WEBVTT - Your 2500 books

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to keep in mind how many more

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<v Speaker 1>books you will actually read in your life. This can

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<v Speaker 1>help you make good choices about what to read and

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<v Speaker 1>what to skip. So I know that Before Breakfast listeners

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<v Speaker 1>love to read. You read before bed, you read little

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<v Speaker 1>snippets on the Kendall lap, when you're waiting for things,

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to audio books in the car. There are

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of amazing books out there, both those coming

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<v Speaker 1>out these days plus those from all the years past.

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<v Speaker 1>So no doubt your to be read list is a

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<v Speaker 1>mile long. But here's the thing. You will only read

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<v Speaker 1>so many books in your life. Let's say you read

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<v Speaker 1>fifty books a year. That is a lot of books,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's a lot more books than most people read.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's also say that you will live for fifty more years.

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<v Speaker 1>That's probably pushing our luck for some of us, but hey,

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<v Speaker 1>we can hope. Fifty books a year for fifty more

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<v Speaker 1>years is books. If you keep up a substantial reading

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<v Speaker 1>pace for the rest of your life, you will only

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<v Speaker 1>read two thousand, five hundred more books. That is it now.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps that sounds depressing, but that is not my point.

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<v Speaker 1>My point is that it is worth thinking about exactly

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<v Speaker 1>which books you feel you must have in that it

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<v Speaker 1>can be worth not reading some other books in order

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure that contains what you wanted to contain.

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<v Speaker 1>I have certainly been thinking about that as I have

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<v Speaker 1>embarked on some big reading projects the past two years.

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<v Speaker 1>In two thousand twenty one, I read War and Peace,

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<v Speaker 1>reading one chapter a day for three hundred sixty one days.

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<v Speaker 1>It was an amazing book, and that was a very

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<v Speaker 1>doable pace, but it also meant I didn't have the

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<v Speaker 1>mental energy for other demanding, long novels. I am seeing

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<v Speaker 1>that this year, as well as I am reading through

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<v Speaker 1>all the works of Shakespeare. Since January one, I have

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<v Speaker 1>read Twelfth Night, the Three Parts of Henry the Sixth,

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<v Speaker 1>A Comedy of Errors, and The Taming of the Shrew.

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<v Speaker 1>I have not read any other fiction as I worked

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<v Speaker 1>to keep the characters and plots straight. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>that I will read much other fiction this year, but

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<v Speaker 1>so it goes. Tolstoy and Shakespeare have stood the test

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<v Speaker 1>of time, and I want those books to be in

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<v Speaker 1>my twenty five hundred remaining books. The opportunity cost might

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<v Speaker 1>be a hundred other books, but that is okay. The

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<v Speaker 1>problem would be if I didn't attempt Tolstoi or Shakespeare,

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<v Speaker 1>thinking oh, I'll get to it later. I can always

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<v Speaker 1>read something later, and maybe we can. But since I

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to get to the end of my life

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<v Speaker 1>and realize that I haven't read Twelfth Night, that argues

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<v Speaker 1>for doing it now rather than later. I'd encourage you

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<v Speaker 1>to think about this question too. What books definitely deserve

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<v Speaker 1>a place in your twenty five hundred books? Make a list?

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<v Speaker 1>What books have you always said you would like to read?

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<v Speaker 1>What books do you assume that you will have read

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<v Speaker 1>at some point. You're not going to have read them

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<v Speaker 1>unless you actually read them, so it's worth getting a

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<v Speaker 1>copy and getting started. Maybe you won't finish, Maybe we

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<v Speaker 1>will decide the book shouldn't be part of that, but

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<v Speaker 1>better to read the good stuff than not. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our top Hey everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p O D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart

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<v Speaker 1>media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled out with

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<v Speaker 1>all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. H. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows. Yea