Quick Reads
About 6 books in the catalog take less than an hour to read. For example, 'The Squire's Little Girl' is around 85 minutes, making it a short option.
Reading Tracker
Choose a book, record where you are, and set a daily goal. Your progress is stored in localStorage in this browser; it is not uploaded to a user account.
No sign-up required
Stored in your browser
Estimated time remaining
Choose a book
If the EPUB has no fixed print pagination, the tool starts with an estimated page count and lets you replace it with the page total shown by your own reader.
Reading progress
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Remaining
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Estimated time left
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At your daily goal
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Stored locally
Reading history
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How the progress estimate works
The Reading Time Guide helps you estimate how long it will take to read a book from this catalog. Each book's reading time is calculated from its word count, assuming an average reading speed of about 230 words per minute. This is an estimate; your actual time may vary.
The catalog includes books of varying lengths. The median word count is about 58,500 words, which corresponds to roughly 255 minutes of reading. Based on word count, we classify books into four time categories: quick (under 1 hour), steady (1-2 hours), immersive (2-5 hours), and marathon (over 5 hours).
Steady Reads
Around 28 books fall into the steady category, taking 1 to 2 hours. Titles like 'Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch' (171 minutes) fit here.
Immersive and Marathon Reads
Most books (61) are immersive, taking 2 to 5 hours. A few (like 'With the British Legion' at 594 minutes) are marathon reads, taking over 5 hours.
Sustainable Reading with the Tracker
The Reading Tracker in the EMAAF Public Domain Literature Library is a straightforward tool for monitoring your progress through a book. It records your current page, total pages, and a daily page goal, then calculates estimated remaining time and finish days. The tracker does not require an account—it stores your progress in your browser’s local storage, so you can pick up where you left off on the same device. The sections below examine how to use the tracker effectively, using examples from the catalog to illustrate its practical application.
Setting Up Your Book
To begin, you need to know the total number of pages in your edition. The tracker provides an initial estimate based on the book’s word count, assuming 250 words per page. For example, Cædwalla; or, The Saxons in the Isle of Wight: A Tale — Themes and Context has 103,330 words, so the initial page estimate would be ceil(103330 / 250) = 414 pages. However, your physical or digital edition may have a different page count, so you can replace this with the actual total from your reading app or book. This ensures your progress and time estimates are accurate.
You also set a daily page goal. The default is 20 pages, but you can adjust it to match your schedule. If you find 20 pages too ambitious, you might set it to 10; if you are an avid reader, perhaps 30. The tracker uses this goal to estimate how many days it will take to finish. For instance, with 414 pages and a goal of 20 pages per day, you would finish in ceil(414 / 20) = 21 days. If you lower the goal to 15 pages, it would take 28 days. The choice is yours, and you can change it at any time.
Tracking Progress
As you read, you update your current page in the tracker. It then calculates your remaining pages and estimated time left, using the formula: estimated_minutes × remaining_pages / total_pages. For Cædwalla, the estimated reading time is 450 minutes. If you have read 100 pages, your remaining pages are 314, so the estimated time left is 450 × 314 / 414 ≈ 341 minutes, or about 5.7 hours. This helps you plan your reading sessions and see how much time you still need to invest.
The tracker also displays your estimated finish date, based on your daily page goal. This can be motivating, as it gives you a concrete target. For example, if you start Cædwalla and read 20 pages a day, you will finish in about 21 days. Seeing that date can help you stay consistent, especially when you are reading a longer book that might otherwise feel daunting. The tracker’s simplicity means you are not overwhelmed with data—just the essentials to keep you on track.
Adjusting for Your Edition
One important feature is the ability to override the total page count. The initial estimate is based on a standard of 250 words per page, but your edition might have more or fewer pages due to font size, illustrations, or formatting. For example, a paperback with large print might have more pages, while an e-book might have fewer. By entering the actual page count, you ensure that your progress percentage and time estimates are accurate. This is particularly useful if you are reading a title like The Land of Oz — Key Ideas to Explore, which has 47,346 words; the initial estimate would be 190 pages, but your edition might be 220 pages. Adjusting the total keeps your tracker honest.
The tracker’s progress history is stored in your browser, so you do not need to worry about losing your place. However, this also means that if you switch browsers or clear your browser data, your progress will be lost. It is a good idea to periodically note your current page elsewhere if you plan to switch devices. Despite this limitation, the tracker is a valuable tool for maintaining a consistent reading habit, especially for longer books that require sustained effort over weeks.