How long does it take to read 1984?
George Orwell · 1949 · 88,942 words · Dystopian fiction
1984 is about 88,942 words. At the average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, that takes about 6 hr 14 min. Read aloud it's closer to 8 hr 6 min, and as an audiobook at a comfortable narration pace, around 9 hr 53 min.
1984: reading time by speed
| Reading style | WPM | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Average silent reading | 238 | 6 hr 14 min |
| Reading aloud | 183 | 8 hr 6 min |
| Audiobook narration | 150 | 9 hr 53 min |
| Fast reader | 400 | 3 hr 42 min |
Based on a 88,942-word estimate. Speeds from our sources & methodology page. Your own pace may differ — the reading speed test measures it.
About 1984's length
1984 reads at two speeds: the narrative chapters move quickly, but Orwell embeds long passages — most famously the Goldstein book-within-the-book — that slow careful readers considerably. Budget extra time if you stop to absorb the political theory rather than skim past it.
For context, at 88,942 words 1984 is about average length for a novel — a typical adult novel runs around 90,000 words. That puts a focused read at roughly 6 hr 14 min for an average reader, before accounting for the density of the prose or how often you stop to re-read.
How to finish 1984 on a schedule
If you'd rather pace it than binge it, here's how much daily reading it takes to finish at the average 238 WPM:
- In 3 days: about 2 hr 5 min a day
- In a week: about 53 min a day
- In two weeks: about 27 min a day
- In a month: about 12 min a day
Prefer the audiobook?
At a comfortable 150 WPM narration pace, 1984 is about 9 hr 53 min of listening — though published audiobook editions are often shorter, since many narrators read faster, and most apps let you speed up to 1.25× or 1.5×. If you listen rather than read, Audible carries most editions, and our audiobook length calculator lets you check the runtime at any playback speed.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read 1984?
At the average adult silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, 1984 (about 88,942 words) takes roughly 6 hr 14 min. A faster reader at 400 WPM finishes in about 3 hr 42 min; reading aloud takes about 8 hr 6 min.
How many words is 1984?
1984 by George Orwell is approximately 88,942 words. Word counts vary slightly between editions and translations, so treat this as a close estimate rather than an exact figure.
How long is the 1984 audiobook?
At a comfortable narration pace of 150 WPM, 1984 works out to about 9 hr 53 min of listening. Published audiobook runtimes are often a little shorter, because many narrators read faster than 150 WPM — and you can speed most apps up to 1.25× or 1.5×.
Can I read 1984 in one sitting?
It's a stretch for most readers. At about 6 hr 14 min of focused reading, 1984 is more realistically a two-to-three-session book — see the reading plan above to pace it.
How long to read other books
- Atomic Habits72,000 words · 5 hr 3 min
- The Great Gatsby47,094 words · 3 hr 18 min
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone76,944 words · 5 hr 23 min
- Animal Farm29,966 words · 2 hr 6 min
- The Hobbit95,022 words · 6 hr 39 min
- To Kill a Mockingbird100,388 words · 7 hr 2 min
Work it out for any text
Reading a book that isn't listed, or a manuscript of your own? Paste it into the reading time calculator for an instant estimate, or find your personal reading speed with the words-per-minute test and recalculate from there.
Word count is approximate and varies by edition. Some links on this page are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. See our Terms.