There are 10 levels in the mages guild.
It is possible to reach rank 10 "just" by reading everything in your alliance (so before turning veteran rank). That is pretty harsh, but it means that everything after that (two more allliances and craglorn) is leanway to getting max.
in other words...you will get max level mages guild with ease, not as easy as if you started at level 1, but still.
Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
Plenty of lore books to level up ... you only miss out if you read the lore books before getting the Mage Guild membership ( I dont even know if you can read a lore book without already being a Mage Guild member)
Everyone knows the phenomenon of trying to hold your breath underwater - how at first it's alright and you can handle it, and then as it gets closer and closer to the time when you must breathe, how urgent the need becomes, the lust and the hunger to breathe. And then the panic sets in when you begin to think that you won't be able to breathe - and finally, when you take in air and the anxiety subsides...that's what it's like to be a vampire and need blood.
Francis Ford Coppola - BS Dracula: The Film and the Legend