About 17 minutes
Peach Blossom Shangri-la: Tao Hua Yuan Ji — Story, Setting & Ideas
Historical Psychological Social Fiction
3,786 recorded words. Selected by the catalog's stored reading-time estimate.
View Gutenberg source #2090
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Start with a reading choice
Three of the shortest recorded reading commitments in this catalog. Times are estimates, not quality ratings.
About 31 minutes
The Success Machine — Context and Discussion
Machines Inventions Early Science Fiction
6,932 recorded words. Selected by the catalog's stored reading-time estimate.
View Gutenberg source #26168About 57 minutes
Craphound — Reading Notes
Machines Inventions Early Science Fiction
13,013 recorded words. Selected by the catalog's stored reading-time estimate.
View Gutenberg source #17026Search the excerpts stored with this catalog
99 of 99 catalog books have a stored excerpt with a Gutenberg source record. Search covers these excerpts only, up to 6,000 characters per book. A missing match does not mean the phrase is absent from the full work.
Read a catalog excerpt example: Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair — Context and Discussion
CHAPTER I. OF THE KING OF OAKENREALM, AND HIS WIFE AND HIS CHILD. Of old there was a land which was so much a woodland, that a minstrel thereof said it that a squirrel might go from end to end, and all about, from tree to tree, and never touch the earth: therefore was that land called Oakenrealm. The lord and king thereof was a stark man, and so great a warrior that in his youth he took no delight in aught else save battle and tourneys. But when he was hard on forty years old, he came across a…
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Compare two books and their available excerpts
| Book | Recorded words | Estimated minutes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peach Blossom Shangri-la: Tao Hua Yuan Ji — Story, Setting & Ideas | 3,786 | 17 | Gutenberg #2090 |
| The Success Machine — Context and Discussion | 6,932 | 31 | Gutenberg #26168 |
| Craphound — Reading Notes | 13,013 | 57 | Gutenberg #17026 |
How these choices and excerpts are prepared
Choices use stored catalog measurements. Estimates vary with reading speed. A shared category is a catalog label, not a claim that two books have the same argument or literary quality.
Search reads excerpt text stored with this catalog and links to its associated Gutenberg record. The connection is stored in the site database; this tool does not recheck that every excerpt is word-for-word identical to that external record. Excerpt search does not cover every chapter and does not verify historical publication dates.
Catalog snapshot checked: 2026-09-25. Coverage: 99 public books, 99 available source excerpts.
Do more with this book catalog
The HOVUI Public Domain Literature Library offers 99 classic works across four categories. Each book page provides a set of reader-tool pages designed to help you get more from the text. These tools cover finding books that match your tastes, comparing editions, and estimating reading time.
Whether you are exploring early science fiction, adventure tales, or historical fiction, the catalog's tools can guide your selection. The library organizes books by category and provides details such as word count, reading minutes, and subject headings, making it easy to find your next read.
99
books in this catalog
4
catalog categories
99
books with reading-time data
Made for this collection
Ways the catalog data becomes useful
Book Finder
Use the Finder to narrow down the catalog by category, length, or reading time. It helps you match your preferences with available books, making it easier to pick a title that fits your schedule and interests.
Compare Books
The Compare tool lets you view key metrics side by side, such as word count, reading minutes, and sentence complexity. This helps you weigh options before committing to a book.
Reading Time
Estimate how long it will take to read a book based on median reading speeds. The tool provides honest estimates, helping you plan your reading sessions.
Choosing a Path Through the Library
With ninety-nine public-domain titles spread across four categories, the HOVUI library can feel like a crowded shelf. The hub page is your starting point: it links the Book Finder, Compare Books, and Reading Tracker, three tools that work together to help you choose, compare, and plan your reading. They don't rate literary quality; they help you find what fits your mood and time.
Consider a title like "In the Fog — A Reader’s Guide" (id 258), a mystery of about 26,000 words that you might finish in a couple of sittings. The tools can help you see that it's a quick, low-chapter read, ideal for a weekend. But if you're in the mood for something more sprawling, the same tools can point you toward a longer commitment. The trick is knowing which tool to use when.
Start with the Finder
The Book Finder is your first stop when you have a vague sense of what you want—a category, a time commitment, or a particular rhythm. You can filter by category, word count, estimated reading time, chapter count, sentence flow, and subjects. For example, if you're interested in early science fiction, the Finder lets you see all 34 titles in that category, from short stories to full novels.
It also lets you express preferences for popularity or hidden gems, without penalizing any book if you have no preference. This is where you narrow the shelf from ninety-nine to a handful of candidates.
Refine with Compare
Once you have two or three possibilities, the Compare tool puts them side by side. It shows word count, estimated reading time, text sections, sentence flow, chapter rhythm, subjects, and page information when available. This is not about which is 'better' but about which fits your available hours and reading style.
For instance, you might compare a 30,000-word adventure with a 90,000-word historical romance. The Compare tool makes the difference concrete: one is a sprint, the other a marathon. It also reveals structural differences, like chapter lengths, that affect how easy it is to pause and resume.
These metrics are descriptive, not judgmental. A high chapter count might appeal to you if you like natural stopping points; a low one might be better if you prefer to read in long stretches.
Plan with the Tracker
After you've chosen, the Reading Tracker helps you set a sustainable pace. It records progress in pages, with a daily goal you can adjust. The initial estimate assumes 250 words per page, but you can override it with the page count from your own edition. The tracker then estimates remaining time and finish date, based on your daily goal.
This is especially useful for longer works. If you're reading a 100,000-word novel, setting a realistic daily page goal can turn an overwhelming project into a manageable routine. The tracker stores your history in the browser, so no account is needed.