How long does it take to read The Night Circus?
Erin Morgenstern
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, The Night Circus takes 8 hours 28 minutes to read. The unabridged audiobook runs 14 hours at 1x, or 9h 7m at 1.5x.
Erin Morgenstern's first novel is about eight and a half hours at an average pace. It moves between timelines and short interludes set inside the circus, so it rewards an unhurried read.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the book:
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 audiobook narrated by Jim Dale (13:40; Libro.fm lists 13:38) at 155 words a minute. Dale is also the narrator of the US Harry Potter audiobooks.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked November 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log it 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 Night Circus?
About 8h 28m at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 11 hours at 200 and 7h 4m at 300.
How many words are in The Night Circus?
About 127,100 words. That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How many pages a day to finish The Night Circus in a month?
About 16 pages a day, or 17m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 462 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
How long would it take at 30 minutes a day?
About 17 days: the whole book is about 8 and a half hours at an average pace.
How long is The Night Circus audiobook?
13 hours 40 minutes unabridged, narrated by Jim Dale. At 1.5x, about 9 hours.