I began reading, last night, my 352nd book since January 1, 1996 (In Joy Still Felt by Isaac Asimov). Some quick calculations this morning lead me to the following conclusion. At my present pace of reading, I will read my 1,000th book sometime in 2024. This is rather depressing, considering I will be 52 years old at the time. In fact, it means that, assuming I live to be the same age as my grandfather (84) and assuming I can maintain my current pace, the most books I can possibly read before I die will be about 2,140.

I point this out, in part, because people are under the illusion that I am a fast reader, when in fact I am not. Thomas Jefferson is alleged to have read tens of thousands of books. He was a fast reader. I, on the otherhand, will very likely not break 2,500 books. So many millions of books out there, and I will barely make a dent! How do other people manage to cope with such a depressing thought as this?