Well Read... What Does That Mean?

Back in May, the topic of being "well read" came up in three different conversations I found myself in and all of the conversations occurred within a seven to ten day time span.  While not completely unfathomable, I did find it highly unusual that this random topic kept coming up, especially given that the conversations were with various friends, co-workers, and family members, all of which come from different aspects of my life.

All of the conversations were intriguing and most everyone involved offered an opinion as to what he/she thought being "well read" meant.  Some stated that they thought it was based on the number of books a person has read; others stated that it was based on the diversity of the books.  Most, like me, stated that they had a vague notion of what being "well read" meant, but had no clear cut criteria.  

So, here is the question at hand.  If someone is said to be "well read," what exactly does that mean?  Is it based on the number of books that a person has read and if so, what is that magic number?  Or, is it based on the variety of books that a person has read?  If being well read is based on diversity, are there specific genres that must be read from and if so, what are those genres?  Is a specific number of genres required or, to muddy the waters even more, is there a specific number of books from within each genre that must be read?  

See how confusing this can be?

So, what are your thoughts on the subject?