On average, I read about 50 books a year. That sounds like a lot—until you do the math. If I were to live another 42 years (which is exactly how old I am now), that means I have time for just 2,100 more books in this lifetime. That number? It gives me instant literary anxiety. The kind where you start second-guessing every page you turn.

Because here’s the thing: when you realise your reading life is, in fact, finite, you start asking tough questions. Like: Should I keep reading this book that hasn’t sparked anything in me after the first 30 pages? Or do I gently close it, thank it for its time, and move on to another—one that might actually teach me something real?This is the inner tug-of-war of every book lover with limited shelf space and even more limited time. And yet, out of all the books I’ve read so far (and I’ve read quite a few), one stands above the rest.

The Little Prince.

I love this book. No, really. I adore it. To me, it’s not just a story—it’s a guide to life. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s poetic fable begins with an aviator crash-landing in the desert and encountering a young prince who’s fallen to Earth from a tiny asteroid, where he lived alone with a rose. A single rose, which made him utterly miserable and completely devoted all at once. Sound familiar?

The prince’s journey through different planets—and different people—turns out to be a gentle but profound exploration of human values, responsibility, friendship, loneliness, and the eternal battle between childhood wonder and adult logic. And all of it is told in language so simple it hurts a little. Because the truth, when it’s well told, is always simple.

Some facts about this story that might blow your mind:

• It’s the second most translated book in the world, after the Bible. One of the most widespread books in the world, it has been translated into three hundred and sixty-one languages, including Braille, selling nearly two million copies annually, with a total sales of over 200 million copies worldwide, and it has become one of the best-selling books ever published. Although published in the United States in both English and French, in Saint-Exupéry’s own homeland, it was published only after he mysteriously disappeared.
• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wasn’t just a writer. He was a pilot. A mail carrier in Africa and South America. A test flyer. And when he wasn’t writing with ink, he wrote with wings—until, one day in 1944, his plane vanished on a mission over the Mediterranean. He was never found. His identity bracelet was discovered decades later by a fisherman. The wreckage of his plane followed. But his story? That never disappeared. The opening of the book is inspired by the author’s own experience, who in 1935, during an attempt to set the record for the fastest journey between Paris and Saigon, crashed his plane in the desert, 125 miles outside Cairo, in the Libyan desert. Saint-Exupéry wrote what he knew.
• All the illustrations in The Little Prince, a book published in 1943, are painted in watercolor by Saint-Exupéry himself.
• The Little Prince’s rose, by the way? Most likely inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s wife, Consuelo—a fiery, stormy muse with whom he had a lifelong, long-distance love. Just like the prince, who tended to his rose, watered her, protected her, even after traveling far and wide and discovering other roses. As the fox tells him, “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” That line alone is worth a lifetime of reading.

And if you’re still wondering whether The Little Prince is worth your time?

Let me put it this way:
When I start panicking about my 2,100 books left, this is one I know I’ll read again. And again. And again.

Because sometimes, one little book can feel like a whole new planet.
And sometimes, you don’t need more books. You just need the right one.

You can read more about this book on thelittleprince.com, and you can download it for free as a PDF here.

The most beautiful quotes from The Little Prince:

• „Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”
• “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
• „Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready-made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends anymore.”
• „If you want to build a ship, don’t start by sending people for wood, nails, tools, string and other materials. Teach them first to long for the distant, endless sea.”
• „Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.”
• „People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said. “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.”
• „It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.”
• „The fox said: For me, you’re only a little boy, just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need for you. And you have no need for me, either. For you, I’m only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, we’ll need each other. You’ll be the only boy in the world for me. I’ll be the only fox in the world for you…”
• „Grown-ups love figures… When you tell them you’ve made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? ” Instead, they demand, “How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? ” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.”
• „Man discovers himself when he measures himself against the obstacle.”
• „Life only makes sense if you change it a little.”