Benjamin Franklin read a lot.
A few excerpts from the text:
From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books.
He credits reading for some of his other skills:
My mind having been much more improv'd by reading than Keimer's, I suppose it was for that reason my conversation seem'd to be more valu'd.
He was friends with others who read a lot:
My chief acquaintances at this time were Charles Osborne, Joseph Watson, and James Ralph, all lovers of reading.
He even created a library system, one of the first of its kind in the Colonies:
The libraries were augmented by donations; reading became fashionable; and our people, having no publick amusements to divert their attention from study, became better acquainted with books, and in a few years were observ'd by strangers to be better instructed and more intelligent than people of the same rank generally are in other countries.
Reading was a priority, both to learn and for fun:
This library afforded me the means of improvement by constant study, for which I set apart an hour or two each day.
Reading was the only amusement I allow'd myself.
Benjamin Franklin's reading habits remind me of a quote by Charlie Munger:
In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time -- none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren (Buffett) reads -- at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out.
- Joe
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