I generally read somewhere around 200 books a year. One of the most common criticisms I see of people who get through a lot of books is that we aren’t reading deeply. We are just reading easy books that don’t challenge us. We are only reading fluff.
To that I say:
I think for a living. My entire working day is spent figuring out medical puzzles. When I come home, my brain wants to rest. I could scroll social media or watch TV. My preferred method of brain entertainment is reading.
My brain likes a story. If I try to give my brain a deep character analysis or a book that dives deeply into descriptions of the setting, it is going to wander off in search of something else to think about. There’s a reason I DNF a lot of books. If my brain doesn’t lock onto the story, it is all over. There are too many interesting books out there to read boring ones.
The husband used to be after me all the time because I don’t read the classics.
Please. I graduated from high school and college. I did my time in English classes analyzing those books. I feel absolutely no need to force myself into reading something just because some old dead guy wrote it and some other guy said it was good. We’re back to there being too many interesting books out there and more being written every day to focus on just a handful from the past.
Are they all fluff? Nope. I’d put Terry Pratchett’s books up against some philosophers for numbers of deep thoughts per page. They just happen to be said by witches and policemen in fantasy cities. One of the best critiques of religion I’ve ever read is Small Gods and it is about a tortoise.
Nonfiction doesn’t have to be a slog to get through either. It can be entertaining and you are learning as you go. Authors need to realize that they will reach more people if they make their books readable and fun instead of drudgery to get through. Reading isn’t something to be suffered though for the sake of learning.
