George claims that he read 53 books in 2012. My friend and I found this fairly unbelievable, considering he seems to have a pretty full schedule.
Anyway, it appears that I am on track to read 72 new books this year. But I've come to realize that this number can easily be skewed(扭曲). For instance, currently I am reading Rising Tide: The Story of the Mississippi Flood of 1927. This book is over 700 pages. It's going to take me the month of May (along with Harry Potter rereads; I can't read nonfiction while going to sleep). So my May average will be way off. However, when I read chick-lits (鸡仔文学, 都市女性文学), I can get those done in a day. I guess it all depends on what I choose to read.
In reality, reading is beneficial because it encourages us to slow down our thinking, and also to fully interpret someone else's experience. Reading keeps the mind sharp and expands a person’s vocabulary. We read to educate ourselves. We read to help ourselves. We read to escape our own lives and live in that of another for a little while.