Book · Thrillers and mysteries
The Shards
by Bret Easton Ellis
Page count, estimated reading time and reading quiz: everything to know before you start The Shards, and the Vread challenge to get to the end.
- Pages
- 829
- Reading time
- ≈ 15 h
- Checkpoints
- 23
- Genre
- Thriller
Free on iPhone and Android.
How long does it take to read The Shards?
At 829 pages, The Shards is a doorstopper. Expect about 15 hours 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 31 days of reading. At the median pace of Vread readers, 72 pages per reading day, it takes 12 reading days. For a book of this length (600 pages or more), Vread readers who finish it take a median of 6.4 days between the first and the last checkpoint (Vread Reading Barometer 2026).
- 30 minutes a day31 days
- Vread median pace (72 pp./day)12 days
Estimates; see the method at the bottom of the page.
Prove you read it
The Vread challenge: 23 checkpoints
- Checkpoint 1, page 36
- Checkpoint 2, page 72
- Checkpoint 3, page 108
- Checkpoint 4, page 144
- Checkpoint 5, page 180
- Checkpoint 6, page 216
- Checkpoint 7, page 252
- Checkpoint 8, page 288
- Checkpoint 9, page 324
- Checkpoint 10, page 360
- Checkpoint 11, page 396
- Checkpoint 12, page 433
- Checkpoint 13, page 469
- Checkpoint 14, page 505
- Checkpoint 15, page 541
- Checkpoint 16, page 577
- Checkpoint 17, page 613
- Checkpoint 18, page 649
- Checkpoint 19, page 685
- Checkpoint 20, page 721
- Checkpoint 21, page 757
- Checkpoint 22, page 793
- Checkpoint 23, page 829
In Vread, The Shards is split into 23 checkpoints, one every 36 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 23 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.
Illustrative example
What a checkpoint looks like
A short, precise question about the pages you have just read: a character, a place, a choice.
The answer is in the text: reply in the app.
This is not a question from The Shards: to avoid spoilers, the real questions stay in the app.
Answer in the app, one checkpoint at a time.
Summary, quiz, reviews: frequently asked questions
How many pages is The Shards?
How long does it take to read The Shards?
Is there a quiz on The Shards?
Where can I find a summary of The Shards?
Similar books: thrillers and mysteries
Read The Shards 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.
Take the challenge