Quarantine Books Calculator
So, yeah, coronavirus. By now, you probably don't need to be told what it is. Probably you also already know that we should practice social distancing. This means hugging trees rather than people (if there are no people nearby, of course), while for some, this means a strict quarantine. We do recommend our don't panic calculator to assist you during the quarantine time, though.
Working from home has its advantages - no traffic jams, no commuting, no meetings - that adds up to a lot of saved time. The proper question to ask now is - how to make the most of it.
There are many answers, but one of the best things you can do is to grab a valuable book. There are tons of remarkable, perspective-shifting literature out there, to which even the best Netflix series can't compare. Now we finally have the time! Just imagine how many different worlds your mind can visit while your body rests safely at home...
Our calculator is here to help you plan your reading time. Not only will you find out how many books you can read during the quarantine, but also get recommendations to list drawn randomly from a collection of the 400 best books of all time.
Let's plan the literary time of your life!
How to use the quarantine books calculator
The general rule is simple - enter the numbers you know, and let the calculator compute the numbers you don't. Let's go through some examples.
How many books will I be able to read during my quarantine?
(Or over any given time, really).
- Enter the period you have read books over. You can change the unit to days, months, or years or, on occasion, take assistance from our time unit converter.
- Input the number of hours (or minutes) per day you can allocate to reading.
- Choose your reading speed. You can pick an estimate or enter the exact number in the "which means I can read" field. We also have a reading speed calculator that you can check out to estimate your reading time for any book.
- The average book's length is set by default to 300 pages - go to the advanced mode if you want to change it.
- There you go - at the bottom, you will find the number of books you can read!
Will I manage to read Crime and Punishment in two weeks?
- Follow steps 1 - 3 from the previous section.
- Take a look at the "During quarantine, you can read X pages" result. If it doesn't exceed the number of pages your book has, you'll manage to finish it. For instance - you're stuck at home for 2 weeks, can read for 1.5 hrs per day, and are an average-speed reader. With these parameters, you can read 630 pages. Crime and Punishment is circa 545 pages, so you'll make it.
How much time per day do I have to allocate to read the whole Witcher saga?
- Enter how long you expect to stay home. For example, 3 weeks.
- Enter your reading speed. For example, "quick."
- Enter the sum of all of the pages in the "pages" field at the bottom. The Witcher books have 2018 pages in total.
- You'd need to read for about 1 hrs 36 min per day to finish all of these books in time. You can also see how many pages per day you'll have to read.
You may also want to take a look at our tool dedicated to the Witcher.
How long do I have to stay home to read Ulysses, War and Peace, and In Search of Lost Time?
...Woah, go easy on yourself...
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Enter how many hours you're able to read. You're probably a dedicated reader, so let's say 5 hrs.
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Choose your reading speed. Let's say you're an übermensch reading 2 pgs/min.
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Let's sum the pages in these three books:
730 + 960 + 4,215 = 5905Enter this into the "pages" field. Our calculator also works as, well, a calculator, so you can input
730 + 960 + 4,215and get the correct result. -
Result - you'll need just under 10 days to make it! (Good luck).
What to read - make the calculator tell you
If you've lost your to-read list, this quarantine books calculator can generate one for you.
Simply:
- Enter how much time you have for reading.
- Input your reading speed - you can choose slow/average/quick, or check how many pages you can read in a minute (or an hour) and type the number in.
- Select the genre you want to read.
- At the bottom you'll find a list of books you can read during your quarantine, with the book's length and estimated reading time next to it. The exemplary number of pages was taken from Amazon, but remember it depends on the edition.
The recommendations are based on the "best books of all time" lists from the following pages:
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Adventure (20 books):
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Classic novels (100 books):
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Comedy (20 books):
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Dystopia (20 books):
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Fantasy (20 books):
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Horror (20 books):
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Mystery (20 books):
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Nonfiction classics (100 books):
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Romance (20 books):
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Sci-fi (20 books): [)
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Self-development (20 books):
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Thriller (20 books):
What to read - yet another 10 book recommendations
If you just want to pick one book, you may as well choose something from our favorites:
1. My Family and Other Animals, Durrell G. | Memoir | 288 pages
Autobiographical adventures of the author (then a crazy 10-year-old kid, keeping scorpions and albatrosses as pets) and his extravagant family on the Greek island of Corfu. Very light, upbeat reading, our November comfort book. Nature, adventures, and lots of humor. You'll laugh out loud.
2. Empire V, Pelevin V. | Satire | 416 pages
At first glance, it's a fantasy about vampires, but don't be misled. It's as far from Twilight as it can get! Pelevin is a kind of postmodernist Bulgakov, and the book portrays modern Russia and contemporary worldwide social and economic phenomena more than a fantasy novel. It is magical realism full of symbolism and philosophy with a pretty dark atmosphere. Not the easiest text to process, but you'll be rewarded.
3. Catch-22, Heller J. | Dark comedy | 453 pages
A wonderful, humorous book set during World War II, written with a distinct tongue-in-cheek style. The war is absurd and more bureaucratic than scary, and the only way to be sent back home from the army is if you're deemed crazy. There's a catch, though: you have to apply to be excused, and applying confirms that you're not crazy. Also, don't start moaning in front of the General!
4. The Last Wish, Sapkowski A. | Fantasy | 288 pages
The collection of short stories about the Witcher - a mutated human who travels and kills monsters for a living. Classic Polish fantasy, which has recently gained worldwide popularity. The plot is gripping, the writing style distinct, and the humor dark. There's love, adventure, danger, and destiny. Also political intrigues, sex, and violence.
5. Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut K. | Postmodern novel | 304 pages
For open-minded intellectuals who can enjoy a high concentration of meaningful nonsense. Full of specific black humor exposing the absurdities of our world. Funny, yet sad.
6. The Perennial Philosophy, Huxley A. | Religion & Philosophy | ~354 pages
Huxley was quite a prominent thinker; you may be familiar with his famous dystopia Brave New World. The Perennial Philosophy is a less-known work, which seeks the transcendental commonalities in mystic traditions of different origins. For the fans of "The Doors" and those taking delight in sensible spirituality.
7. On the Road, Kerouac J. | Classic fiction | ~320 pages
Kerouac is one of the main representatives of the Beat Generation - the American counterculture movement from the 50s. The book is a semibiographical journey through the US, full of poetry, drugs, no-budget hitchhiking, jazz, Buddhism, and the freedom of an unstructured life. If you sometimes get this feeling when you look to the West, and your spirit is crying for leaving, you'll probably get it.
8. Thinking, fast and slow, Kahneman D. | Psychology | 499 pages
The Nobel laureate presents his findings in the psychology of decision-making, cognitive biases, and behavioral economics. For scientific rationalists interested in how to think better.
9. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Adams D. | Sci-fi comedy | ~200 pages
The author of this hilarious sci-fi was once lying drunk in a field in Innsbruck, looking at the starry sky. He had his Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe with him and thought, "somebody ought to write a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Then he did.
10. The Plague, Camus A. | Philosophical novel | ~320 pages
The story is about a plague decimating the dwellers of a small town. The novel asks existentialist questions about human life and shows a wide range of responses to disease and death. Still up to date.
Where to find - free e-book sources
During the pandemic, it's reasonable to avoid libraries and use the Internet.
Our books vs ebooks calculator can help you decide between regular books and e-books.
In the meanwhile, you can get e-books for free on:
... and audiobooks on:
