I’ve been doing some quick calculations. As of this moment, I have read 318 books. I’ve actually read many more than that, but I’m only counting novels. No disrespect to Dr. Seus or Clifford (the BIG red dog), but I’m not sure that they count so much as “reading” a book as they do as “observing” one.
My mother being a reading teacher, I started reading at an early age, pre-kindergarten in fact. It is this single characteristic to which I attribute entirely any academic success I’ve ever had. Not necessarily because I read and retained anything erudite, but more because I feel like the act of reading helped mold my brain into a semi-sharp instrument. Be it comic books or Melville, reading is always positive. It requires imagination, it improves your vocabulary…it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
At any rate, I started reading early. I’m not sure when I started reading real novels (the kinds I’d count on my list…which is here by the way), but I’m going to assume that I was about 12. Doing the math, that means I’m reading 12 books a year, a book a month on average. And it’s definitely an average not a reflection of reality. For whatever reason, I’ve been reading a lot over the last 30 days, and I’ve so far read 7 books within the last month.
I wonder how high my tally will get?