"Of making many books there is no end," Ecclesiastes
Besides -- once upon a time, my mother forced us to return ALL our books to the library and get no more out because we were going on vacation A WEEK LATER.
What do you think of the literary device of the hero having been given an assigned book (that contains the secret he needs)? It remains unread while he/she strives to win by personal wits. Both Kvothe and Bast persist in neglecting their reading, which may explain why Rothfuss refuses to complete the trilogy.
You may have notice that barring Robin McKinley's *Beauty*, no one ever has a library for pleasure reading in fantasy -- or at least, the pleasure reading aspect never gets the foreground.
Although I understand the need to get the best books in while you still have time, I don't give a damn. Serendipity is lost with planning, IMO. I cherish the best books, but I love reading crap, too. A pulp science fiction aliens-are-coming gives me enormous pleasure. Sure, Middlemarch is better, but I get as much fun out of bad books. Yeah, on my deathbed, I'll probably regret not finishing Proust, but on my bedside table will be a copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth most likely
Wonderful, as always, Joel. These are the very best books I have read in my thirty-three years. They span genres and topics, but each is worth its weight in gold: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/bookshelf
I try to read an average of 60 books a year. It is a marginal activity but I make every effort to dedicate time to it, for my sanity! And I am a lot choosier about the books I read now.
I read between 100-120 books a year, not including picture books, but yes including all sorts of chapter children’s books (some of which are admittedly quite short). 25%, if not more, are re-reads; I’m with Lewis on that one.
Definitely pickier about which books to read, and quicker to stop reading books that don’t work. It’s what literary agents do. I’m not an agent, just a writer, so maybe it’s age. Thanks for the post, Joel.
I’m very impressed with these avid readers! For me, it’s more like 6 to 12 books a year. I do a lot of article reading and have a busy work and family life.
I reread or re-listen to Chronicles of Narnia on a semi regular basis and I am re-listening to Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry and enjoying it. Definitely a fan of selective rereading.
Think of which books you would recommend to someone else as keys to development of insight, understanding, and knowledge. Would it be a list of 1000 books? Unlikely. 100 books would be a long list. Re-reading those 100 books is a better use of your time than racing through another 1000 books.
On re-reading, I read various Shakespeare plays in junior high school and high school. Some of them I have not read since. All I gained from reading them once was a little bit of cultural literacy, as I can now understand some (not all) references to the plays and characters. Reading without re-reading is of small benefit.
Great article. Your graph grabbed my attention. I’m definitely don’t read for the numbers but appreciate the prompt of considering - if I knew I only had so many books left in life, would I choose more carefully? Sort of like, what would you do if you were to live like you were dying.
Well, if, as the song goes, they have beer and dogs in heaven then there are going to be books - aren’t there? It just makes theological sense. Hopefully someone will reassure me, sorry for doubting.
I used to make goals about how many books per year I wanted to read, but now I just keep reading and not worry about the numbers. I read every single day and usually have two books going at once. So far this year I have read 34 books for myself, countless articles and at least 30-40 children's books to my nephew. I do have a few books I reread regularly and some in particular that I reread every year. They are like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in a long time.
Twenty-five years ago (around age 46) while I was working, and now (71) while retired, I read about 40 books a year. At this rate, I may be able to read about 600 books during the next decade and a half. About half the books I read are new or from the public library, and half are from my own library. Since the latter is over 3000 titles, if I can read only 300 from my shelves, that's only about 10%. I might as well downsize by 90% now and save space, but I can't even begin to figure out which ones are among the 10% that I'll read.
I want to know how many books YOU read in a year. :)
I spent years wanting to be an avid reader and a reading challenge in 2023 is what finally made things click for me (along with a pointed article by Tim Challies on January 7 of that year asking why I hadn't finished a book yet that year if I claimed to be a reader...it was motivating). That year I read 48 books. I did 56 last year, and I've read 48 so far in 2025. I'm hoping to crack 70.
Ever aware that the clock is ticking on my time left to read, I consider myself burdened with glorious purpose.
I don’t keep track of numbers of books read. As a kid I was always the one who won most-pages-read-over the summer, and realized it made me “weird”. Also my mom set limits on how many books (of what genre) i could check out from the library at one time.
So now I just read without ceasing, except under duress (like having to go to work or take care of my family).
On the other hand, think of the lamentation of having read everything and still having years of life but no new books.
"Of making many books there is no end," Ecclesiastes
Besides -- once upon a time, my mother forced us to return ALL our books to the library and get no more out because we were going on vacation A WEEK LATER.
That was the week that I started writing.
What do you think of the literary device of the hero having been given an assigned book (that contains the secret he needs)? It remains unread while he/she strives to win by personal wits. Both Kvothe and Bast persist in neglecting their reading, which may explain why Rothfuss refuses to complete the trilogy.
No better or worse than any such plot device.
You may have notice that barring Robin McKinley's *Beauty*, no one ever has a library for pleasure reading in fantasy -- or at least, the pleasure reading aspect never gets the foreground.
Although I understand the need to get the best books in while you still have time, I don't give a damn. Serendipity is lost with planning, IMO. I cherish the best books, but I love reading crap, too. A pulp science fiction aliens-are-coming gives me enormous pleasure. Sure, Middlemarch is better, but I get as much fun out of bad books. Yeah, on my deathbed, I'll probably regret not finishing Proust, but on my bedside table will be a copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth most likely
Wonderful, as always, Joel. These are the very best books I have read in my thirty-three years. They span genres and topics, but each is worth its weight in gold: https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/bookshelf
I try to read an average of 60 books a year. It is a marginal activity but I make every effort to dedicate time to it, for my sanity! And I am a lot choosier about the books I read now.
I read between 100-120 books a year, not including picture books, but yes including all sorts of chapter children’s books (some of which are admittedly quite short). 25%, if not more, are re-reads; I’m with Lewis on that one.
Definitely pickier about which books to read, and quicker to stop reading books that don’t work. It’s what literary agents do. I’m not an agent, just a writer, so maybe it’s age. Thanks for the post, Joel.
I’m very impressed with these avid readers! For me, it’s more like 6 to 12 books a year. I do a lot of article reading and have a busy work and family life.
I reread or re-listen to Chronicles of Narnia on a semi regular basis and I am re-listening to Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry and enjoying it. Definitely a fan of selective rereading.
Think of which books you would recommend to someone else as keys to development of insight, understanding, and knowledge. Would it be a list of 1000 books? Unlikely. 100 books would be a long list. Re-reading those 100 books is a better use of your time than racing through another 1000 books.
On re-reading, I read various Shakespeare plays in junior high school and high school. Some of them I have not read since. All I gained from reading them once was a little bit of cultural literacy, as I can now understand some (not all) references to the plays and characters. Reading without re-reading is of small benefit.
Great article. Your graph grabbed my attention. I’m definitely don’t read for the numbers but appreciate the prompt of considering - if I knew I only had so many books left in life, would I choose more carefully? Sort of like, what would you do if you were to live like you were dying.
Well really, does it matter when i die how many miles i ran or walked. No you just have to live in the moment. Reading gives many good moments.
Well, if, as the song goes, they have beer and dogs in heaven then there are going to be books - aren’t there? It just makes theological sense. Hopefully someone will reassure me, sorry for doubting.
I used to make goals about how many books per year I wanted to read, but now I just keep reading and not worry about the numbers. I read every single day and usually have two books going at once. So far this year I have read 34 books for myself, countless articles and at least 30-40 children's books to my nephew. I do have a few books I reread regularly and some in particular that I reread every year. They are like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in a long time.
Twenty-five years ago (around age 46) while I was working, and now (71) while retired, I read about 40 books a year. At this rate, I may be able to read about 600 books during the next decade and a half. About half the books I read are new or from the public library, and half are from my own library. Since the latter is over 3000 titles, if I can read only 300 from my shelves, that's only about 10%. I might as well downsize by 90% now and save space, but I can't even begin to figure out which ones are among the 10% that I'll read.
I want to know how many books YOU read in a year. :)
I spent years wanting to be an avid reader and a reading challenge in 2023 is what finally made things click for me (along with a pointed article by Tim Challies on January 7 of that year asking why I hadn't finished a book yet that year if I claimed to be a reader...it was motivating). That year I read 48 books. I did 56 last year, and I've read 48 so far in 2025. I'm hoping to crack 70.
Ever aware that the clock is ticking on my time left to read, I consider myself burdened with glorious purpose.
I'm on track to review 150 books, maybe more, this year. I only review books after reading them twice.
Once read books -- well, I'm not sure.
Do you get time to do anything else outside of reading ?
I have always read quickly.
I’m with Borges re: definition of paradise!
I don’t keep track of numbers of books read. As a kid I was always the one who won most-pages-read-over the summer, and realized it made me “weird”. Also my mom set limits on how many books (of what genre) i could check out from the library at one time.
So now I just read without ceasing, except under duress (like having to go to work or take care of my family).