It all started with an innocent question: how many words do the holy books contain? I wanted to see how much was needed to move the masses. As I was searching the World Wide Web for the answer, I added a few more books of renown to my list. And I was not going for petty stuff, either. It did not take me long to come up with my answers, some of which were estimates, all of which are indicated by many zeroes:

Bible - 807,361
Koran - 77,934
Mahabharata - 1,800,000
The Iliad - 358,020

While I was at it, I also wanted to see how many words do my favorite books contain. It took me a while, for they are not as famous the world over as the ones above. For good measure, I added my magnum opus with its current number of words, as well. And here is the list of my favorite reads:

À la recherche du temps perdu - 1,267,069
The Thousand Nights and One Night - 1,250,000
Residua - 3,037,700

Having completed my exercise, I felt relieved. No wonder the Koran moves the masses with less than eighty-thousand words. But I felt safe and sound with my own book: nobody can even read it, let alone be moved by it. Phew! The way I am going, it is hard to imagine that anyone will ever read it from cover to cover, as it were. This would take an entire lifetime. At any rate, I will keep adding words with abandon. Now I have a clear and lofty purpose, too. Moving the masses is not my cup of tea.

Addendum I (September 15, 2018)

Well, well. My magnum opus currently boasts of 3,609,200 words. As soon as I saw this number in my records, I thought of this piece. “Two Mahabharatas,” it crossed my mind. Indeed. By the time I breathe my last breath, there will be about four-million words to my Residua. Which is roughly fifty Korans or five bibles. Well beyond any human reader, that is. Hooray!

Addendum II (February 11, 2022)

Having thought of this particular piece, I just checked my writing record once again. Right now, there are 3,818,600 words to my Residua. “Three Prousts,” I mumbled under my breath as I shook my head in disbelief. Nevertheless, I was relieved that there was quite some way to go to four-million words, which I would still hope never to reach. Fingers crossed. The last few years I have been quite successful in curtailing my writing urge, though. And I hope to wrap up my book of books in foreseeable future. Enough is enough!