How long does it take to read The Shining?
The Shining by Stephen King takes about 9 hours 17 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 9 hours 17 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 1977. 506 pages, about 139,150 words.
19 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 15 hours 28 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 9 hours 17 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 5 hours 48 minutes |
The page count is the median across 97 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is King's third published novel and first hardback bestseller; its success firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre. The setting and characters are influenced by King's personal experiences, including both his visit to The Stanley Hotel in 1974 and his struggle with alcoholism. The book was followed by a sequel, Doctor Sleep, published in 2013. The Shining centers on the life of Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. His family accompanies him on this job, including his young son Danny Torrance, who possesses "the shining", an array of psychic abilities that allow Danny to see the hotel's horrific past. Soon, after a winter storm leaves them snowbound, the supernatural forces inhabiting the hotel influence Jack's sanity, leaving his wife and son in incredible danger. ---
Subjects: Fiction, horror fiction, demonology, precognition, authors, hotelkeepers
