Book Finder
Answer a few questions about length, category, and subject, and the Finder will suggest books that fit your criteria. It's a practical way to narrow down the catalog without reading every description.
Do more with this book catalog
This catalog gathers 93 public-domain works of fiction, arranged into four broad categories: historical and social fiction, young readers' adventures, science fiction and utopias, and exploration or survival tales. Each listing provides practical details about the book's length, structure, and subject matter, so you can choose a reading experience that fits your time and interests.
Beyond the books themselves, the catalog includes three interactive tools. The Finder helps you match books to your preferences, the Compare tool lets you weigh two works side by side, and the Reading tool estimates how long a book will take to finish. These tools are designed to make browsing a large collection more manageable.
93
books in this catalog
4
catalog categories
93
books with reading-time data
Made for this collection
Ways the catalog data becomes useful
Compare Books
Select any two books to see their word counts, reading times, sentence complexity, and other details side by side. Useful for deciding which to read first or for exploring how different authors approach similar themes.
Reading Time Estimator
Get a realistic estimate of how long a book will take to read, based on word count and average reading speed. The tool also categorizes books as quick, steady, immersive, or marathon reads.
Choosing a Book with the UHAJA Tools
The UHAJA Public Domain Literature Library holds 93 works of fiction, ranging from brief tales to multi-volume family chronicles. With so much variety, the challenge is often not finding a book but deciding which one deserves your next stretch of reading time. Three tools work together to make that decision easier: Book Finder, Compare Books, and Reading Tracker.
Book Finder narrows the catalog by the qualities you care about most, Compare Books sets two or three candidates side by side, and Reading Tracker turns a chosen book into a realistic daily plan. Used in sequence, they move you from an open shelf to a settled reading schedule without relying on popularity rankings or critical verdicts.
Start with Book Finder
Begin with Book Finder when you have a general sense of what you want but no specific title in mind. The catalog is organized into four categories, from Historical Psychological Social Fiction to Exploration Survival Adventure Tales, and each contains a substantial number of books. You might also filter by word count, estimated reading time, chapter rhythm, sentence flow, or subjects such as India -- Fiction or Families -- Fiction.
If you are unsure about a criterion, leaving it at no preference will not penalize any book. The tool is designed to surface options that match your stated interests, not to rank the collection. For example, a reader curious about intellectual life in fiction could select Science Fiction Utopias and see Memoirs of My Dead Life — Edition Insights (id 290), a work with a long average sentence length that may appeal to someone who enjoys deliberate prose.
Compare Before You Commit
Once Book Finder has produced a shortlist, Compare Books lets you examine two or three titles at once. The comparison includes word count, estimated reading time, text sections, sentence flow, chapter rhythm, subjects, and page information when available. These metrics are descriptive, not evaluative; a high chapter count does not make a book better, but it may signal a different pacing experience.
Consider two books that might both appear under Exploration Survival Adventure Tales: Of Captain Mission — Inside the Classic (id 287) and The Desert and the Sown — A Closer Reading (id 305). The former is a compact 20,291 words, while the latter is roughly 65,466 words. A side-by-side view makes it clear that one is a short afternoon commitment and the other a longer journey, helping you match the book to your available time and energy.
Plan with Reading Tracker
After you have chosen a book, Reading Tracker turns the decision into a concrete plan. Progress is recorded in pages, with a current page, total pages, and a daily page goal. If the catalog does not provide a fixed page count, the tool estimates one using a standard of 250 words per page. You can replace that estimate with the total shown by your own reading app or edition.
The tracker also calculates estimated remaining time and finish days based on your daily goal. For instance, if you set a goal of 20 pages per day and choose a book with an estimated 300 pages, the tracker will show a 15-day plan. This approach works best when paired with the other tools: use Finder to select, Compare to confirm, and Tracker to maintain momentum.