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Reading Goal Calculator
See what your reading goal for the year asks of you from today. Enter your goal and the books you’ve finished to find the books still to go, the pages and minutes a day that would get you there, and how you compare with an even pace.
Still to go
– books
Enter your goal and the books you’ve finished this year. You’ll see what’s left, what it means a day, and how you compare with an even pace.
You’ve reached your goal.
You’re past your goal.
No goal, no problem.
A goal of zero means you’re reading for its own sake. Enter a number above zero if you’d like a plan.
Still to go
- a month
- a week
- a day
Books a monthSo farFrom here
This uses a pace you guessed. ReadList learns your real pace from your reading sessions, and a goal there is optional: books, pages or minutes, by the day, week or year.
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How it works
How the plan is calculated
The books still to go are your goal minus the books you’ve finished. Spread them over the days left in the year, today included, and you get the books a month and a week. Multiply by the average length for pages a day; divide by your pages per hour for minutes a day.
Pages a day=(goal − books finished) × average length÷days left
(24 − 17)×300=2,100 pages÷90 days≈24 pages a day
24 pages a day÷40 pages an hour≈36 min a day
Comparing with an even pace
An even pace spreads the goal evenly across the year: by the end of June, about half of it. The calculator compares the books you’ve finished with that line for today’s date and rounds to the nearest book. It isn’t a judgement. Most reading years come in bursts: holidays, long books, busy months.
Choosing a goal that fits
- Start from last year: count the books you finished, then add a few if you’d like to read more.
- Check it against your time: the table shows roughly what each goal asks of you a day.
- Revisit it in the spring. A goal you change is still a goal; one that makes reading a chore isn’t helping.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How many books a year is 30 minutes a day?
At 40 pages an hour, 30 minutes is 20 pages a day, about 7,300 pages a year. That’s around 24 books of 300 pages.
What if I’m behind?
Nothing has gone wrong. A goal is a guide, not a test: keep going, lower it, or let it go. The numbers here are arithmetic, not a verdict.
Does “days left” include today?
Yes. On 31 December there’s one day left: today.
Can I set a goal in hours instead of books?
This calculator works in books. In ReadList you can set a goal in books, pages or minutes, for a day, a week or a year, or no goal at all.
How does ReadList track a reading goal?
It counts the books you finish and compares them with an even pace for the date, using the pace it learns from your own reading sessions. Estimates are always labelled as estimates.