Zeng Ziming, an 11-year-old primary school student in Pingshan, borrowed a total of 2,572 books from Pingshan Library in 2021, becoming a record breaker in the number of books borrowed from Shenzhen’s libraries by an individual last year, according to a report by Pingshan Media Center.

According to Zeng’s mother surnamed Xiao, about 500 books borrowed by Zeng were for his younger sister, and the other 2,000 books were for himself.

When asked how he could read so many books during a year, Zeng said that he would first spend a few minutes browsing a book, and would only continue to read if he found it interesting.

Xiao said that the boy started reading at 5 and his favorites include history-themed books and science fiction.

She also said that, as parents, she and her husband choose not to intervene in Xiao’s preference for books except when helping him check whether a book is appropriate for his age.