How many books have you read in your life?

[pgrmdave]

Another question (even though I already voted): What about rereading a favorite? I know that I read White Fang at least twice a year from second grade through sixth - does that count as one book or ten? Does rereading War and Peace count the same as reading The Foot Book to my little sister every night for a few years?

[Turtle]

Another question (even though I already voted): What about rereading a favorite? I know that I read White Fang at least twice a year from second grade through sixth - does that count as one book or ten? Does rereading War and Peace count the same as reading The Foot Book to my little sister every night for a few years?

 

Curiouser and curiouser. ;) While part of me wants to say re-reads don't count, another part of me has socked that part in the kisser and said *we* must count re-reads.

 

I am not much closer to a realistic count, but the endeavor has prompted an anecdote of the bookish kind. To whit, during one of my stints as a student, I took a course entitled 'Individualized Reading', wherin students chose any book, read it, and turned in a report. The knick was, it was the number of pages that determined the majority of the credit. Most the students - well all but me - chose short books and so had to write a lot of reports; they somehow argued it was easier!?

I saw an advantage in long books because it meant fewer reports and it presented an opportunity to read long books I otherwise had no time for. I remember three of the five I read:

We, by Charles Lindbergh, Dune by Frank Herbert, and a biography of Ben Franklin by Forgot D. Name. :)

[Jay-qu]

Good points Craig and Dave, I am thinking that I have read maybe ~100, but including re-reading it would bump it up a bit..

[InfiniteNow]

Curiouser and curiouser. :) While part of me wants to say re-reads don't count, another part of me has socked that part in the kisser and said *we* must count re-reads.

If re-reads count, I need to quadruple my original vote. ;)

[HappytheStripper]

I have no idea .. i look at a hundred and know I have read more than 100 .. I look at 901+ and I think .. have I read that many books throughout my life .. and in reality unless I keep a booklist .. which I dont .. how am I to possibly know how many books I have read over a lifetime .. I know I have read many books .. however I am unable to do the math without the figures .. !!

 

So as not to lie .. I have not answered the poll at all .. Ashley xxxxxxx

[eric l]

It must be way over a thousand - age does help here, of course.

 

When it comes to fiction, the number of books I have re-read is far lower, but due to that thread about "Lord of the Flies" I started rereading it, after what must be a 33 to 35 years interval. I do remember vaguely what my interpretation was at the time; on a number of points it is quite different from my interpretation now !

 

Also, if I liked a book in translation, I often try to read it in the original language - or even in another translation if the original language is not within my means. I must admit that I do not always finish this rereading.

[Michaelangelica]

I own 4,000 and that would be a small % of what I have read.

I no longer buy books as I have no room for them. (and they are too dear to buy these days at $20-$50 a pop) But still they come:eek2: as presents etc.

 

I thought of selling some on ebay but at $1-$2 bids I would rather keep them.

A few are over 400 years old. I have many 1920-1940 gardening books. I have no idea of what they are worth.

 

I usually get 20 or so books out of the Council library every month.

Mostly crime fiction, science, some biography, history and politics.

 

I have just discovered the Library's store (which can be borrowed) of science & gardening magazines!

I don't buy papers, yet several local ones come every week. I get all my news from the net,ABC radio and TV

[moo]

I no longer buy books as I have no room for them.

Online sources such as Project Gutenburg and Google's book search are nice. 0.o

 

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://books.google.com/

 

moo

[HydrogenBond]

Growing up through college I hardly read at all, except what I was forced to read in school, which may add to 100-200 books. I preferred to be out and about doing stuff with friends rather than read. Many of these friend also didn't like to read. I had an active imagination and tried to live life so I would have stories to tell.

 

After finishing school/ grad school, when I began to work, I realized that I had missed a whole side of acedamic life. So I decided to read. I bought two books 'the best books of all time', i.e., classical literature, and '10K words of power'. I read about 100 of the best books of all time over the next year. I turned into a read-a-holic. Just mention the word read I would get drunk. I really liked it, even though I thought it would be boring. I would have read more, but one of the final books I read, was I believe, either Emerson or Whitman. The quote that changed my reading habit went something like this.. " read all that you can, especially the works of the great authors. When you have done that, forget it all, and begin thinking your own thoughts". I said, OK, that should be plenty for now.

 

I did read others things that interested me. I read a tons of stuff on the Occult, Mystercism, religion and eastern philosophy.. This lead to an interest in collective human symbolism, since they were all sort of saying the same things with different symbols. I then I read the collective works of Jungian Psychology to turn symbolism into a connection to the workings of the unconscious mind. After that I became a writer instead of a reader.

 

Nowadays I read articles, like those in the forums. Or I may scan read to do research. But I haven't read a full book in years.

[Tormod]

I no longer buy books as I have no room for them. (and they are too dear to buy these days at $20-$50 a pop)

 

E-books are your friends.

 

Check out http://www.ereader.com/ - and get yourself a small handheld device like the Palm Tungsten E2 or something. :hihi:

 

I rarely pay more than $7 for a book now, and I don't even have to leave my chair. :shrug:

[IMAMONKEY!]

If you include childrens books, comics, textbooks, and large pamphlets, Ive read probably over 2,000 books in the 15 years ive ever been alive! :shrug:

 

I love reading and although my reading has slowed down since freshman year, I still read a good 50-60 books a semester. In elementary school I read out the ENTIRE library. All 1200+ books (hell i had 6 years to read it all). In jr. high we had an ENORMOUS library that I read about 600 books of, in the two years i was there. Then I have to include my grandparents private collection (more of a mini-library) chock full of philosophy books and comics. Thats a solid 400 right there. Then my basement has about 100 books and a 120+ book stash up in my room and closet. Then there's books I've read from public libraries although that number is a mere 70-80. I don't go to public libraries a lot.

 

Add school textbooks (maybe 50?) and you get a good solid number of about 2540 books and upwards. Now i gotta tell you my life revolves around reading. I spend about 2/3 of my days in the summer up in my room reading. 2/3 of the entire summer every year since 3rd grade. Yes i have a social life, no it doesn't thrive. :warped:

 

But 2500 some isnt really all that much if you think about how many books there are in existence. Ive read about 1/billionth of the books out there so in perspective I really haven't read all that much regardless of the time frame (about 11 years).

 

Soooo, I read a lot. thats why i voted 900+ :eswirl:

 

My regards,

 

IMAMONKEY!

[niviene]

Well, I read so many books these days that it's beyond my capability to count how many. In fact, I'd say more that my nose is stuck in so many books - not that I'm actually reading them. I've practically been buried beneath the contents of the entire law library here... and that's mostly why I haven't posted in so long :) I'd have to look at it like this.

 

Books I've read completely for pleasure's sake: maybe 500-600

Books I've read for school or for other required reasons (even if I might have enjoyed them in part): probably another 500-600

 

Books I still have on my 'to read' list for pleasure: about 100

 

Books that completely changed how I think about certain aspects of my life: 1 (Atlas Shrugged)

 

:(

[Loricybin]

i said < 100 because that's how many books i've finished, though it's somewhere in the upper half of that range.

 

books i've picked up and learned from, as well as cover to cover reading >200

[IMAMONKEY!]

I just got (tsk tsk such grammar... i meant "i have") five words to say:

 

Reading is the greatest thing!!!

 

I love reading so much and i encourage all to read more often!!!:hyper: :) :D

 

If i may give some encouragement or suggestions ask me. I love reading and i can give you a few of my favorite titles for your reading pleasure. I'll go so far as to say I'll type it all up for you! *oops oh wait thats copyright infringment* DRAT!:lol:

 

Regards,

 

Bibliophile monkey

[CraigD]

I love reading and i can give you a few of my favorite titles for your reading pleasure. I'll go so far as to say I'll type it all up for you! *oops oh wait thats copyright infringment* DRAT!:hihi:

I, and I’m sure others, would be interested in seeing your favorite book list, so by all means, start a thread with it in the Books, movies, games forum. Maybe it’ll encourage other to do the same :hihi:

[Kriminal99]

I read a few fiction books when I was a kid. Other than that... don't really read much. That is why I took particular offence to the library card thread.

 

I have a hard time just sitting by myself reading books as my thoughts constantly wander. For some reason though, put me in a classroom and have a teacher talk about a subject and I can run backwards forwards and upside down with whatever he said, as well as skim a book for a few seconds to find information relevant to some claim by said teach, some debate etc and then use that information to reason the next 4 pages I didn't read on my own, or something that isn't in the book (that book at least)

 

Throughout my education I found that I easily understood what most teachers said because mostly because I had already deduced it based on information from a similar or previous subject. I didn't even bother to buy many of my books in college.

 

The problem with this is that in logically dense subjects like mathematics I tended to miss the smallest details despite having a widespread understanding. It's not that you can't deduce those details, just that there are so damn many of them. There would always be that one problem with an unusual attribute that required a special tactic that I would mess up on so I couldn't get a perfect score.

 

Now I'm studying for an actuarial exam, and finding myself having to go back and learn every such detail.

 

But anyways I'm no supergenius by iq standards or anything (a genius but not by a landslide) but I think that the limiting factor in learning is motivation.

 

Sitting in a room reading a book by yourself all alone I think you are always going to have less than perfect motivation. Being in a debate (especially when you have lots of practice with deductive reasoning) spurs me in particular to learn much much faster than I ever can reading a book where my mind constantly wanders.

 

Further more I don't need a book on a subject to learn about it, I just gather information and start to figure things out. I am also not limited to just what has already been written on a subject.

 

It is a wonderful feeling everytime you find out that something you figured out on your own has been written by someone else in a book somewhere. But additionally it allows you to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world around you as well as the people in it that you could never have by being dependent on what someone was able to put into words.

[IDMclean]

I would say a number, but I know it would be wrong. I haven't had the idea to keep track of what I have read, or how many of this or that. I realize now that puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to discussing things, as I can't remember specifically where it is that I learned it from.

 

However, that does not in my opinion trivialize what I have to say as I tend to keep rather detailed mental notes for that which matters.

 

I can only say in estimating my reading quota that I have grown up in a house hold the last 20 years, that had no less than 3 bookshelves and a no TV policy in acted and enforced. I got a computer (that I personally owned) at twelve and so I started reading books less, however I actually started both reading and writing more with the advent of my first personal computer. I hate TV avidly, and always opt to shut it off. Don't mind the occasional movie, or video game.

 

I personally don't actually think I have read more than 100 books, but I think I would most likely lose a bet based on that thought. The topics of books that I have had available to me for the past 20 years range from fiction to non-fiction, science to fantasy, mystery to textbook, algebra to writing, technical manuals to creative guides. I read a sizable portion of the Bible, multiple versions, which is a difficult read at best. All that archaic language.

 

My fondest periodicals are Zoobooks, particular the Teacher's collection which comes in a green plastic case with dinosaurs on it, which have a texture so they pop up off the case. Best introduction to science I have ever found for a 4 years of age+ student. The pictures help allot in conceptualization.

 

However as much as I like books, I would warn any who would espouse books to the exclusion of other mediums, that to deprive oneself of any media on bias of superiority, real or perceived, is to deprive oneself of the opportunity to experience, know, and understand from another perspective.

 

To hold a truly comprehensive set of knowledge, wisdom, and experience one must sample many of life's fruits, careful and ever watchful for those that have rotted.

 

I hope that answers the question to some extent. I apologize that I can not give an accurate account of the shear number of books that I have read, nor recount all the names of the books I have read, nor the sources to each piece of information that I hold. However such is the cost of learning without regard to effective recorded information management.

 

Then I again, I don't feel to terrible about not being able to give an accurate number, as to make a claim is to ask for validation. and for the numbers offered above in the poll, that would indicate many long posts that would amount to lists of one's previous reads.