Chris Gibbons was discussing the merits of Harry Potter on Cape Talk’s Midday Report.
Assuming you, the average bookworm, start your ‘reading life’ at age twelve, manage to read two books a month, and live to seventy; you will only read about 1500 books in your life.
Considering that many bloggers are ‘about’ thirty years old, you’re probably only going to be able to read about 1000. Of the millions of books published, which thousand will you choose? Would you read the same book twice?
And if you are an adult, should Harry Potter be one of those precious thousand?
I read almost anything aside from Mills and Boon, I go through about 12 books a month
( yes, yes, I don’t have a social life)
A lot of the time, my friends recommend books and I go with that.
But yes Harry Potter is definitely included, started with the philosopher’s Stone back when I was 18, so it has become a rite of passage
this is a very worrying blog… i have 700 books at home, of which i have read about 30%… not leaving me much time to finish the rest (even taking the reference books into account).
oy, perhaps i need to do a sort-out sometime…
@ – aasia, I am sooooo jealous! There are few things better than escaping into the magic of books for a few hours.
@ – adt, it sounds like you are the Imelda Marcus of books. And by reference books, I hope you aren’t including dictionaries and car repair manuals. Because then I would be very worried.
People start reading at age 12? What????
No.
Kids start earlier than that. My kids started earlier than that (although I’m reading out loud to them). I started earlier than that. Bookwormhood starts around 5 or 6.
And, come to think of it, I read 2 or 3 books a day when I have a fresh pile from the library or store. I can easily finish 20 in a week during the summer. Even taking time out to reread or write my counts well over 1500 and I’m in my twenties…. I think they need a recount!
As for HP… meh… I picked up book four at random because my brother was reading it. I’ve read the first four and couldn’t think of a reason to keep reading. HP is great if you aren’t an avid reader and haven’t read a well-written book with good characters. Otherwise, it’s not so hot.
By ‘reading’, I mean ‘proper’ books, not picture books and school readers. Also, by the age of 12, I believe kids will have established their reading preferences, and will seek out their favourite genre; as opposed to only reading what is thrust on them by adults.
Oh wow. I’d love to be able to read so much, so fast. On holiday, I can usually get through between 300 and 400 pages a day. You’re certainly not an ‘average’ bookworm.
The sad thing is that there are so many people who don’t read at all. Their ‘reading’ consisits of paging through the latest Cosmopolitan.
I have to confess that I’m a Harry Potter addict. And I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. But I do mind the pithier books leave a more lasting impression on me.
Thanks for the visit and feedback.