Here’s How Many Books You Can Expect to Read Before You Die

Life is too short to suffer through a book you just don't like. For proof of that, Literary Hub has done some (slightly morbid) calculations regarding how many books you'll be able to squeeze in during your remaining years on Earth.  

The table below breaks down the number of books you'll have time for if you maintain your current reading habits. Twenty-five-year-old women, for example, have 61 years left to live according to the Social Security Life Expectancy Calculator. Assuming they live that long, average readers in that group have 732 more books to read in their lifetimes. "Average" in this case means people who read 12 books per year. Lit Hub also crunched the numbers for voracious readers (50 books per year) and super readers (80 books per year). After pinpointing your maximum capacity, you may want to edit down your reading list to only include books you're genuinely excited about.

25 and female (61 years left)
Average reader: 732
Voracious reader: 3050
Super reader: 4880

25 and male (57 years left)
Average reader: 684
Voracious reader: 2850
Super reader: 4560

30 and female (56 years left)
Average reader: 672
Voracious reader: 2800
Super reader: 4480

30 and male (52 years left)
Average reader: 624
Voracious reader: 2600
Super reader: 4160

35 and female (51 years left)
Average reader: 612
Voracious reader: 2550
Super reader: 4080

35 and male (47 years left)
Average reader: 564
Voracious reader: 2350
Super reader: 3670

40 and female (45.5 years left)
Average reader: 546
Voracious reader: 2275
Super reader: 3640

40 and male (42 years left)
Average reader: 504
Voracious reader: 2100
Super reader: 3260

45 and female (40.5 years left)
Average reader: 486
Voracious reader: 2025
Super reader: 3240

45 and male (37 years left)
Average reader: 444
Voracious reader: 1850
Super reader: 2960

50 and female (35.5 years left)
Average reader: 426
Voracious reader: 1775
Super reader: 2840

50 and male (32 years left)
Average reader: 384
Voracious reader: 1600
Super reader: 2560

55 and female (31 years left)
Average reader: 372
Voracious reader: 1550
Super reader: 2480

55 and male (28 years left)
Average reader: 336
Voracious reader: 1400
Super reader: 2240

60 and female: 86 (26 years left)
Average reader: 312
Voracious reader: 1300
Super reader: 2080

60 and male (23 years left)
Average reader: 276
Voracious reader: 1150
Super reader: 1840

65 and female (22 years left)
Average reader: 264
Voracious reader: 1100
Super reader: 1760

65 and male (19 years left)
Average reader: 228
Voracious reader: 950
Super reader: 1520

70 and female (17.5 years left)
Average reader: 210
Voracious reader: 875
Super reader: 1400

70 and male (15 years left)
Average reader: 180
Voracious reader: 750
Super reader: 1200

75 and female (14 years left)
Average reader: 168
Voracious reader: 700
Super reader: 1120

75 and male (12 years left)
Average reader: 144
Voracious reader: 600
Super reader: 960

80 and female (10 years left)
Average reader: 120
Voracious reader: 500
Super reader: 800

80 and male (9 years left)
Average reader: 108
Voracious reader: 450
Super reader: 720

[h/t Literary Hub]