Journey to a 1000 Books
On a fine Saturday afternoon, it dawned on to me that a 1000 books, of any genre, is a large number of books. And while it is not apparent, the amount of effort required to just read so many books is comparable to the effort required to master a music instrument. A profound realisation!
I did a survey, where I asked the bookworms in my friend circle on the number of books they usually read in a year. On an average, curious readers will read about 150-350 books in their lifetime. For an average person, even a 100 books is a major milestone.
This perspective sheds new light onto the habit and exercise of reading. It got me thinking - What would a journey to reading 1000 books look and feel like? I have attempted to portray one such journey based on my experience and imagination. The journey design is scalable for different reading targets.
Before we embark upon the journey, I would like to clarify what this essay is not:
I imagine this journey in 4 phases. A person’s reading skill matures with each phase. Their ability to interact with a book also grows as they move through the phases.
Phase 1: Read to Learn
This is generally a starting point, if you are an occasional reader. You will usually read a book to complement your understanding of a subject which you have been exposed to. For e.g., you come across a concept on improving customer experience and you desire to read a scholarly work on the same. Or you want to read the original works of Arthur Conan Doyle after watching the series Sherlock. After reading a few pages though, you fall prey to a distraction at hand, and hence take a long time to finish a book, if at all. Assuming that you start your journey at 25 books, you read your next 25-50 books in this manner. And it may take years.
During this phase of journey, you are exposed to many more books via in-book references and from your family, friends and colleagues. You build a large wish list of books that may interest you. Your reading abilities improve and reach a critical level required for Phase 2. But, without continuous effort, you drop back to your initial skill level. Hence many people, unfortunately, remain trapped in this phase for their whole life.
Phase 2: Read to Read
Unlike as in Phase 1, you now pick up a book because you want to read. Your purpose now shifts from knowledge seeking to the pleasure of reading. And with this your priorities change. You now set aside special reading times during the week. And you add more structure to your reading sequence. You start exploring different genres. Let’s say that murder mysteries interest you. And you embark on a journey towards reading as many murder mysteries as you can. The different styles of story telling, language, plot formation etc. provide you with the thrills.
But, the law of diminishing marginal utility catches up with you. With each book, you feel less satisfied and so you shift your focus to other types of literature. Some people move to romance, some experiment with autobiographies, some shift their focus to self help books etc. Your reading skills are now advanced compared to Phase 1. You are now open to reading about topics which hitherto didn’t interest you. But you now have the ability to tell genres apart and set your expectations accordingly. You transition to the next phase at around 150-200 books.
Some people, thanks to their habits, directly start the journey with Phase 2.
Phase 3: Read to Explore
In this phase, armed with the ability to read different topics, you strive towards expanding your exposure. You develop your ability to read and comprehend complex ideas in this phase. In-fact, your motivation is now driven by the desire to explore new ideas. You now interact with the book more. You highlight more and you take notes. You may attend book club meetings to discuss different interpretations of an idea. By this time, reading has become an integral part of your life. But you are faced with various responsibilities which conflict with your reading times. You need to balance these, but you trudge ahead.
This is the longest phase timewise and by the number of books read (~800 by my imagination). You may peak in this phase. But from here there is no turning back. Life may not allow you to transition to the next phase, but you will find this phase very fulfilling. Referring to my comparison with mastering a music instrument, I would liken this phase as your performance phase. You know enough about the instrument to perform. But you learn much more on the go.
Phase 4: Read to Reflect
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This, according my imagination, is the most advanced phase. Generally, people reach this phase during advanced years of their lives. Hence they find reading to be a very practical way to pass their time. Your view of the world, in this phase, is now fixed. This is due to your readings and experiences. In this phase, you read from various genres, but with the intention to reflect upon them with the lens of your views. Your preferences tend to be less flexible than in Phase 3. You might take up obscure and philosophical genres like spirituality, inner peace etc. This is to compare the author’s learnings from your own. You might also re-read some books to find new and deeper meaning. This is thanks to your earlier readings on wide ranging subjects. This is the phase for peace and relaxation. And this way you reach your 1000th book.
I would like to re-iterate here that this scenario of a journey is my imagination and I am in Phase 2 right now. It is quite possible that you encounter something different and more fulfilling. Please let me know of your thoughts in comments.
Inspiration
I was trying to calculate the cost overheads one incurs while reading the book on an e-book reader like a Kindle. This depends on the number of books read on the e-book reader. And how many books does one read on a Kindle in its lifetime? And this inspired me to imagine the journey of 1000 books.
I would also like to state that, one must also calculate the intangible benefits of using an e-book reader. For e.g., your accessibility to your whole collection increases, allowing you to read more books. There are also savings in physical aspects like storage, maintenance etc.
For the sake of the essay, physical and electronic formats of reading have the same outcomes.
Definitions And Assumptions
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my parents for introducing me to the joy of reading and their lifelong motivation to continue reading.
This article is also published on Substack.
References
Vice President at Matrix Life Science
8 个月Could not but smile to myself reading Sabrinathan G's hopeful reflection of "not being a pain in the wrong place with people around me". It gives a respectful and graceful tag to aging, and aging well!!! Not to mention a meaningful investment to time post gainful retirement. And above all, tread on the hopeful 1000th to be the species " _sapiens_ " (wise) of the genus _Homo_ (man)!!! You gotcha right. With no count in memory, I have progressed to read a long recommended book, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
Vice President at Matrix Life Science
8 个月Many organisations have also replaced books for bouquets at functions... that's one more effort towards promoting reading. And then there are individuals who have launched exclusive whatsapp groups for books /reading by sharing few pages a day for the interested. I am also reminded of efforts of the people who translate world literature to languages known to us. And of many publishing houses to bring low cost books in an Era when kindle was unheard of. Not to forget the audio books for kids and the incapable due to birth defects or age, giving also an additional no-reason for those who submit time as a limiting reason to read, leave alone reading 1000 book path listed by you. Read, to develop new ideas and interests; know a new world, be exposed to varied view points and stories( so important in today's world where story telling is an ultimate art to sell,whatever). Read, to spend time with yourself; get lost in a world that does not judge. Read, so you can be prompted to write and express in varied ways. Read, to be in the right circle of critiques. Read, to be with yourself and enjoy your own company.
Vice President at Matrix Life Science
8 个月Well written, Tej. And inspired me to express. As a social scientist, my focus is always on acknowledgements. It helps learn, who was part of the journey!! Aptly, the journey towards the first book ( other than those "forced" for academics ) begins with parents. They lead our first step towards this dream of reading a thousand books in a lifetime. Interestingly I have met young parents who have reverted to hard copy reads from kindle, since their kids thought they were not reading books!! Apart from self and "forced" motivation, there are those opportunity givers too who can help reach the dream journey of reading a 1000 books by making them widely available and affordable. Many individuals and families have "open" libraries in their homes for the interested. They invest their Sundays at gates of public gardens/ exhibition for free distribution of literature. That provides a good incentive to read the new. Also a good method of recycling-recirculation especially when books are a priced possession which individuals may not want to or part ways with a heavy heart. This is a more heart warming way than remembering a family or friend who has taken a book, never to return??.
Nice article Tej Vohra. Personally I find it more valuable to re-read the ones that I really like and controlling myself from getting into that vortex of chasing a number (its really really hard)
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8 个月Tej Vohra, I got to read this interesting piece thanks to my good friend Shreyas Krishna Seethapathy's "reaction". I have been a strong votary of reading, although I am poorly lettered. I am probably at that 25 books that schooling and college education force everyone into. Your analysis is interesting. There are possibly many books on reading - on how to read in general, how to read literature, classics and so on. There are related books on how to read as a part of study like Harry Maddox's old classic. People who write on the brain also write on how to read like Richard Restak's Mozart Brain and the Fighter Pilot. As an old man the way one relates to a book might be a fifth category in your analysis, especially if one has not come to Phase 3 or 4. One reads, as I hope to start soon, God willing, for the sheer joy of holding a book in one's hands and enjoy its total experience including the tactile and olfactory. I will not recall a word of what I have read. Many times while reading a page I will doze off, only to wake up startled. What I read will not matter to anyone. But hopefully it will help me not to be a pain in the wrong place to people around me. :)