Why Do People Talk About How Many Books They’ve Read?

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There are positive and negative reasons for this, and sometimes those different reasons can be operating on the same person at the same time.

I include myself in this, of course, because I’m definitely one of those jerks who knows exactly how many books he’s read in his life (925, since I started counting), how many books he read last year (179), and how many he would like to read (millions!).

First the negative, because, although I don’t think it’s “wrong” or “impolite” to talk about how many books you’ve read, there are better and worse reasons for doing so. And certainly there are situations where you shouldn’t do it at all.

The negative reasons

1. Bragging / Trying to Impress Others. I mean, why do people talk about how much money they make? It’s usually to highlight something about themselves that’s above average, that might make other people feel worse about themselves, or that they hope will make other people like them or respect them more. Respect them more? Possibly. Like them more? This probably almost never works as well as the bragger thinks it will. Which brings me to my next point…
2. Social Stupidity. Bottom line: people who talk about how many books they’ve read (and recall that I am one of those people haha) often don’t realize…