How many books do you read in a year?
George W. Bush reads about 90. Apparently, no one told him picture books don't count.
I have never kept track of the number of books I read in a year -- no, not because I read so many -- on the contrary, I don't get to read as much as I'd like. (Which is why during the two-week holiday break, I took it upon myself to read at least twenty books. I ended up reading eight.) But all this talk about George Bush reading 90 books a year got me curious. Because what does that imply, if you read that much you become stupid? Or maybe 90 books is not enough to raise one's level of intelligence? It could also be that he's just fooling us all with his dumb cowboy act and is, in fact, an intellectual giant. But why the heck am I so concerned about George Bush?
To cut to the chase, I am tasking myself to read eight books a month. That would make 96 books in a year. (Beat that, George Bush! Ahem, yes, I'm very competitive. Haha.) So far, I've finished four this month -- So Long and Thanks for All the Fish (Douglas Adams), Everything on a Waffle (Polly Horvath), The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling), and Emma (Jane Austen) which I started reading way back in December. I am currently on my fifth, Mostly Harmless (Douglas Adams), and sixth, Children of Dune (Frank Herbert). Maybe I'll read Asimov for my last two. My prospects are looking good, but then this is only January.
On a side note, I went looking for a portable e-book reader (ala Amazon Kindle) yesterday, and the salespeople didn't even know what I was talking about! And we are supposed to be a techie people. But unfortunately not a well-read one. Kind of reminds me of the time when I asked a sales attendant at Powerbooks if they carried Philippine Genre Stories. The sales attendant asked me, "Ano po? Genre? Paano po ang spelling no'n?" I was so stumped I wasn't able to spell it.
Anyhoo, if anyone wants to challenge themselves this year by reading as much books as they can, then I would gladly compete with you. Haha! What I meant was, a little friendly competition gives one motivation and is therefore helpful in reaching one's goals. Yup, that's what I meant.
I honestly, truly believe it in my heart of hearts that the reason kids today are so dumb is that they don't read. They only know iPod and PSP and mobile phones and sex. You know, if you read more, you can become a person of power then you can get a lot more sex. But seriously, for your own sake, children, read! It doesn't matter what -- graphic novels, magazines, SCRAs, the back of a cereal box. Just read. And you just might become a president who can easily duck shoes (bet you didn't know those lightning-speed reflexes are from reading a lot).
I have never kept track of the number of books I read in a year -- no, not because I read so many -- on the contrary, I don't get to read as much as I'd like. (Which is why during the two-week holiday break, I took it upon myself to read at least twenty books. I ended up reading eight.) But all this talk about George Bush reading 90 books a year got me curious. Because what does that imply, if you read that much you become stupid? Or maybe 90 books is not enough to raise one's level of intelligence? It could also be that he's just fooling us all with his dumb cowboy act and is, in fact, an intellectual giant. But why the heck am I so concerned about George Bush?
To cut to the chase, I am tasking myself to read eight books a month. That would make 96 books in a year. (Beat that, George Bush! Ahem, yes, I'm very competitive. Haha.) So far, I've finished four this month -- So Long and Thanks for All the Fish (Douglas Adams), Everything on a Waffle (Polly Horvath), The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling), and Emma (Jane Austen) which I started reading way back in December. I am currently on my fifth, Mostly Harmless (Douglas Adams), and sixth, Children of Dune (Frank Herbert). Maybe I'll read Asimov for my last two. My prospects are looking good, but then this is only January.
On a side note, I went looking for a portable e-book reader (ala Amazon Kindle) yesterday, and the salespeople didn't even know what I was talking about! And we are supposed to be a techie people. But unfortunately not a well-read one. Kind of reminds me of the time when I asked a sales attendant at Powerbooks if they carried Philippine Genre Stories. The sales attendant asked me, "Ano po? Genre? Paano po ang spelling no'n?" I was so stumped I wasn't able to spell it.
Anyhoo, if anyone wants to challenge themselves this year by reading as much books as they can, then I would gladly compete with you. Haha! What I meant was, a little friendly competition gives one motivation and is therefore helpful in reaching one's goals. Yup, that's what I meant.
I honestly, truly believe it in my heart of hearts that the reason kids today are so dumb is that they don't read. They only know iPod and PSP and mobile phones and sex. You know, if you read more, you can become a person of power then you can get a lot more sex. But seriously, for your own sake, children, read! It doesn't matter what -- graphic novels, magazines, SCRAs, the back of a cereal box. Just read. And you just might become a president who can easily duck shoes (bet you didn't know those lightning-speed reflexes are from reading a lot).
posted by loffy at
6:11 PM
