He Sure Liked To Read! (Part 2)

A couple of days ago I wrote about Dan Pelzer, who, when he died in July at age 92, was found to have kept a list of every book he's read between 1962 and 2023. In that span he read 3,599 books, a truly impressive total. He averaged 59 books a year.

The library from which he borrowed those books created a catalog listing books he'd read. It was heavy on nonfiction, especially history, biography, politics, and religion. I looked at a couple of the pages of the catalog and saw no fluff. I know of people who read lots of lighter works who could probably claim to have read more books than he did, but certainly not books of the level of those on his list.

I then noted that I had been keeping a tally of my own since 2013. In the past 13 years my total is 560 books. That works out to an average of 43 per year, but since I retired in 2020 my average per year has been 65 books a year.

My list is not as heavy as his, though. I do read histories, biographies, and religious works, but I also read lots of  fiction, including YA fiction from my teaching years. I read classics, but I'm also fond of mysteries, fantasy, and science fiction.

In my earlier post I observed that I had only begun keeping my yearly tally in 2013 when I was 57/58. Mr. Pelzer began his tally when he was about 30. So if I had started when he began I would have had a list that included books from 27 more years. That probably would have added about a thousand books to my tally. Moreover, I've been a voracious reader since I first learned to read, which probably could add many more titles to my list.

But I did not have a list of those books.

Then I remembered that in this blog before 2013, in a previous blog, and in a written journal I used to keep, I sometimes mentioned books that I had read. I did a quick look at my blog posts and the journal.

Yes, I am a bit obsessive at times!

I was surprised to see some books I'd forgotten I'd read. 

I've been able to identify an additional 161 books at this point. So my total increases to 721, though I may be able to add more to the list eventually. Still, even if I keep up my current rate, and if I live as long as Mr. Pelzer, I will not equal his remarkable total. 

Not that it's a competition. Mr. Pelzer's is in a class of his own! 

Pax et bonum