By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@acnpapers.com

Bookshelves and desk lamps brought serenity to Howard Berg. Not much else could growing up in the Brooklyn projects.

“I found the safest place in the neighborhood was the library,” he said. “To this day, I don’t think anyone’s ever felt threatened by gangs in a library.”

Gangs of bookworms, however, might feel intimidated by Berg’s uncanny ability to peruse a book. The McKinney resident is the world’s fastest reader.

He is listed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records for reading more than 25,000 words a minute. The average person reads 200 words a minute.
Read More