# Poll: How many books have you read so far in your life? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747 "2005-11-19T01:24:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/1 "2005-11-19T01:24:22Z")
First off, if this is better suited for CS, then it’s fine. I just figured being a poll and all, it would go well here. Second, I’m defining book as “a book with 100 pages or more”, so that would eliminate any childrens or picture books, I’d think. So…would it be (for you): A: Less than 25 books B: 25 - 100 books C: 101 - 400 books D: 401 - 700 books E: Over 700 This poll is for one reason only. That last night I was looking at the collection of books that I own (all that I’ve read, of course; some of them twice)…and it takes up almost a whole book closet. And I thought that…"Man, there are actually some people in this world who probably hasn’t read more than 3 books in their entire life (My dad and mom would be just a few). How can they do that?! CAN they do that? Is it safe? So about how many books have you read thus far in your life? Mine would be, without a doubt, E. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/2 "2005-11-19T01:26:22Z")
_Thousands_. I have no idea exactly how many. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/3 "2005-11-19T01:27:03Z")
C, I think. I love to read, but I’m picky about what I read, unless it involves ingredients lists, which, for some reason, I like to peruse. Alas, they don’t count as books. I own less than 100 books right now, since I purged my collection a few moves ago. Hmm. I need to buy more books, especially as I’m looking to get rid of some more books that I have and no longer enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/4 "2005-11-19T01:27:40Z")
Thousands. Hell, I probably _own_ more than 700, although I’ve never counted. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/5 "2005-11-19T01:30:41Z")
I figure there’d be thousands for a lot here…but I didn’t want the poll to have, like, a million letters. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/6 "2005-11-19T01:31:00Z")
i’d say 10s of thousands. i average a book a day. that would be 365 or so per year… x many, many, years. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/7 "2005-11-19T01:42:29Z")
Many, many years ago I was watching “Family Feud” and the question was, “How many books does the average American home have?” The number one answer of 100 people surveyed was: twenty-five. 25! In an entire home. Isn’t that just awful? People owning more than 100 books were the least on the survey. I’ve read at least 500 books with plus 100-page counts in the last 10 years alone, mostly nonfiction. I’ve read three just in the last three weeks – and I’m not even living at home currently. Throw in all the reading material I’ve consumed in my entire life: newpapers, magazines, professional journals and comics collections – and the number is in the tens of thousands, easily. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/8 "2005-11-19T01:58:26Z")
I’m inclined to say High C. I’ll get into D territory eventually, no doubt, but I haven’t been as active a reader as when I majored in English oh so many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/9 "2005-11-19T01:58:47Z")
My answer is also E+ - thousands and thousands. > [@Cowgirl Jules](#): > > Hell, I probably _own_ more than 700, although I’ve never counted. This got me curious. A quick count comes up with 629 books in my place, not counting computer game manuals or the Project Gutenburg stuff I have on my computer. **Idle Thoughts** , you want to expand the poll to include book ownership? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/10 "2005-11-19T01:59:15Z")
I’m in the thousands…I read 3-4 books a week. Sometimes more, if I get into some of them. I own a couple hundred, and it would be more, except I live in an apartment and I have to lvie here, too. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/11 "2005-11-19T02:01:59Z")
High thousands. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/12 "2005-11-19T02:04:07Z")
In the thousands, I’m sure. I own over 1000 (though I haven’t read all of them - some are reference). ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/13 "2005-11-19T02:08:13Z")
10 billion. Honestly, I’ve never counted, but if you’re counting books read “for fun” as well as books read for, say, English class, then it’s way, way up there. > [@Askia](#): > > In an entire home. Isn’t that just awful? No, not really. I stopped buying books (I definitely own less than 70) when I remembered that such a thing as a “library” existed. And there are tons of people who can’t justify to themselves the expense of owning a book. That doesn’t mean they don’t read. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/14 "2005-11-19T02:09:17Z")
E, I guess, but I’m not sure in what range. If it’s over a thousand, it’s probably in the 1 000 to 1 300 range. I love reading but I sometimes go months at a time without picking up a book. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/15 "2005-11-19T02:14:33Z")
> [@Silver Fire](#): > > (I definitely own less than 70) A) I, of course, meant to say **fewer than**. I’m dumb. Mabee I shud read more so that my English will be gooder. B) I just counted 42 non-children books on my shelf. I have a few scattered around my house, but probably not many. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/16 "2005-11-19T02:27:51Z")
In the thousands for me as well. I read more before I got married, but I still average at least 1 a week. It used to be more like 2 to 3 a week. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/17 "2005-11-19T02:30:25Z")
Another E++ here. Somewhere in the 2,000-3,000 range, I’ll wager. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/18 "2005-11-19T02:35:31Z")
I’m probably D (400-700) but I may be at the high end of C (101-400). This year I’ve started keeping a list of all the books I’ve ever read. I tried including everything I remember from past years but I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. This year I’ve read about 35-40 books. That still more than I normally read in a year, even though I hardly read anything until May. I’m only 21 so someday it will be in the thousands, hopefully. Lately I seem to be in a reading slump. ---
**Author:** ![Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buckler_of_Swashing)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/19 "2005-11-19T02:41:34Z")
E all the way and even more than usual these days. I work in a second-hand bookstore and some days you’re going through the stock and it’s like ‘Hmm…might take a look at that. Oh, gonna take that one home, Oohhooooohhhh! I’m buying that one! Put it to one side! Mine!’ Somehow I do actually end up reading them all. But because I’m picky about what I’m willing to re-read, in terms of enjoyment, I only own between 300-400, I think. But they’re a damn good 300-400! Plus maybe 20-30 Reference books like dictionaries, grammar things , specialist references etc… So yeah. E. Totally. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747/20 "2005-11-19T02:44:56Z")
At a minimum, I’ve read over a thousand books. That’s assuming 1 book a week since I was five. I think one a week is way too low as I read most books in 2 - 3 days, but I also re-read a lot of my books over and over, and I think we’re counting individual books that we’ve read, not multiple readings of a single book. I wonder if I can use Amazon’s rating service to try to work out how many individual books I’ve read… hmm, that might be interesting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-many-books-have-you-read-so-far-in-your-life/331747.md?page=2)