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Cover of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code by Walter Isaacson

Book · Non-fiction, memoir and self-help

The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code

by Walter Isaacson

Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.

Pages
536
Reading time
≈ 9 h 40 min
Checkpoints
16
Genre
Non-fiction
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How long does it take to read The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code?

At 536 pages, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code is a long book. Expect about 9 hours 40 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.

At 30 minutes a day, that is about 20 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 8 reading days. For a book of this length (400 to 599 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 5.3 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).

Reading days to finish it
30 minutes a day20 days
Vread median pace (72 pp./day)8 days

Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.

Prove you read it

The Vread challenge: 16 checkpoints

  1. Checkpoint 1, page 34
  2. Checkpoint 2, page 67
  3. Checkpoint 3, page 101
  4. Checkpoint 4, page 134
  5. Checkpoint 5, page 168
  6. Checkpoint 6, page 201
  7. Checkpoint 7, page 235
  8. Checkpoint 8, page 268
  9. Checkpoint 9, page 302
  10. Checkpoint 10, page 335
  11. Checkpoint 11, page 369
  12. Checkpoint 12, page 402
  13. Checkpoint 13, page 436
  14. Checkpoint 14, page 469
  15. Checkpoint 15, page 503
  16. Checkpoint 16, page 536

In Vread, The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code is split into 16 checkpoints, one every 34 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.

The challenge: validate all 16 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.

Also available in French on Vread.

Illustrative example

Checkpoint 1/16pp. 1–34

What a checkpoint looks like

A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.

The answer is in the text: reply in the app.

This is not a question from The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.

Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.

Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions

How many pages is The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code?
The edition listed on Vread has 536 pages. The exact count varies by edition (paperback, hardback, ebook).
How long does it take to read The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code?
About 9 hours 40 minutes of reading, or 20 days at 30 minutes a day.
Is there a quiz on The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code?
Yes: the Vread app has 16 reading questions on The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code, one per checkpoint, unlocked as you read.
Where can I find a summary of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna and the Race to Understand Our Genetic Code?
Vread does not publish summaries: the app supports reading the book itself, part by part. Checkpoint questions cover what you have just read, which makes them a good way to check you did not miss anything.

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Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.

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Written by Vread from its catalogue data (page count of the listed edition, checkpoints, ratings aggregated from 10 ratings). No summary or publisher text is reproduced. Reading times are estimates; see the method in the Vread Reading Barometer (in French).