How Many Books Exist in the World? (And How Long Would It Take To Read Them?)
So many books…so little time
The other night, I was up late, having just finished a chapter of a book I was reading*, when a question popped into my head: How many books exist in the world? And how long would it take to read them?
Then, as any person in their early-20s would do when struck with such a question, I went to Google in search of the answer.
The only thing is, the answer doesn’t come down to a simple Google search.
In 2010, Google decided to determine how many unique books there were in the world since the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press in 1440. Using data from libraries, ISBNs, and more, they determined that the number is 129,864,880.
But, that number doesn’t include everything.
The definition of a unique “novel” or book gets more complicated the harder you try to define it. The number doesn’t include serials or most self-published books. It does, however, include some duplicates. For example, various editions of Hamlet with different introductions or end notes.
If we take that number at face value, though, we’re still missing the last twelve years.
