Man reads 3,599 books in 60 years and says classic is ‘pure torture’

Finding the time to read can often be a challenge with life’s many distractions, but for one man, reading was his entire existence. A social media user, @drawntobooks, revealed that a man named Dan Pelzer had “thousands of books on his reading list,” including “one that he called the worst”.

He even went so far as to label it as “pure torture”.

When Dan tragically passed away, he left behind an extraordinary legacy – a “60-year archive of his reading life”. In 1962, while serving in the Peace Corps in Nepal, Dan began to devour the small volunteer library of 150 books.

Upon returning home, he simply carried on, tirelessly working through all the books on his list.

From classics and memoirs to John Grisham novels, Dan read them all, diligently noting down the titles as he completed each one, much like someone would track their reading progress on Goodreads or StoryGraph, or perhaps in a physical reading journal.

Over the “many years” he dedicated to reading, he managed to consume over 80 books annually, marking him out as an exceptionally voracious reader.

Moreover, he sourced “almost all of them from his local library,” ensuring he didn’t have to spend a fortune on his passion.

At the end of his life, he left behind a 109-page list, boasting over 3,599 entries, and he “finished every single book” he started, regardless of whether he enjoyed it or not.

One book he didn’t take to was Ulysses, by James Joyce, published in 1920. The novel, dense and lengthy, narrates the experiences of three characters, Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom, on a single day in Dublin, June 16, 1904.

The modernist work was initially banned upon its release, including in the UK, due to its “obscene” content. However, the ban in the UK was lifted in 1936.

He described it as “the worst” and “pure torture,” indicating his clear dislike for the novel.

In the comments section, one person quipped: “So what you’re saying is that he basically wrote an entire book about all of the books he had read”.

Another joked that he’d “basically created his own Goodreads” before such a platform existed.

A woman shared: “I found a book that he read on my birthday, and now I’m reading it myself! It’s a unique feeling to know that this man was finishing this book on that exact day, maybe even at the same time. The book is The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann”.

One user revealed: “My local library shows how much money you’ve saved since using the library instead of buying books. They show it on your print out due slip. Boy I wish we’d seen his haha”.

A heartfelt tribute was shared by another, writing: “I’m so sorry for him. May he rest in peace. He will be missed. He was loved by everyone who knew him. Fly high”.