Reading–Do the Math

I recently heard a public radio interview (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/05/08/julie-schumacher/) with Julie Schumacher, author of The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls. She talked about her “rule of 3,000.” She said,

“If I read a book a week, which I generally do, and you average that to 50 books per year over a reading lifetime of 60 years, between ages 20 and 80 — that’s 3,000 books,” she said. “And all you get in your whole life, if you are reading a book a week, is 3,000. So people always say what book would you take with you to a desert island? I think, no, the better metaphor is if you walk into Wilson Library on the U of M campus, which has millions of volumes, which 3,000 do you want?”

Or which 3,000 do you not want to miss out on?

I love a good beach read as much as anybody, but this gave me pause. Reading became even more precious. Maybe a person should pick up the pace. Read two books a week. Start younger. Live longer.

The same principle certainly applies to children’s books. Kids are young for such a short time. Are we offering them books they’ll remember and love throughout their lives? Ones they’ll pass on to their kids. Even their just-for-fun books should at least be really fun. Check out www.SWAK publishing.com and also www.readkiddoread.com for starters.

And don’t let anybody tell you read too much. Just tell them to do the math.

Happy reading!

Filed under: about books