A Case for Selective Reading

I did some quick figuring today, and it brought some realism to my reading aspirations. If I continue reading at my current pace, I will have read about 1500 books by the time I am 73. That's not counting children's books, booklets, long blog posts, etc. That's 1500 books from high school to 73; if I live that long, and have time to keep reading this much with a family and carrier.

I can understand 1500, it is not a large number. And I cannot do a whole lot about that number. It's a realistic limitation of my life. I know, I am slow reader by almost any count. So what do I do with that? Here are some implications I came up with:

1. This helps me economize my reading. With this number in mind it's much harder to justify reading junk. 
2. I shouldn't feel bad about not reading every good book. I simply cannot read them all, and have to be picky (even arbitrary). 
3. I ought to be more strategic with my reading. Currently I usually pick up whatever looks good at the moment. This figure is another reason to think strategically about how I develop my mind and what I read. 
4. I should feel no pressure to finish bad books--there's too many good ones. 
5. My reading life isn't a limitless escape, it's a limited recreation. I should enjoy it. 
6. I ought to soak the books I do read for all they are worth.