Do AltHistory Stories Count Toward Apple Books Reading Goals?

You can read a downloaded AltHistory story in Apple Books. Apple does not document whether EPUB files you import yourself add to your daily Reading Goal, so you will need to test the file on your device. Read it for a minute or two, then check whether today’s reading time has increased. PDFs can count when the Include PDFs setting is enabled.

Download an AltHistory story with WP Downloader

WP Downloader is a free web tool, and there is nothing to install. It collects the threadmarked chapters from an AltHistory forum thread and saves them as one book for Apple Books.

1. Find the AltHistory story you want to read. Its address should look like this:

https://althistory.com/threads/some-story-name.123456/

2. Open the AltHistory downloader.

3. Paste the story link into the box.

4. Choose EPUB or PDF. EPUB is free for everyone, while PDF requires a free Discord sign-in.

5. Turn on the image option if you want to include the story’s images.

6. Download the file to your device.

You do not need to sign in to AltHistory. WP Downloader downloads the whole story, not a single chapter or a list. Since AltHistory stories are forum threads, it includes the threadmarked chapters rather than every post in the thread.

If the author adds more chapters later, download the story again. WP Downloader cannot update an EPUB you have already downloaded. The AltHistory story download guide has more information about the download process.

Add the story to Apple Books

Apple Books opens EPUB and PDF files on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

On an iPhone or iPad

After downloading the file:

1. Open the Files app or Safari’s downloads.
2. Find the EPUB or PDF.
3. Open the Share menu.
4. Choose Books.

The story will appear in your Apple Books Library.

On a Mac

Open the Books app and drag the downloaded EPUB into it. You can also select File, then Add to Library. The imported story will appear in your Library.

You can now read the story in Apple Books without reopening the AltHistory thread.

How Apple Books Reading Goals work

Apple Books tracks how many minutes you read each day and how many books and audiobooks you finish each year. The default daily goal is five minutes.

To change the daily goal on an iPhone or iPad, open the Reading Now tab. On a Mac, open Home.

Apple provides an Include PDFs setting that allows PDFs to count toward your Reading Goal. Its documentation does not say whether EPUB files you import yourself count toward daily reading time. The only way to check is to read the imported EPUB briefly and see whether the displayed total changes.

Check whether your AltHistory EPUB counts

After adding the EPUB to Apple Books:

1. Open Reading Now on an iPhone or iPad, or Home on a Mac.
2. Note the reading time shown for today.
3. Open the imported AltHistory EPUB from your Library.
4. Read for a minute or two.
5. Return to your Reading Goal and check today’s total.

If the total has increased, Apple Books is counting the reading time on your device. If it has not changed, the imported EPUB may not be adding to the daily goal.

Read for at least a minute or two so the test covers more than a few seconds of activity.

Make a PDF count toward your goal

PDFs count only when Include PDFs is turned on.

On current versions of iOS, open Settings, select Apps, then Books, and enable Include PDFs. On older versions, open Settings, select Books, and find the same option.

Once the setting is enabled, open the AltHistory PDF in Apple Books and check the reading time in the same way. Note the current total, read for a minute or two, then see whether the number has increased.

You can also move WP Downloader files to another reading device by following the guides for sending AltHistory stories to Kindle or reading AltHistory stories on Kobo.

FAQ

Do imported AltHistory EPUBs count toward Apple Books Reading Goals?

Apple does not document whether EPUB files you import yourself count toward daily reading time. Read the imported story for a minute or two, then check whether today’s total has increased.

Do AltHistory PDFs count toward the daily goal?

They can count when Include PDFs is enabled in the Books settings. After turning it on, compare your reading time before and after reading the PDF.

Can WP Downloader download one AltHistory chapter?

No. For AltHistory, WP Downloader downloads the whole story and collects its threadmarked chapters into one book.

Do I need an AltHistory account?

No. You do not need to sign in to download an AltHistory story with WP Downloader.