Quick Reads
Books with a reading time under 2 hours are labeled 'quick.' The archive has 4 such books, including 'A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany-Bay.'
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 tool gives you honest estimates for how long it might take to read a book, based on its word count and your own reading speed. The archive's median word count is about 95,000 words, which for an average reader would take roughly 414 minutes—just under seven hours.
Reading speeds vary, so the tool lets you adjust for your personal pace. A faster reader might finish a book in less time, while a slower reader will need more. The estimates are meant to help you plan your reading sessions, not to set a pace you must follow.
Steady Reads
Steady reads take between 2 and 4 hours. There are 13 books in this range, offering a balanced commitment.
Marathon Reads
Marathon reads take over 8 hours. The archive has 39 such books, including 'The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1.'
Planning a Read, Page by Page
The Reading Tracker is built around a simple idea: progress is measured in pages. You set a daily page goal, and the tracker estimates how long the book will take, based on the total page count and your pace. It does not track sections or minutes; it tracks pages. That is a deliberate choice, because pages are something you can control.
The tracker works with any book in the archive. If the catalog does not have a fixed page count, it estimates one by dividing the word count by 250 words per page. You can override that estimate if your own edition has a different page count.
Starting with a Realistic Goal
The default daily goal is 20 pages. That is a reasonable starting point, but you can adjust it up or down. A useful approach is to choose a number you can sustain. A book like Travels into North America, Volume 3 (of 3) — Reading Notes has an estimated 74,866 words, which at 250 words per page gives about 300 pages. At 20 pages a day, that is 15 days. If you can only manage 10 pages a day, the tracker extends the estimate to 30 days. The tool makes the trade-off visible.
The tracker also shows an estimated remaining time, calculated proportionally. If you are 100 pages into that 300-page book, you have about two-thirds of the estimated reading minutes left. This can help you decide whether to increase your goal or accept a longer timeline.
Adjusting for Your Edition
Page counts vary by edition. A paperback with small type might pack more words per page than a large-print edition. The tracker lets you replace the estimated total pages with the number shown in your own reading app or physical copy. That way, the progress bar reflects your reality, not an approximation. If you are reading a different volume of a multi-volume work, you can enter that volume's page count and track it separately.
Tracking Without an Account
The tracker stores your progress in your browser's local storage. No account is required, and your data stays on your device. If you switch browsers or clear your cache, the history will be lost. This is a simple, private system, but it is worth knowing its limits. For a long book, you might want to back up your progress manually.
Using the Tracker with the Rest of the Archive
The tracker is most effective when paired with the Finder and Compare tools. Use the Finder to select a book, Compare to see its length, then set a goal. For example, a reader who picks up Travels into North America, Volume 3 (of 3) — Reading Notes and sets a 20-page goal can finish in about two weeks. That is a concrete plan, not a vague intention. The tracker turns a book's estimated reading time into a schedule you can follow.