How long does it take to read Ode to Happiness?
Ode to Happiness by Keanu Reeves takes about 44 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 44 minutes
An evening's read
First published 2011. 40 pages, about 11,000 words.
2 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 1 hour 13 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 44 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 28 minutes |
The page count is the median across 1 edition, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Ode to Happiness is a grown-up's picture book, a charming reminder not to take oneself too seriously. With drawings by painter Alexandra Grant, text by actor Keanu Reeves, and in collaboration with mutual friend Janey Bergam, this facsimile artists' book is about making the best of a bad situation. In the tradition of a classic "hurtin' song," Reeves' text externalizes a melancholy internal monologue and subtly pokes fun at it. Grant's images, delicately realised in sombre inky washes, reflect the dark and light, the pathos and humour of the text. Neither entirely earnest nor wholly ironic, Ode to Happiness is both a meditation and a gentle tease about how we cope with life's sorrows.
Subjects: Irony, American Drawing, Poetry, Happiness, Artists' books, Nonfiction
