Some time ago I was reading a book in the sauna at the gym I train at. I believe the author was Bertrand Russel, but it doesn´t really matter. An old man walked in and sat down next to me. We started talking and the conversation quickly started to revolve around reading. We take reading for granted in our society today and I think we forget what an amazing invention writing really is. By reading the works of Bertrand Russel, Shakespear, Julius Cesar or any other writer, I am suddenly in the writers head hearing the thoughts about a particular subject.
Whether the writer is still alive or has been dead for a millenium is irrelevant.
The written word is potentially immortal. We humans are definitely not.
I asked the old man what he liked to read, and I don’t really remember the subjects he talked about. But I do remember that he told me that he had to be very selective in his reading. He was in his early 60s and based on his family history he had about 10-15 years left. He normally read quite a lot and probably averaged 20 books a year. Which adds up to something between 200 and 300 books left before he dies. He was very aware of his own mortality. And my own suddenly became much more real.
I am now 37 years old, and I guess I read an average of 10-12 books every year. Based on my family history I should have about 43 years left.
If I´m able to read 12 books a year it will be a total of 516 books. Which is not that many. I will also have to be quite selective about the books I read.
516 books left! Let´s get cracking!
#MementoMori #reading #books
Confessions of a book addict 
10 thoughts on “516 books left!”