Could you read 1,000 novels? (1)

Over the last seven days, the “Guardian” newspaper has been publishing a series of guides which collectively recommend “1,000 novels everyone must read”. Now this is a strong injunction. Not 100 novels, but 1,000. Not that some people must read, but everyone. Not that one is recommended to read, but that one must read.
But, most of all, I’m wondering how many people could or would read 1,000 novels.
I aim to read a book a month and I read at least twice as much non-fiction as fiction. This means that last year I read 13 books (totalling a bit over 4,000 pages) and only four of them were novels. At this rate, it would take me 250 years to cover 1,000 novels. Even if I read nothing but novels and if one assumed the typical novel was around 250 pages, at my average reading rate (around 4,500 pages a year), I reckon it would take me around 55 years.
The only person I know who might be able to claim one day to have read 1,000 novels is my American cyber friend Dana Huff – but she is a high school English teacher.
So, how are you doing?


5 Comments

  • Eric Lee

    I aim to read a book a week. Assuming 250 pages for an average book, that would mean something like an hour every day of book reading. That’s not impossible. If you watch less TV, or don’t read daily newspapers, it becomes eminently do-able. If one splits one’s reading 50/50, you could read 1,000 novels in 40 years this way. But of course many of the novels they will pick (including anything by James Joyce) cannot be read quickly. It’s really a question of prioritising one’s time, and a commitment to reading fine books.

  • janet

    Roger, You do know someone who’s probably read 1000 novels – me! Looking back, I find that between 1971 when I started keeping a record, and 2006, I read 1421 books (not including any I forgot to note down). Since I read much more fiction than non fiction, and I haven’t added what I’ve read in 2007 and 2008, I’ve probably passed the thousand mark. But I’ve not seen the Guardian’s list and I suspect that most of it would be heavier tomes than my average paperback. So far I have posted my reviews of only 97 on my website.

  • Dana Huff

    You know, I read so slowly that I’m not really sure I could do it. For instance, so far this month, I have only read 1 1/2 books.

  • Calvin

    Glancing down the list Roger, I appear to have read just 59. That’s a pretty poor return for someone who considers themselves a keen reader – but then, any list which features Sebastian Faulks’s ‘Birdsong’ as a book I must read (and I have!) is clearly faulty…

  • Roger Darlington

    Well, I’m really impressed by the reading performance of Eric and Janet and reassured that someone who reads as many novels as Calvin has only covered 6% of the “Guardian” list.
    Like Dana, I’m a slow, methodical reader – but I have managed three books this month (only one a novel though).

 




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