This observation by Edward Pettit rings true:
There are so many books out there to choose from, but there is a finite number of books that I will be able to read in my all too-short, smoke-filled, hoagie-eating lifetime. I figure that every book I read means there is another book that I won’t get to read. So each one has to be worth the time it takes to read, worth the other book that I won’t get to read.