diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a8e0645..1d53000 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ buzz/
 ├── resources/assets/
 │   ├── css/app.css        # @theme static tokens (colour only — see below) + the few hand-authored rules
 │   └── fonts/              # Self-hosted Playfair Display + Source Serif 4 (OFL, Google Fonts, latin subset)
-└── app/Providers/AssetServiceProvider.php
+└── app/
+    ├── Cms/Bindings/ArticleBinding.php  # Block Bindings source: the byline's reading time
+    └── Providers/AssetServiceProvider.php
 ```
 
 One rule decides where a file goes: **the theme root holds what WordPress reads itself**
@@ -68,6 +70,12 @@ docblock (`Title`, `Slug`, `Categories`…). Most of Buzz's patterns are, since
 — the colophon's year, here — is a Blade view in `resources/views/patterns/*.blade.php`, registered
 by Pollora.
 
+The byline's reading time ("4 min read", in the article and in the index) is a plain
+`core/paragraph` bound to the theme's own [Block Bindings](https://pollora.dev/blocks/block-bindings/)
+source, `app/Cms/Bindings/ArticleBinding.php` (`%theme_name%/article`, fields `reading_time` and
+`word_count`): a PHP method computes it from the post's words, in a query loop for each post, and
+the editor shows it too. Add a field to the class, and it is offered in the block's "Attributes" panel.
+
 WordPress caches the list of a theme's `patterns/` files: a new file shows up once that cache is
 cleared (`wp eval 'wp_get_theme()->delete_pattern_cache();'`), or at once with
 `WP_DEVELOPMENT_MODE=theme`.
diff --git a/app/Cms/Bindings/ArticleBinding.php b/app/Cms/Bindings/ArticleBinding.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..195ae02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/Cms/Bindings/ArticleBinding.php
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace %theme_namespace%\Cms\Bindings;
+
+use Pollora\Attributes\BlockBinding;
+use Pollora\Attributes\BlockBinding\BindingField;
+use Pollora\BlockBinding\Domain\Models\BindingContext;
+
+/**
+ * What the byline says about an article, computed from the post itself.
+ *
+ * Bound in the article and index patterns:
+ * "metadata": {"bindings": {"content": {"source": "%theme_name%/article", "args": {"field": "reading_time"}}}}
+ */
+#[BlockBinding('%theme_name%/article', label: 'Article')]
+final class ArticleBinding
+{
+    /**
+     * Words read in a minute, for the reading time.
+     */
+    private const int WORDS_PER_MINUTE = 230;
+
+    #[BindingField(label: 'Reading time')]
+    public function readingTime(BindingContext $context): ?string
+    {
+        $words = $this->wordCount($context);
+
+        if ($words === null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        $minutes = max(1, (int) ceil($words / self::WORDS_PER_MINUTE));
+
+        return sprintf(_n('%d min read', '%d min read', $minutes, '%theme_name%'), $minutes);
+    }
+
+    #[BindingField(label: 'Word count')]
+    public function wordCount(BindingContext $context): ?int
+    {
+        $post = $context->post();
+
+        if ($post === null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        $text = wp_strip_all_tags(strip_shortcodes((string) $post->post_content));
+
+        return count(preg_split('/\s+/u', $text, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY) ?: []);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/bin/tests/e2e/buzz.spec.ts b/bin/tests/e2e/buzz.spec.ts
index 20d28e0..14e3430 100644
--- a/bin/tests/e2e/buzz.spec.ts
+++ b/bin/tests/e2e/buzz.spec.ts
@@ -18,16 +18,18 @@ test.beforeAll(() => {
 
     const category = wp('term', 'create', 'category', `${tag}-cat`, '--porcelain');
     ids.post = create('--post_type=post', `--post_title=Headline ${tag}`, `--post_content=<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Body ${tag}</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->`, `--post_category=${category}`);
+    ids.long = create('--post_type=post', `--post_title=Long read ${tag}`, `--post_content=<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>${'word '.repeat(700)}</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->`);
     ids.page = create('--post_type=page', `--post_title=Page ${tag}`, `--post_content=<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Page body ${tag}</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->`);
     ids.category = category;
 
     urls.post = link(ids.post);
+    urls.long = link(ids.long);
     urls.page = link(ids.page);
     urls.category = new URL(wp('term', 'get', 'category', category, '--field=url')).pathname;
 });
 
 test.afterAll(() => {
-    for (const key of ['post', 'page']) {
+    for (const key of ['post', 'long', 'page']) {
         if (ids[key]) {
             wp('post', 'delete', ids[key], '--force');
         }
@@ -79,6 +81,20 @@ test('a post renders its title and body', async ({ page }) => {
     await expect(page.locator('main')).toContainText(`Body ${tag}`);
 });
 
+test('the byline says how long a post takes to read, from its own words', async ({ page }) => {
+    // 700 words at 230 a minute: the theme's own binding source, buzz/article.
+    await visit(page, urls.long);
+    await expect(page.locator('main')).toContainText('4 min read');
+
+    await visit(page, urls.post);
+    await expect(page.locator('main')).toContainText('1 min read');
+
+    // In the query loop, each item reads its own post.
+    await visit(page, '/');
+    await expect(page.locator('main .buzz-index-list > li').filter({ hasText: `Long read ${tag}` })).toContainText('4 min read');
+    await expect(page.locator('main .buzz-index-list > li').filter({ hasText: `Headline ${tag}` })).toContainText('1 min read');
+});
+
 test('a page renders its title and body', async ({ page }) => {
     await visit(page, urls.page);
 
diff --git a/patterns/article.php b/patterns/article.php
index c8a9328..3aecd07 100644
--- a/patterns/article.php
+++ b/patterns/article.php
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@
             <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
 
             <!-- wp:post-date /-->
+
+            <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"caption"} -->
+            <p class="has-caption-font-size">&middot;</p>
+            <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
+
+            <!-- wp:paragraph {"metadata":{"bindings":{"content":{"source":"%theme_name%/article","args":{"field":"reading_time"}}}},"fontSize":"caption"} -->
+            <p class="has-caption-font-size">Reading time</p>
+            <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
         </div>
         <!-- /wp:group -->
     </div>
diff --git a/patterns/index-list.php b/patterns/index-list.php
index 1f79c4d..df65817 100644
--- a/patterns/index-list.php
+++ b/patterns/index-list.php
@@ -26,6 +26,14 @@
                 <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
 
                 <!-- wp:post-date /-->
+
+                <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"caption"} -->
+                <p class="has-caption-font-size">&middot;</p>
+                <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
+
+                <!-- wp:paragraph {"metadata":{"bindings":{"content":{"source":"%theme_name%/article","args":{"field":"reading_time"}}}},"fontSize":"caption"} -->
+                <p class="has-caption-font-size">Reading time</p>
+                <!-- /wp:paragraph -->
             </div>
             <!-- /wp:group -->