HOPALONG

a reading pacer — by John and Muriel Higgins, 1988–1992, revised 2026

HOPALONG runs a highlight through a text at a speed you control, to help you find a comfortable reading rhythm and see how it changes across a passage. It is not a race or a test — it's a way to notice your own reading habits, ideally to discuss with a teacher afterwards.

Layout

80-column — normal book-style paragraph 40-column — large, one phrase at a time

Speed range

SLOW (50–300 wpm, short phrases) FAST (100–600 wpm, longer phrases)

Text colour

Background colour

Highlight colour

Sample text in the highlighted phrase style.

Choose a text

Speed: 180 wpm 0%

PAUSED

← slower → faster ↓ pause/resume Home = back to start PgUp = back a bit Esc = finish

How you read it

Comprehension questions

Marked-up text

[>] sped up [<] slowed down [^] went back a page [^^] went back to the start [+] came back to this point [Ns] paused for N seconds