Quick reads
Books under a certain length, often under an hour. Good for a short introduction to a topic.
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
0%
0 / 0 pages
Remaining
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Estimated time left
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At your daily goal
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Stored locally
Reading history
| Date | Start | End | Read |
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How the progress estimate works
The reading tool gives you a rough estimate of how long it will take to read each book, based on its word count and an assumed reading speed. The estimates are approximate and may vary with your own pace.
You can use the estimates to plan your reading sessions, whether you have a few minutes a day or a long weekend. The catalog also groups books into time-based categories: quick, steady, immersive, and marathon.
Steady reads
Moderate length, perhaps a few hours. Fits into a day of focused reading.
Immersive reads
Longer works that might take several sessions. For when you want to go deeper.
Marathon reads
The longest books in the catalog, often over ten hours. For dedicated study.
Page-Based Progress for Long Technical Books
The Reading Tracker in the OFUFA Historical Engineering Library helps you manage long reads by recording progress in pages. It does not track sections or minutes; it uses a simple page count, a daily goal, and a running history stored in your browser. That simplicity is useful for books that are hundreds of pages long, where a small daily goal can still lead to steady progress.
Setting Up Your Page Count
When you start a book, the tracker needs a total page count. If the catalog provides a fixed page count, it uses that. Otherwise, it estimates the total by dividing the word count by 250 words per page. For example, British Canals: Is their resuscitation practicable? — Story, Setting & Ideas (id 236) has 47,423 words, so the initial estimate would be about 190 pages (47,423 / 250 ≈ 190).
You can replace that estimate with the total page count from your own reading app or printed edition. This is useful because page counts vary by edition, font size, and device. If your edition has 220 pages, you can enter that number, and the tracker will use it for all calculations. The tracker also lets you set a daily page goal; the default is 20 pages, but you can adjust it to match your available time.
Tracking Progress and Estimating Finish
Each time you read, you update your current page. The tracker then calculates two things: estimated remaining time and estimated finish days. Remaining time is proportional: if you have read half the pages, you have half the estimated reading time left. Finish days are simply the remaining pages divided by your daily goal, rounded up.
For British Canals, if you set a goal of 20 pages per day and have 190 pages total, you would finish in about 10 days (190 / 20 = 9.5, rounded up to 10). If you read only 10 pages a day, it would take 19 days. The tracker makes these trade-offs visible, so you can adjust your goal to fit a deadline or a slower pace.
Using the Tracker for Multi-Volume Works
The tracker is especially helpful for multi-volume works, where keeping track of progress across volumes can be confusing. For instance, Shipbuilding from its beginnings is split into three volumes. Each volume has its own page count, so you can track them separately or combine them into a single project. The tracker's history, stored in your browser, lets you see your reading pattern over time without needing an account.
Because progress is based on pages, not sections, you are free to stop at any page break, even if it falls in the middle of a chapter. That flexibility makes it easier to fit reading into a busy schedule. The tracker does not judge your pace; it simply shows you where you are and how much is left, which is often enough to keep a long technical book from feeling overwhelming.