Daliyah Marie Arana is only 9 years old but she has probably read more books than most people ever will. The fifth grader has gone through over 4,000 titles to date. She’s even shelved former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming.
Daliyah started reading by herself long before many of her peers. A favourite hobby of hers is collecting trivia and fun facts, she says.
She read her thousandth book at age 4. That was when her mother knew her daughter’s love for books was beyond her own scope. Daliyah’s mother reached out to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Daliyah was rewarded with a special tour with the Librarian of Congress herself.
“Dr. Carla [Hayden] was so nice,” says Daliyah. “She showed me the library and her office. There were so many books—about 10 million!”
Daliyah is clearly a savant and with over 4, 000 books under her belt at 9 we are sure she will quadruple her record come next summer.
“…. trust yourself with your choices,” says Daliyah of the most valuable lesson she learned from the former First Lady.
As for her personal reading list, the young bookworm states that she enjoys realistic fiction, citing the I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis as being a current favorite.
