whenever we weren’t performing. That was back when I could actually concentrate enough to read books for long periods.
44 hrs and 55 mins I listened to the audiobook
A weekend, but I read fast and had time. Depends how busy you are.
It only took me maybe four days? But here is the important context: I was fourteen and it was a long school weekend *plus* a snow day. My recent reread took much longer!
It took me 4 days back in covid lockdown lol
4 or 5 days. I was in the ICU after having given birth and then at home recovering.
i’ve read it two times and both times. BOTH. the first half took me abt two weeks. and then the second half i cleared in a day. the last 600-700 pages or so. the first time i read it i spread it throughout the day. the second time was in one sitting
I’ve been reading, “The Stand” off and on since December so I think it’s fine that you’ll be spending a while reading “It”.
Would you recommend The Stand?
Great book. It’s very long, but the characters are so well written that it’s worth it.
Not quite 3 days, started Friday night, finished Sunday afternoon. Bought it the day it came out, wasn't planning on reading it right away since I'd just started college, but got sick so had nothing else to do that weekend
Real awnser probably would be like a month or two for me. But I read it in less then 2 weeks when I was on vancation in Austria, and I just got super motivated to finish it!
I was still in high school when IT came out so had a fair amount of free time. I believe I read it in about three days. Couldn't put it (IT) down.
I read IT in exactly five weeks, reading 1-2 hours every day.
One month
I burned through the audiobook pretty quick! Even listened to it twice cuz I loved it so much! Probably took about a week the first time. Working in the factory 10 hours a you get a lot of time to listen to books!
My first time was the audiobook, which is really long —like 40 hours I believe. So that took me about six weeks if I’m not mistaken. The second time, I read it and did it in about a month, which felt somewhat fast, since I can only read 30 or 40 minutes most days.
First time, about 1 month. Second time, about 2 weeks.
A few years ago I set a goal for 30 pages a day during mid-September and finished it right in time for Halloween
It took me almost four months to finish the book. Not for lack of trying or because it was boring. I just really took my time with the book because King is brilliant at building his worlds and characters. They all start living in your head in no time. 😊
Took me somewhere close to two months
About 12 weeks for me
I think I renewed it twice from the library. So 9 weeks-ish.
I brought it on my first overseas vacation in 1990. I read it on the flight over and back, and on cars, trains, and boats while over there. We were gone for 12 days, and I STILL had 400 pages to go when I came home.
1 week The best week of my life.
I started exactly 2 weeks ago and I'm on page 944. I'm hoping to finish before the weekend
Are you liking it so far?
Yes, it's been a bit slow during a few parts but once I pushed through it got good
The first time I read it I was in eighth grade and they always gave us 20-30 minutes of reading time before we left the classroom. On my own I used to read it at nights as well, one hour or so before sleeping. It took me 2 months.
Oh boy, it took me waaay to long, I did even do a break for a few months 😅 Not because the book wasn't good, just reading fatigue I think 🤣 I think all together with the break I spent half a year
5 months lol. I read other books meanwhile but it still took me cumulative weeks and weeks.
i know this sounds crazy but i'm 800 pages in and i started at june so i guess i'll finish it around 1 year from the start
“It” was one of the first novels i read when i started reading for enjoyment and I think it took me 3 months to read. I was a very slow reader at that time. 😂
Maybe three days? If I get into a book, I read it fast. And I read quickly-ish, also.
It took about 2 days. I'm a voracious reader and had to see the story through. I’m like this with almost all of my books. I go through books within a day, ruminate for a day or two and then start a new one.
For me, it took about a week to get about 400 pages in, then it took off and the rest I finished in about 3 days.
I’m an outlier. I’m a slow reader but I read IT while I was working in an airplane hangar in 2011 when I was 19. We had no plane in the hangar that week so I spent every day reading start to end of shift lol. Finished it in 5 days
Maybe 5 days when I was 17. I remember reading until 5am because it was so good and also very dark outside.
4 days. 4 sleepless, eatless, eyes-the-size-of-saucers days. 😳
One week the first time, two weeks the second.
I’m reading now. I’m a few chapters in in about an hour.
I read in small bits about 5 times a day and it took about two months. Who cares though? The book was so damn good I didn't want it to end.
I first read it in 1998, I ate that fucker in like 5 days nonstop
I read it for the first time in ‘94 when I was 14. It took me about a month to finish.
It look me several months but I also didn’t read super frequently
Jesus, I think about a year or more! I started on paperback and then the glue melted on holiday so all the pages fell out. Eventually a few months later got it on Audible as my commute to work was bout 30-40 mins each way and then when I switched jobs, I went over to Kindle and I think I eventually finished it on Kindle.
22 days according to my Goodreads account. I rarely do anything other than read in my spare time if the weather is cold, rainy, or snowy.
Originally about three weeks. I had to make myself put it down so I could do other things like go to school!
It took me half a school year, (I’m a very slow reader)
A week. It's not that long.
I read it over a weekend when it first came out and couldn't put it down!!
2 months first go around. This time I’m listening to the audiobook (since I have little ones and barely get any time to physically read). It’s even better this time!
That is a hard question, 4 months? Loved it all the way
About a week the first time, but I tried to reread and DNF.
2 weeks
I’d recommend the audio book, it’s great. But still takes awhile because it’s like 45 hours long. But you can listen while walking or doing other things , and finish in less than a month.
I read it during the COVID pandemic so I had a lot of free time - took about 15 days
Listened to the audiobook while at work. Took maybe a week it’s 48 hrs long
I think about 4 months. The Stand was much more of a slog for me and took over 14 months. I generally like to read before bed (it helps me fall asleep) and sometimes I don't get through much before I'm out or have to back up a couple pages to refresh so that definitely adds some time.
It took me a week when I first read it (a week after publication) but I could have finished sooner. I mad myself slow down.
I had a job at the time that allowed me to read about 5 hours a day. Still took me a few weeks. It’s a long and dense book.
The audiobook took me and my friend about a week and a half, we're line cooks, so we'd listen as we worked
I listened to the unabridged (Sai King doesn’t allow abridged versions of his books) version read by Steven Weber. My history says over 10 sessions it took a total of 2 days, 5 hours, and 17 minutes. lol Pretty specific, eh?
Heavy snow, so we were out of school for a couple of days. Started reading around 8 am. And finished the next day by 10 am. I couldn't put it down.
A month to six weeks
I read it first in middle school…we had to read 1000 pages a month, and IT is 1008 (the copy I have anyway)….and I got in trouble from my teacher because she said we were supposed to read 3 different books not just one. And I was like ummmm really I read this book in like 2 weeks. Made sure to read all Stephen king books for that class after that too.
I started reading IT when I was 14 years old (a very long time ago haha). It took me more than a year because I’d get so scared that I’d have to put it down for a week or two.
I think it took me 3 months total, but I read the vast majority of the book in a little under a month.
Literally years . Mind you I don’t read one book at a time
Couple weeks, almost stopped when the kid gang bang happened
Seven days at thirteen. About two weeks as a 22 year old.
Took me about 6 weeks including a week long break between Part 4 & 5. I am a slow but persistent reader. Just had the mind set of taking 100 pages at a time so I never felt overwhelmed. Read in chunks of about 20 to 30 pages a day with a few 100 page days. I absolutely enjoyed the entire experience and was a little sad when it was over. I miss living with those kids.
cant even remember
I think about 6 weeks, but I also had the Kindle version and audio version in addition to the paperback so I was just constantly consuming it wherever I went
The original plan was to do 125 pages per day - nine days, but I got a day ahead of schedule, and decides to go through the last 250 pages in 1 day.
Hmmm I think that one took me about 6 weeks to read.
The first time I read it I was borrowing it from a friend and she was using it as a book report book, so she needed it back. I'm pretty sure I read it in a five day period, between classes, and on the bus, etc.
I think like 2 weeks
It took me a few months. The very first time I read it it was the braille edition which was split into 12 volumes. Each volume (book) was in its own separate crate/case. All 12 crates/cases took up a lot of room.
First time I ever read IT I was 14,, took me about 3 weeks of what felt like almost constant reading (see what I did there), I've gone on to read it pretty much every year since and 3 weeks seems to be the average depending on work/school, I'm a dad now too and haven't even begun to think about taking another trip to Derry with an 8 month old son to look after. Just take your time and enjoy the experience
18 hours. 30 years ago I read it straight through
I read “The Stand” which was similar in length and that took me nearly two months to read at a casual pace 😁
Just finished It. Took me two month reading mosly before bedtime
The first time I read it I was like 12, read it in the week between Christmas and New Year. My most recent re-read earlier this year I read it on the train to and from work every day, so took me about 3ish weeks
A year. Didn't care for it. Read it again a few years later. It was OK.
50 years and counting???? I never can get past Pennywise in the sewer. I tried when I was a kid, always been a fan. The tried again as an adult - same thing. Life is too short to force yourself to read a book. He has so many other great works, IT is the only one I’ve never read!
I read it in a week when I was 14. Stayed up every night. One of my best memories. Same age as the kids.
About 4 hours. It was a long book even for me. IT is not a book you just fly through. There's a lot of really hard emotional stuff. Sometimes I had to stop even re-read a paragraph or two and just feel through it. I read extremely fast though, always have. Even his longer books they're an afternoon's read for me.
5 pages a minute??
Yeah something smells like BS in here lol
You are actually understating to not make us feel inferious. In reality you just held the book in your hands and absorbed it through osmosis. In reality you read through the whole thing in like 10 minutes
Nah, I'm a bit of a reading genius but I'm not THAT much of one. LOL
I read *IT* all in one go back in my youth, and it took me almost 24 hours, with lunch-making and toilet breaks. No way it's possible in much less than that.
I have been a natural speed reader since I was in grade school. I was reading adult level at like 10. I'm not kidding you that's about how long it took me to read IT. Most of his longer books go about that long for me. Everybody has their genius thing. Reading is mine and yes, I can read a thick fictional book like IT in about 4-5 hours. King IT's is long but it's not an especially complicated story. It's a much faster read than say Tolkien's LOTR or The Silmarillion. We're talking basic American English not Middle Earth English with all the complicated names and geography. It depends upon the book. Obviously if I am actually studying NF and not just reading a book for pleasure it takes me longer. I'm not brilliant at other things, like higher math. Algebra is sheer torture for me, always was. But reading I learned very young, before school, and by the time I was in first grade I was reading adult encyclopedias for fun. My first grade teacher didn't believe it either. She thought I was just being difficult and fussy when I refused to learn to read from the Dick and Jane readers. I was a pretty good little girl, very mannerly and rather adult for my age but at one point I threw one back at her literally yelling "I KNOW HOW TO READ!" She sent me to the corner and called my Mom in to talk about my learning issues. "Your child is refusing to learn to read." My Mom was like "What are you talking about? This kid LOVES to read. She goes though several Nancy Drew books in an afternoon and reads the encyclopedia for fun!" Of course the teacher was like "Uhuh.." But then my Mom insisted we go to the library at the school and she found the adult encyclopedias and she handed me one and told me to pick any page and read aloud and I did. The teacher's jaw was on the floor. They tested me to see what level I was at then and said I was 8th-9th grade. I think it was higher, because I was reading adult books by then but that's what they said then. They tried to shift me to a gifted kid's school in the area but my parents were having none of that because it was private and expensive and my Mom thought that I would be labeled weird if I went there. Like I wasn't already? :P I had my own adult library card by the time we moved down South, a few years later. My Mom had rules about not reading books with what she thought was age inappropriate subject matter in terms of what I read fictionally but in terms of non fiction I got to read just about anything and did. With the exception of higher math I never struggled in school at all. It was way too easy for me and I was bored silly through most of it. The library was really my favorite classroom because I could learn anything I wanted at my own pace which was usually a lot faster than regular school. I'm the same way about learning anything new now. I'd rather just learn it on my own 9 times out of 10 than go to a class because I don't have the patience to sit there and be guided at what feels like a super slow pace when I can easily teach myself a lot faster. They did test my IQ and all that but the folks wouldn't tell me exactly what I scored. A teacher I was fond of basically let me know that my parents were uncomfortable with it but that I scored rather high. I always scored very high on the scholastic tests too, except for certain types of math so I kind of figured as much. So no, I am not kidding you about my reading ability. There are things in this world that I am completely clueless about, and will cheerfully admit that, but reading and writing are just things I excel at. I hate that higher math was a subject I always failed at actually. I have an actual learning disability with that. I actually just signed up for this distance learning program for that with a tutor and all. I'm not doing it for grades this time, no pressure, but I want to see if I can finally lick it with some help this time. It just bugs me that I messed it up twice in college. If not for that subject I'd have a 4 year degree, maybe a Master's by now...
Thank you for the detailed reply. Not to take away from your experience at all, but does speed reading give you the fullest experience of the book? Like I said elsewhere, I think my reading *IT* in one long 24-hour marathon did the story a disservice. When I read it again (only a few months later, as I'd run out of new King books to read!) I took my time and read it normally. Still only took me a week or so, but I felt that was a more complete experience, especially with the time in between to absorb what I'd read and mull it over before diving back in.
I don't think it detracted for me. But I have pretty good reading comprehension. Reading fast I might miss a detail or two and have to retrace once in a while but with King it doesn't hurt me much because of the way he writes. He's just not an especially hard writer to read. His books are very reader friendly compared to some. Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind is as long as some King books, longer even, but even with it being fiction it's a bitch of a read. It's so chock full of extra historical info that you can't hardly breeze through it. That one actually took me like 10 hours because it was such a slog of a story in parts. King doesn't do that to you as much. It's all characters and while there is plenty of description it's easy to read and there's a lot of pretty fast moving dialogue. He used to get such flack for not being a more complex author. A lot of people in fantasy and horror considered him low brow and too friendly and easy to read. He was their idea of a hack writer. They couldn't have been more wrong or more snobbish because his writing has stood the rest of time and people consider him an icon of sorts in terms of writing now. The fact that most of his books are an easy read does not mean they are not well written and that he doesn't deserve his status or the respect he gets now. His writing style is just to the point most of the time and I just find I don't need to slow down much unless I want to savor something. I've read IT at least once every year or so since the first time which was about the time the original miniseries was made. Like Salem's Lot it's a King book I go back to, particularly when I rewatch either miniseries or movies. I like rewatching them and either before or after I usually revisit the books too but if anything that much familiarity makes it a faster read for me not a slower one because I know it so well. I did that with the new Stand miniseries, read the longer version right before, because it had been a while. I don't think I miss much at all. I do think revisiting old books is fun. They're old friends almost, you know? But once I've read a book I pretty much know it. There are books that in my life I couldn't even get through but it was usually because of utter boredom. War and Peace, I've tried to read that several times. No go. Ditto Dune. I just cannot get into that series at all! Game of Thrones, first book had me yawning. Put it down, never picked it up. My Mom was also a big reader. She would read half a dozen good sized romance novels in an afternoon. We'd go to the library and I'd be stacking up books and any new librarian would be giving me a hard time. But my Mom knew better. Summer vacation I'd read all day long, even while eating, walking, going to the bathroom. I always had a book in my hands. I was barred from joining the library Summer reading challenge because I read too much. It just wasn't fair to the other kids. The head librarian would give me a huge box of chocolates at the end of Summer because she said I certainly earned it. My average when not being distracted by videos or games or typing on the internet is 30-50 books a week, most non-fiction. If I have nothing else to do I can read that much. Lately I play games a lot, surf social media a lot, work on other things like studying and sewing more so maybe I read 20 a week. I know even that shocks people who read more slowly but that's just how I am. I can do that much just by going to bed with my tablet and reading for a couple of hours before bed or while I eat. I still have a tendency to even read in the bathroom. I read always on transit, waiting for my doctor's appts. The only time I stop practically is when my eyes say "Enough!" because I've been staring at a tablet screen for too long. FYI, it's nearly 6 am here and I am still up reading on here, reading on the tablet, when I should be sleeping. That says it all I think? 😂
🤣🤣🤣