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Cover of The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements by Sam Kean

Book · Non-fiction, memoir and self-help

The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements

by Sam Kean

Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.

Pages
401
Reading time
≈ 7 h 20 min
Checkpoints
12
Genre
Non-fiction
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Free on iPhone and Android.

How long does it take to read The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements?

At 401 pages, The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements is a fairly long book. Expect about 7 hours 20 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 15 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 6 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 day15 days
Vread median pace (72 pp./day)6 days

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

Prove you read it

The Vread challenge: 12 checkpoints

  1. Checkpoint 1, page 33
  2. Checkpoint 2, page 67
  3. Checkpoint 3, page 100
  4. Checkpoint 4, page 134
  5. Checkpoint 5, page 167
  6. Checkpoint 6, page 201
  7. Checkpoint 7, page 234
  8. Checkpoint 8, page 267
  9. Checkpoint 9, page 301
  10. Checkpoint 10, page 334
  11. Checkpoint 11, page 368
  12. Checkpoint 12, page 401

In Vread, The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements is split into 12 checkpoints, one every 33 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 12 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 1/12pp. 1–33

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 disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements: 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 disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements?
The edition listed on Vread has 401 pages. The exact count varies by edition (paperback, hardback, ebook).
How long does it take to read The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements?
About 7 hours 20 minutes of reading, or 15 days at 30 minutes a day.
Is there a quiz on The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements?
Yes: the Vread app has 12 reading questions on The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements, one per checkpoint, unlocked as you read.
Where can I find a summary of The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements?
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.

Read The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements with Vread

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.

Take the challenge

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).