Book · Non-fiction, memoir and self-help
The Second Sex
by Simone de Beauvoir
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Second Sex, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 1,258
- Reading time
- ≈ 22 h 50 min
- Checkpoints
- 35
- Genre
- Non-fiction
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read The Second Sex?
At 1,258 pages, The Second Sex is a doorstopper. Expect about 22 hours 50 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 46 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 18 reading days. For a book of this length (600 pages or more), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 6.4 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day46 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)18 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 35 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 36
- Checkpoint 2, page 72
- Checkpoint 3, page 108
- Checkpoint 4, page 144
- Checkpoint 5, page 180
- Checkpoint 6, page 216
- Checkpoint 7, page 252
- Checkpoint 8, page 288
- Checkpoint 9, page 323
- Checkpoint 10, page 359
- Checkpoint 11, page 395
- Checkpoint 12, page 431
- Checkpoint 13, page 467
- Checkpoint 14, page 503
- Checkpoint 15, page 539
- Checkpoint 16, page 575
- Checkpoint 17, page 611
- Checkpoint 18, page 647
- Checkpoint 19, page 683
- Checkpoint 20, page 719
- Checkpoint 21, page 755
- Checkpoint 22, page 791
- Checkpoint 23, page 827
- Checkpoint 24, page 863
- Checkpoint 25, page 899
- Checkpoint 26, page 935
- Checkpoint 27, page 970
- Checkpoint 28, page 1006
- Checkpoint 29, page 1042
- Checkpoint 30, page 1078
- Checkpoint 31, page 1114
- Checkpoint 32, page 1150
- Checkpoint 33, page 1186
- Checkpoint 34, page 1222
- Checkpoint 35, page 1258
In Vread, The Second Sex is split into 35 checkpoints, one every 36 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 35 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
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 Second Sex: 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 Second Sex?
How long does it take to read The Second Sex?
Is there a quiz on The Second Sex?
Where can I find a summary of The Second Sex?
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Read The Second Sex 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