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Cover of Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Book · Classics

Hard Times

by Charles Dickens

Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start Hard Times, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.

Pages
379
Reading time
≈ 6 h 50 min
Checkpoints
11
Genre
Classic
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How long does it take to read Hard Times?

At 379 pages, Hard Times is a fairly long book. Expect about 6 hours 50 minutes of reading to finish it, based on 250 words per page and an average reading speed of 230 words per minute. A fast reader will go quicker; a careful read (or reading in a second language) will take longer.

At 30 minutes a day, that is about 14 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 6 reading days. For a book of this length (250 to 399 pages), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 4.7 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).

Reading days to finish it
30 minutes a day14 days
Vread median pace (72 pp./day)6 days

Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.

Prove you read it

The Vread challenge: 11 checkpoints

  1. Checkpoint 1, page 34
  2. Checkpoint 2, page 69
  3. Checkpoint 3, page 103
  4. Checkpoint 4, page 138
  5. Checkpoint 5, page 172
  6. Checkpoint 6, page 207
  7. Checkpoint 7, page 241
  8. Checkpoint 8, page 276
  9. Checkpoint 9, page 310
  10. Checkpoint 10, page 345
  11. Checkpoint 11, page 379

In Vread, Hard Times is split into 11 checkpoints, one every 34 pages or so. At each checkpoint, a question covers the passage you have just read: a correct answer validates the step, and your progress moves forward like a training plan.

The challenge: validate all 11 checkpoints through to the last page. No giant quiz at the end, no summary to copy out: short questions along the way that prove the book was actually read. It also works as a reading quiz to check your understanding before a test.

Also available in French on Vread.

Example: the checkpoint 1 question

Checkpoint 1/11pp. 1–34

Hard Times, Charles Dickens

According to Josiah Bounderby, what object served as the cot of his infancy in his grandmother's shop?

The answer is in the text: reply in the app.

Public-domain work. The answer, and the following questions, unlock in the app.

Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.

Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions

How many pages is Hard Times?
The edition listed on Vread has 379 pages. The exact count varies by edition (paperback, hardback, ebook).
How long does it take to read Hard Times?
About 6 hours 50 minutes of reading, or 14 days at 30 minutes a day.
Is there a quiz on Hard Times?
Yes: the Vread app has 11 reading questions on Hard Times, one per checkpoint, unlocked as you read.
Where can I find a summary of Hard Times?
Vread does not publish summaries: the app supports reading the book itself, part by part. Checkpoint questions cover what you have just read, which makes them a good way to check you did not miss anything.

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Read Hard Times with Vread

Add the book to your library, read at your own pace in whatever format you use, and validate each checkpoint. Vread is free on iPhone and Android.

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Written by Vread from its catalogue data (page count of the listed edition, checkpoints, ratings aggregated from 10 ratings). No summary or publisher text is reproduced. Reading times are estimates; see the method in the Vread Reading Barometer (in French).