How long does it take to read The Hunger Games?
Suzanne Collins · 5 books
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, all 5 books of The Hunger Games take about 38 hours to read. The unabridged audiobooks run 62 hours at 1x, or 41 hours at 1.5x.
The original trilogy is fast: three books of similar length, each a weekend's reading for many people. The two prequels changed the arithmetic. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the longest book in the series, and Sunrise on the Reaping adds almost 13 hours of audio.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
Every book, timed
| Book | Words | Read | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hunger Games | ~98,425 | 6h 34m | 10h 35m |
| Catching Fire | ~102,765 | 6h 51m | 11h 3m |
| Mockingjay | ~105,245 | 7h 1m | 11h 19m |
| The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | ~151,280 | 10h 5m | 16h 16m |
| Sunrise on the Reaping | ~119,040 | 7h 56m | 12h 48m |
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the whole series:
Have a deadline in mind? The pages-per-day calculator works it out for any date.
How we measured it
Method: audiobook estimate. Estimated from the unabridged audiobooks at 155 words a minute. Books one to three use Tatiana Maslany's recordings so the trilogy is measured with one narrator; the original Carolyn McCormick recording of book one is about half an hour longer.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked October 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log each book in Parch as you read. It tracks your pages, sessions and streak, so you'll know your real pace, and how long the next one will take.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read The Hunger Games?
About 38 hours at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 48 hours at 200 and 32 hours at 300. That covers all 5 books, from The Hunger Games to Sunrise on the Reaping.
How many words are in The Hunger Games?
About 576,755 words across 5 books. The longest is The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (151,280); the shortest is The Hunger Games (98,425). That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How long are the audiobooks?
About 62 hours unabridged at 1x for the whole series: 41h 21m at 1.5x and 31h 1m at 2x.
How many pages a day to finish The Hunger Games in a month?
About 70 pages a day, or 1h 17m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 2,097 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
Should I read the prequels first?
Read them in publication order: the trilogy first, then The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, then Sunrise on the Reaping. Both prequels lean on what you already know about Panem.
Which Hunger Games book is the longest?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, at about 16 hours as an audiobook. The Hunger Games itself is the shortest, at about 10 and a half.