I have finally finished reading my 500th book since I started tracking such data back in June of 2015. This half-millennium mark was crossed by the completion of the sociological study of consumer habits of the lower-class project dwellers in Manhattan, The Poor Pay More. I received this book in error thinking instead to receive a science fiction work of the same title by Fredric Brown. I now believe that the online book listing was erroneous, as I find no such work by the noted author in a quick search on the Interwebs. Nonetheless, the trade paper reprint of the seminal 1963 study of the buying habits and constraints of those families at the bottom of the pecking order was an interesting read, if a bit dry. (At least it was not the unpalatable blather of most sociology.) David Caplovitz presents plainly and persuasively the results of a milestone survey of over five hundred families of the urban poor, showing how predatory salesmen and stores combine with all-American urges towards consumption to create a situation where high prices and shoddy goods are foisted upon those members of society who are least able to afford them. Plus ça change …. This situation has only been exacerbated in our current United States, although most of these families would likely just be living on the streets nowadays, competing for the scarce resources of discarded aluminum cans. Ah, progress. Anyway, a worthwhile study.
Finishing this book means that I have read another hundred books* since the last such milestone reached on January 16th, 2020. Ergo, a mere 241 days have passed since I completed my 400th book, giving an average reading pace of 2.41 days per book read. This is the fastest pace yet since I began tracking in June of 2015. The averages for each century are as follows:
- 2.41 days/book – Books #401-#500
- 2.97 days/book – #301-#400
- 2.79 days/book – #201-#300
- 4.83 days/book – #101-#200
- 6.17 days/book – #1-#100
The current torrid pace is due to a conscious determination to read both quick reads as well as some works with questionable right to belong in my library. I may now try to pick up the pace even further, but time will tell that tale.
1 Book per 2.41 Days
My overall pace for the entire run of 500 books may be seen by using the estimate of 1930 days since this book tracking project began. (The initial books did not have actual completion dates associate with them, so I am using June of 2015 as my guide here.) This gives a total pace of 3.86 days per book.
As usual, I’ll be back with more detailed analysis after I have a chance to massage the data. As well, of course, I’ll be posting a listing of the last set of books read.
*As usual, I exclude comic books and their ilk from my calculations.
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