The logical question to wanting to read more is how many books can you reasonably read in a lifetime? According to some math done by computer scientist Alan Kay, that number is at least 20,000. Because that’s how many books he’s estimated to have read.

Reading 20,000 books equates to about seven books per week for more than 70 years. And that’s reading an average of three to four hours per day. Which may be a lot for some people or nothing special for others.

The point is that if you want to be a great reader, you have to practice.

Malcolm Gladwell says that you’ve got to put in 10,000 hours to be a proficient expert at anything. That’s 90 minutes of practice for 20 years. And yes, practicing reading counts. Because you can always be a better reader. It just takes work over time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tKuviI68Ss

Journalist Jessica Stillman claims that it’s a good thing to surround yourself with more books than you could possibly read. Whether that’s cramming print books on a shelf or filling your e-reader with digital titles, Stillman calls this an ‘anti-library.’ An anti-library is a collection of books you haven’t read. Being surrounded by books you haven’t read is a subtle reminder of your limitations. It’s also an invitation to keep learning and keep reading. One of the best ways to read more books is to have easily accessible new titles constantly.

My lifetime reading goal is to finish 1,000 books. That seems more than doable, considering how many others have read and that I’m already more than halfway there. How many books do you hope that you can complete in your lifetime?