---
title: "How long to get through — books"
description: "17 books ranked by how long they take, with what each figure assumes about reading or viewing rate."
url: https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/book/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Books

17 books, longest first.

| What | How long | Covers |
| --- | --- | --- |
| All of English Wikipedia | about 41 years | about 5.2 billion words across 7.2 million articles |
| The complete Sherlock Holmes | about 72 hours as an audiobook | 4 novels and 56 short stories, narrated unabridged |
| The complete works of Shakespeare | about 59 hours | 37 plays, 835,997 words |
| The Bible | about 55 hours | 783,137 words in the King James Version |
| Infinite Jest | about 40 hours | 577,608 words including endnotes |
| War and Peace | about 40 hours | roughly 561,000 to 587,000 words in English translation |
| It | about 31 hours | about 442,000 words |
| Ulysses | about 19 hours | about 265,000 words |
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | about 18 hours | 257,045 words |
| Moby-Dick | about 15 hours | roughly 209,000 words |
| Dune | about 13 hours | about 187,000 words |
| Pride and Prejudice | about 8 hours 33 minutes | about 122,000 words |
| The Hobbit | about 6 hours 39 minutes | about 95,000 words |
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | about 6 hours 14 minutes | about 89,000 words |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | about 5 hours 23 minutes | 76,944 words |
| The Great Gatsby | about 3 hours 18 minutes | 47,094 words |
| Animal Farm | about 2 hours 6 minutes | 29,966 words |

- [All of English Wikipedia](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/english-wikipedia/) — about 41 years
- [The complete Sherlock Holmes](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/complete-sherlock-holmes/) — about 72 hours as an audiobook
- [The complete works of Shakespeare](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/complete-shakespeare/) — about 59 hours
- [The Bible](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-bible/) — about 55 hours
- [Infinite Jest](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/infinite-jest/) — about 40 hours
- [War and Peace](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/war-and-peace/) — about 40 hours
- [It](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/it-stephen-king/) — about 31 hours
- [Ulysses](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/ulysses/) — about 19 hours
- [Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/harry-potter-order-of-the-phoenix/) — about 18 hours
- [Moby-Dick](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/moby-dick/) — about 15 hours
- [Dune](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/dune/) — about 13 hours
- [Pride and Prejudice](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/pride-and-prejudice/) — about 8 hours 33 minutes
- [The Hobbit](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-hobbit/) — about 6 hours 39 minutes
- [Nineteen Eighty-Four](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/nineteen-eighty-four/) — about 6 hours 14 minutes
- [Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/harry-potter-philosophers-stone/) — about 5 hours 23 minutes
- [The Great Gatsby](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/the-great-gatsby/) — about 3 hours 18 minutes
- [Animal Farm](https://atoneplace.net/how-long-to/animal-farm/) — about 2 hours 6 minutes