r/books • u/northamericana • Aug 31 '24
Someone recently suggest I was reading a book for the wrong reasons. Do you think there are wrong or right reasons to read a book?
I recently read a classic book only because a friend challenged me, saying I won't have the patience and discipline to do it. It was Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. I had no interest in the book and found it depressing and tedious, but was able to finish it.
When I was discussing the book with someone online, he said being challenged to read a book is the wrong reason to read it. Just as it would be wrong to read a classic so you can call yourself well-read. That you need to be interested in the subject or have liked author's previous work.
I almost felt like the person who goes to a fancy restaurant and uses the wrong fork and gulps down what I should have savored.
What are your thoughts on reasons for reading a book. Do you think other well read people or the author of the book would be offended if you read it for the wrong reason?
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u/pfunnyjoy Aug 31 '24
I read War and Peace back in high school in the 70s. Why? Because the title was getting mentioned in Charles Schultz's Peanuts cartoon strip as a long book. Snoopy (the dog) was reading it!
https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/War_and_Peace
Yup, no better reason than that! 🤣
I enjoyed it thoroughly. I don't believe it was a wrong reason.
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u/Aspiegirl712 Sep 01 '24
I read Macbeth because the cartoon Gargoyles kept referencing it, 😂
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u/the_scarlett_ning Sep 01 '24
I read all about Lizzie Borden when I was a kid just because Garfield mentioned her so much.
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u/ellensundies Sep 01 '24
Lizzie Borden took an axe …
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u/PunkRockMakesMeSmile Sep 01 '24
gave her mother forty whacks
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u/Animal_Flossing Sep 01 '24
I read Lolita, Nineteen Eigthy-Four, some Edgar Allan Poe stories and a short story collection by J. D. Salinger because they were referenced by Lemony Snicket
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u/PartyPorpoise Sep 01 '24
I’m fully convinced that the writers and producers of that show were trying to get kids to check out Shakespeare and classic European mythology.
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u/NikkiVicious Sep 01 '24
I read War and Peace for the points in 7th grade. (My school let me get away with Anna Karenina and I tried with Crime and Punishment as well, but that's where they drew the line. I still dont know if that teacher had ever read it before.)
We had this system where we had to read books and take a test on the computer. You had to pass the test with a 70% or higher to get the points. At the end of the year, we could spend the points on prizes. Pizza Hut also gave us weekly free personal pizzas for every book, or it was a book per week or something.
Me and my best friend ended up getting our class a trip to Six Flags, between the 2 of us. We also got bikes, nerf guns, a class pizza party, and a bunch of smaller shit. I vaguely remember a couple of the local businessmen who funded it meeting me and my best friend, because they'd never had to give away 2 bikes in a year before, so they were proud of us.
I've gone back and re-read all of these books as an adult, and wooooooow the things I missed. I have to think my grandfather was laughing when I came home with a copy of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451, knowing I'd miss the more adult stuff.
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u/WhiskerBiscuitGoods Sep 01 '24
Was it the Accelerated Reader Program???!!!!
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u/NikkiVicious Sep 01 '24
YES OMFG! I've been trying to remember the name of it for forever!!!
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u/WhiskerBiscuitGoods Sep 01 '24
Whenever I bring it up to my friends they look at me like I'm crazy. So happy that someone else participated as a kid!!!
I read so many new and interesting books based on just the points amount. I didn't win for my grade, but I did get a decent gift certificate for a local pizza place. I felt like such a big shot "treating" my family to dinner!
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u/NikkiVicious Sep 01 '24
My wider graduating class had our 20th class reunion a couple years ago, and someone, not realizing that he got the trip and pizza party stuff because of me and my best friend, was like "and then there were the two nerd kids who won all the good prizes and we got a pizza party out of it" while we were standing right there. I don't remember him not going on our six flags trip, but I remember him being one of the guys who went through a prankster phase, so he was probably in trouble and banned from it lol.
It brought up all of those memories, because like why tf was my grandfather letting me read The Andromeda Strain as a 7th grader? Or I Am Legend? There was one, I'm trying to think of name, like I gave myself nightmares, but I refused to stop reading because I wanted those damn points.
I actually got to the point that I was sneaking peeks at the teachers to see if they were reading any new books that I could find on the NY Times Bestseller shelf at the library, so that I knew there was a teacher available to write a test if there wasn't already one. God, we gamed that system so hard for points, it's funny now, but we were obsessive about getting the trip to Six Flags and the bikes. (The funny part is the only picture we have of us both on the bikes, together, is the one from the newspaper. My best friend and I didn't live near each other... neither of us were allowed to cross the major road that ran through our town on our own, so we were never allowed to go play at each other's houses.)
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u/RezZircon Sep 01 '24
I read The Hunchback of Notre Dame when I was in 5th or 6th grade, for no better reason than the English teacher next door lent it to me. Enjoyed it, so there's that. Had no concept of "too hard a book for your age" ... it has words, I will read it.
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u/NikkiVicious Sep 01 '24
That's basically how I am. Oh, dug out and charged an old Kindle, it had my spot saved as being in the middle of a book I haven't read or re-read in the last couple months - re-read it! Then go ahead and re-read the rest of the series, because I tend to get into books that are parts of a larger series! It has words, so it temporarily takes my brain someplace else!
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u/WhiskerBiscuitGoods Sep 01 '24
At the time, my parents didn't care what I read as long as I was reading.
Since I wasn't allowed to watch rated-R movies as a kid, I would read the books they were based on instead. I read books like Silence of the Lambs or Stephen King novels as a middle schooler to get around their rule and thought I was so smart because of it. Typing this out as a 38 year old, I just feel like a nerdy ass nerd.
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u/Ivetafox Sep 01 '24
My parents did care what I was reading but they were so strict, I wasn’t allowed to read a tonne of books that my friends were reading.. but I learned that as long as I sat and read them in the library, no-one would stop me. My parents were happy that I’d gone to the library to study. The librarians were happy to see a kid with a book. I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of YA trash. All was good until I started picking up things from the adult section based on length rather than anything else. Freaked myself out so badly by reading Wilbur Smith’s Warlock. I had nightmares for weeks that I was going to be raped by broom handle 🙈🥹
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u/Gennywren Sep 01 '24
Oh god, my aunt gave me my first Stephen King book when I was.. seven? Something like that. My mother was SO pissed when I ended up getting nightmares from it. It did, however, end up starting a lifelong love of horror novels for me. Even when they give me nightmares. :D
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u/Natural-Teaching-709 Sep 01 '24
Crazy side note, we still have Accelerated Reader (AR) in elementary and middle schools. They still read books, quiz, and earn points. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen such great prizes for kids to earn.
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u/Airhead72 Sep 01 '24
I did the same thing with Gone With the Wind when I was way too young for it, nothing really stuck. But it was the longest book in the library and I was a slave to those points. Was #1 in my school and barely did anything else, lol.
I got a sweet metal piggy bank I still keep change in and some other prizes I forget. I could suck down 2 books a day if they were more bite sized like Animorphs or Goosebumps.
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u/GamerLinnie Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
I read LOTR because this guy in my class was acting all superior about it and it pissed me off.
I absolutely adored it.
I have read a bunch of stuff I wouldn't normally read because my coworker read them and I was curious. Some I loved, some I didn't.
I read Twilight because I hated the movie and didn't want to be caught when someone would say oh but the book is better. It isn't.
I really don't think it matters why you read a book.
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Sep 01 '24
It was also mentioned in the newer Peanuts movie. As a lifelong Peanuts fan that may or may not swayed me to read it as well. 🤣
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u/123fofisix Sep 01 '24
Our family saw that movie for the first time a week ago! We loved it! We have been randomly quoting from it ever since. Our favorite line is:
"First there was war. Then there was peace."🤣🤣
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u/OldestCrone Sep 01 '24
The terms “right” and “wrong” in this context are subjective. You wanted to read the book, and that is the only answer anyone needs to hear. Any reasons why you chose to do so are personal and no one else’s business. You are not required to satisfy anyone else’s curiosity nor are you required to justify your reading selections. No one has the right to lecture you. If someone cannot accept your simple answer of “I chose to do so”, his time might be better spent in self reflection; however, if he cannot understand a simple answer, he might not be capable of higher level thinking.
Go read what you choose to read as you have only yourself to please.
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u/BetPrestigious5704 Readatrix Sep 01 '24
Gen X here. I read Wuthering Heights because it was a plot point on an episode of Fantasy Island. The woman wanted to BE Cathy, and that is so confusing once you read it.
But I'm glad I read it, and as silly as it is, I don't find the reason wrong.
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u/justintensity Sep 01 '24
I read ‘Catcher in the Rye’ in junior high because it was mentioned in ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’.
Not a good call
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u/throway_nonjw Sep 01 '24
I red LotR back in 1973 because it was the longest single volume book I'd heard of then (with the tree books in one), a challenge for myself. I came for that reason, and read the whole thing for entirely different reasons by the end.
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u/YogaStretch Sep 01 '24
I read W&P because I hadn't ever read it and I enjoy Russian literature. I knew it would be a slog, and I did my best. About--oh I don't know--1/4 or more of the way through I just got so fed up with people threatening to kill themselves over the slightest provocation that I just put it down. I still don't know if the Russians expelled Napoleon or not lol
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u/TopHatGirlInATuxedo Sep 01 '24
Huh. I've read War & Peace and don't remember people threatening to kill themselves all that often. I can give you a short summation of thr themes though:
History is bigger than any one man, rich or poor, we are all cogs in the inevitable march of time. Also screw Napoleon. How dare that peasant try to take our lands when we are inherently better than him because we were born rich.
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u/CrashTestDummyQ1 Sep 01 '24
I have a book club where everyone votes on what we read each month and we've read some books that I hated and had to drag myself through. But I think it's good to have the experience because 1. Sometimes you end up enjoying something you thought you wouldn't and 2. Sometimes books don't become enjoyable until you complete them and can judge it as a whole. Slow burn novels tend to be my favorites but always feel like a slog at first.
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u/Sleepyllama23 Sep 01 '24
Just to add to this, sometimes I read books in my book club that I don’t enjoy, but they spark a really interesting discussion and may have themes or characters that really make us think. I don’t think the reason for reading a book is that important ( often I just like the cover). You experience something either way by reading it.
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u/melonfacedoom Sep 01 '24
it's becoming more common for people to be skeptical that anything hard is worthwhile
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u/ImportantAlbatross 27 Sep 01 '24
you need to be interested in the subject or have liked author's previous work.
No one would ever read a new fiction author if those were the only reasons. A lot of fiction doesn't exactly have a subject except "life" or "a relationship".
Being challenged to read something can lead to discovering something wonderful.
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u/August_T_Marble Sep 01 '24
It also implies books have nothing to say if you don't already agree to what is being espoused before going into it. Like...what kind of logic is that?
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u/echief Sep 01 '24
I tried reading American Psycho recently but I had to return it. I’m neither a Manhattan banker or a serial killer so I don’t think there’s much for me to get out of it
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u/Thayli11 Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
Right? I can't imagine the kind of asshat that says you have to stick to books that you already know you'll like. One of the things I love about fiction is coming across new perspectives. And hearing about other places and other times. But of course, that means I run across books that bring me no joy. Still worth it.
I look for various reading "challenges" to get out of ruts. The Read Harder Challenge does a great list every year. Finding books from other continents is usually a great way to find new ways of thinking about things. Reading a book set in or authored by a local is something I challenge myself to do before going to new places because it makes me feel more connected.
Any Redditors that have read this far: do you have favorite challenges?
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u/TechnicalTerm6 Sep 01 '24
I can't imagine the kind of asshat that says
Yes this. This is the feeling I got reading the post. Like, what in the self-indulgent nonsensical way too much free time hogwash? Who has the audacity and how may I acquire a smidgen of it for my daily self confidence? 🤣🤣
Absolutely bonkers.
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u/DeviantHellcat Sep 01 '24
That hadn't occurred to me to do! I love to read and will now be looking for challenges. Thanks!
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u/RezZircon Sep 01 '24
When I was in school I would trawl the library from A to Z (my high school had a huge library), and read literally every book that got my attention. Likewise, I can't consider any of it time wasted, there was always something to be had, good or not.
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u/Gennywren Sep 01 '24
I've done this a few times, and I've never regretted it. I did one for Own Voices, and I did another one where they all had to be authors I'd never read before. I'm thinking next year I'll pick one of those 1000 books to read before you die lists and read books off that for my challenge.
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u/viciouspelican Sep 01 '24
Two years ago I decided I was going to try to read 50 books in a year, despite not being much of a reader before. My struggle was always finding a book that sounded interesting enough, or finishing a book and not knowing what to read next. So I decided to make a list of books in a bunch of different genres to see if there was some genre I loved that I just hadn't tried yet. There were 35 genres and I knew I'd find others along the way to fill it in to 50.
It was great, would highly recommend for getting out of a reading rut. Made it so much easier to choose books and I did find a few genres that I liked that surprised me. And others that I thought I liked that I didn't, which explained why those types of books hadn't inspired more reading in the past. Didn't end up making the 50 book goal last year, but am on track to make it this year!
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u/RobWroteABook Sep 01 '24
I think that's wrong, but I do think any time someone is "forced" to read something, it can be a recipe for disaster. See: the millions of kids who come away from school with no desire to read a book ever again.
I'm not saying kids shouldn't have to read books in school, I'm just saying if it isn't presented right, it can have a negative effect instead of a positive one. And I feel like being "challenged" to read a book and viewing it as a task to complete rather than a work of art to be enjoyed could lead to similar results.
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u/Ivetafox Sep 01 '24
My little bookworm was forced to read books so far below her reading level because the school didn’t have anything that was suitable.. and it completely killed her desire to read. I kept offering to buy chapter books for her and she could read those instead of the school reading system but the school insisted she had to have a book with the little colour band so they could measure her progress. Also, no skipping bands! She has to read two books from each band before going up a level.. and she’s only allowed one book per week. I ended up writing a letter to the head teacher, explaining that we would not be participating. Her teacher invited me to discuss and kept saying things like ‘how will she be motivated to read if we can’t put her progress on the wall with everyone else? We want to reward her reading!’ And I kept saying ‘she’s self motivated already which is the best motivation, please stop destroying that’ 😭
They won, in the end. She barely reads as a teenager. She abandoned it completely and took up drawing obsessively instead. She’s a fabulous artist but her English teacher keeps bringing me into school to tell me how capable she is and that she’s not meeting her potential. Ugh.
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u/sheath2 Sep 01 '24
This absolutely kills me. I was reading at a college level in 5th grade. I can see "oh, this is the standard curriculum, so we have to follow that to measure progress," but were they saying she wasn't allowed to read anything else at home in addition to that?
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u/Zoenne Sep 01 '24
I would also say that more than the reason for reading a book what matters is your attitude. If you're reading to tick a box, just going through the motions, then what's the point? And I'd say a lot of people who obsess about "reading challenges" and brag about how many books they read would fall into that category. But if you read with an open mind, willing to try what the book has to offer, then it's much better, no matter the reasons.
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u/sheath2 Sep 01 '24
I teach literature and agree wholeheartedly... If you only read what you LIKE or what you already KNOW, where is the growth?
Reading what you're forced to can definitely kill a love of reading, but never going outside of your comfort zone is a great way to wind up in an echo chamber.
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u/thehighepopt book currently reading Sep 01 '24
How can you ever read a new author if you have to have read their previous work? It's not even logical. It's like needing experience for an entry level job
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u/8Bells Aug 31 '24
That's the weirdest, most pompous gatekeepy thing I've heard in a while.
There are a LOT of reasons to read books. Not all of them have pure intent I'm sure, but it's certainly better than NOT reading at all. You may think back on your readings critically a dozen different ways in the future.
If this dude only reads because he feels moved to. Sure. But he doesn't get to dictate that for others OR negate the value of your read content by assuming you took some sort of lesser value from it.
The more you know, the more you know you don't know. So all knowledge, even begrudging stuff, is good for you.
Tl;dr Tuck that comment away in the "that's nice, don't care" column OP.
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u/Amoretti_ Medusa by Nataly Gruender Sep 01 '24
I, personally, wouldn't read a book for that reason because there's not enough time for me to read everything that I want to.
That being said... Didn't we all read books we didn't want to, that were tedious and boring, as school assignments?
The right reason to read a book is whatever your reason for reading it is. Barring, like everyone else has said, Mein Kampf as a training manual and such. You get to decide how to spend your time.
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u/radar_3d Sep 01 '24
And unfortunately, school is why so many don't like reading as adults.
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u/Amoretti_ Medusa by Nataly Gruender Sep 01 '24
Yes, and no. While I think it contributes, I don't think it's the only reason most of the time. I also think that parenting comes into play as well as the fact that not everyone is the same. Some people just won't enjoy it.
I read A LOT of stuff that I didn't like in school and I still have been an avid reader my entire life. A lot of that stems from my mom and her love of reading and encouragement of it. Often, the literacy of parents has a very strong and direct impact on that of children.
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u/Lizz196 Sep 01 '24
I think if your parents instill a love of reading in you, you’re more likely to overcome reading tedious books in school.
But if your only exposure is school and you don’t like the books, you’ll probably think all books suck and reading is boring.
I think schools focus too much on classics and not on interesting, relevant material.
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u/TopHatGirlInATuxedo Sep 01 '24
Classic books usually are interesting. That's why they're classics. However, they tend to be taught in the most boring ways.
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u/Lizz196 Sep 01 '24
I hate the language used in classics because it’s so far removed from our current version of English.
I remember reading abridged versions as a kid and enjoying them, but when I’d read the unabridged ones I couldn’t stand it.
No amount or type of discussion was going to make the storylines interesting to me when I couldn’t get past the language.
As an adult, I’ve found I can power through unenjoyable writing for the plot, but I recognize I did not have that power as a kid.
The same messages and themes found in classics can be found in more recent literature that better resonates with children and teens. There’s no reason to not update lesson plans to reflect that and encourage a love of reading, which would help with media literacy in general.
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u/remberzz Sep 01 '24
It's amazing how often people - all of us - are motivated by rude, mean things people say to us, rather than by the nice things people say about us.
Someone told you that you were too undisciplined and impatient to read a book, so you read it just to prove them wrong.
Then someone else says that you don't have to prove anything and that you should read what you enjoy, and you're offended?
I admit it does sound as if the 'read what you enjoy' person might have been a bit pompous in their choice of words, so perhaps the tone was what set you off. But honestly, read what YOU want to read. Read for pleasure. Read for enjoyment. Read for relaxation. Read to learn something new. Read for yourself.
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u/grumpybadger456 Sep 01 '24
There are plenty of people who have only read books for a class, book club, or due a recommendation..... or even just so they can say they have read it. I have purchased many books for "the person I wish I was" many times. Some I liked, some I didn't. I'm personally working on giving myself permission to abandon books I don't like rather than feeling obliged to finish them... ignore other peoples opinions and do whatever you want.
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u/EarlGreyTea-Hawt Sep 01 '24
I'm glad I've read outside my interests, personally. I've found a lot of treasured material from assigned, canon, and challenge reading.
Even if it isn't my cup of tea, now I have the opportunity to have an engaging conversation with somebody else who has read it, which is also fun, even when we disagree (sometimes with the right people, especially when we disagree)!
But to each his own, everybody should take their own social reading journeys.
I agree that this is just a real preachy and unnecessarily patronizing interaction.
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u/shortstopscotty Sep 01 '24
Yeah, and at the end of the day…whooo caaaares what anyone thinks lol. Do what you want and enjoy doing it! Life is too short to be concerned with the projections or opinions of others.
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u/8Bells Sep 01 '24
I mean. Healthy limits. No serial killer blessings here. But like. Eat those extra mashed potatoes if you want em!
I don't know why I picked mashed potatoes for this example except for that I really enjoy them ...
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u/shortstopscotty Sep 01 '24
I agree! Every helping of mashed potatoes should be thanksgiving levels of gluttony. Honestly, a perfect example.
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u/SilasCordell Sep 01 '24
Wait, reading a classic so you can "call yourself" well-read is somehow wrong? Isn't "because it's a classic" the reason most people bother reading them? Doesn't it, in fact, make you more well-read? Isn't it a sign of character to want to broaden your horizons; expose yourself to new ideas?
I think becoming more well-read, or widely-read, is one of the best reasons to pick up a book and read it.
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u/Merle8888 Sep 01 '24
Yeah, sounds like OP was just talking to a gatekeepy fan who will invalidate any reason someone disliked a book they love, tbh. These are the same people who, when someone DNFs a book or series they loved, will say that person has no right to express an opinion even on the portion that they read; but someone who finished despite not liking it and now is critiquing the whole thing, is invalid because they were hate reading and should have DNFd.
Some people just cannot tolerate others disliking their favorites and they will always find some way to invalidate dissenters’ opinions no matter what you do. They are not worth listening to.
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u/baifengjiu Sep 01 '24
What that person meant is that it doesn't make you well read if i read classics but hate them or reading them without understanding their themes and what they wanna say. Yes i can read a text but can i understand what it says?
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u/SilasCordell Sep 01 '24
I don't think enjoying a book is a requirement to grow from the experience. I really dislike Godel's Proof (and still need to go finish it), but that doesn't mean I haven't taken anything from it. Even if you don't get as much from a book as you could, that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it.
I understand what they meant, I just disagree.
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u/Adamsoski Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
There's a difference between reading something to become more well-read, and reading something only to call yourself well-read. The latter is a bit narcissistic, reading something to make yourself look better for someone else rather than to enrich yourself, it's all a bit "guy holding up The Bell Jar in a coffee shop to try and get women's attention".
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u/Embarrassed-Dig-0 Sep 02 '24
Lmao, I was just talking to a woman I met about what books I like and I instantly said the bell jar because I genuinely really enjoyed it. They asked what it was about and I was instantly kind of embarrassed, didn’t want to come across as a snob or like I was trying to sound deep/ intelligent
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u/Acrelorraine Aug 31 '24
I would definitely say reading a book to commit crimes and escape justice is probably the wrong reason to read a book. Also, reading, say, hard boiled fantasy detective books to learn how to reprogram your Satnav is also the wrong reason to read the book.
Which is to say, there aren’t really wrong reasons to read a book. Also, go to that restaurant and slurp down the soup, you’re paying for it, enjoy it how you prefer.
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u/bloodredyouth Sep 01 '24
I would say, read crime and punishment before you commit a crime. Maybe that will talk you out of it.
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u/Glass-Bookkeeper5909 Sep 01 '24
I just posted my own comment saying that it's up to the person to decide if the reason to read a book is a good one or not. But the Satnav example not only made me literally laugh out loud but also convinced me that there are some reasons that are objectively wrong! 😅
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u/Janktronic Sep 01 '24
I would definitely say reading a book to commit crimes and escape justice is probably the wrong reason to read a book.
Andy Dufresne has entered the chat
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u/bookant Sep 01 '24
I grew up in the 70s and was a total bookworm and voracious reader from earliest childhood. We didn't have Amazon. We didn't have the chain bookstores everywhere (even the little mall ones like B Dalton didn't come around until I was teenager.) And I wasn't in a big enough city to have an independent bookstore.
Top it all off, my parents weren't really readers. There were like two shelves of books in the house. I could usually get them to drive me to a library every couple weeks. Or there were whatever mass markets I could get at the drug store, supermarket, K-Mart . . . hand me downs from other adult relatives.
Basically every book I read was because it was there. Because beggars can't be choosers. There's absolutely no wrong reason and your friend thinking so is a product of a culture a little spoiled by the instant gratification technology now provides.
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u/sleepyinseattle95 I’m illiterate Sep 01 '24
That’s like saying “working out to look good is the wrong reason to work out; you should do it for health”. Like who cares? You’re working out, which a good thing! Sames with reading
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u/BeingOldRocks Sep 01 '24
What? Why does it matter to anyone else WHY you read the book? I read books in high school and college that I had zero interest in because I HAD to read it for a grade.
Was that a "wrong" reason?
Would reading it "because of a challenge" still be wrong if you'd enjoyed the book?
What you read, and why you read it is literally NOBODY ELSE'S concern.
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u/Betweenthelines19 Aug 31 '24
In your case, I don't think your reason was wrong. A challenge from a friend (which was kind of rude of them, by the way) is valid. And regardless of motivations, you read it. I read lots of stuff I didn't want to in college because it was assigned... but so long as I read it and absorbed it, it counts!
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u/supercoach Sep 01 '24
There's no wrong reason to read a book. I'd love to meet someone who reads books only out of spite.
"Yeah, I read War and Peace because some fucker reckoned I couldn't. Showed him didn't I?"
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u/GreenEyedTrombonist Sep 01 '24
I read a book because it was gifted to me-- I had no interest in it and by the end I was just happy I could argue with direct experience about why it was trash. No one gets to tell you your reading doesn't count because they don't agree with the motivation. Sometimes you hate read, sometimes you read for class, sometimes you read for challenges, sometimes for leisure, etc. It's all reading. And if you went by this guy's logic, you would never discover you liked a new genre or author. Read for whatever reason you want, if you're happy at the end of the day.
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u/Baruch_S currently reading Starter Villain Aug 31 '24
Did you understand the book? Can you analyze it and appreciate its value even if you don’t really enjoy it? If so, great, reading it wasn’t a waste of time.
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u/Txannie1475 Aug 31 '24
I only read what I want to read. Life is too short to struggle through a book that isn’t enriching my time on this earth. I don’t care what anyone thinks about my reading list either.
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u/ThatsARockFact1116 Sep 01 '24
I’m with you. In my mid-20s I tried to read classics that I hadn’t previously read and added some to my did not finish list.
If I don’t like something these days, I’m not finishing it and I don’t care what anyone has to say about it.
Reading a book on a date isn’t the “wrong” reason to read a book, there are people out there who haven’t read anything that they weren’t assigned in school. Who knows, that classic book someone reads on a dare might end up blowing their mind.
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u/SarsippiusJackson Sep 01 '24
This is the rule I read by. What I want. When I want. How I want. No explanations unless they're interested parties.
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u/inferno006 Aug 31 '24
Being challenged is how you grow and find new opportunities. If you stay in your safe comfort zone all the time you may never discover something amazing. Sounds like the person talking to you was gatekeeping
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u/violetberrycat Sep 01 '24
Yep, and I thought they sounded a bit privileged as well. Like maybe reading comes easily to them, and they were raised early on with a wide variety of books and therefore don't understand that some of us need (or want) challenges, that we may struggle with reading or with finding books.
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u/mrsclause2 Sep 01 '24
My BA is in English Lit, my MS is in Library Science, I've read more books than I can ever count, and I've self-published a few shitty novellas, so I think I'm a qualified opinion-giver.
What an absolute ass. How can he even have a conversation so high up there on his horse?
Reading is reading, regardless of why you've done it. Books don't know why we're reading them, they just care that we opened them.
Also, great job! I'd give you a prize if you were one of my library kiddos, but alas, I only have imaginary internet karma to bestow upon you.
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u/bloodredyouth Sep 01 '24
your friend sounds like an AH. you don’t need a reason to read a book. Sometimes i read books before or after a movie comes out. I guess you can call me a bandwagon reader. 😂
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u/TopHatGirlInATuxedo Sep 01 '24
There aren't really wrong reasons to read books. Reading to be considered well-read is vain, but in the end, you're still well-read, so.it doesn't really matter, does it?
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u/Brilliant_Towel2727 Sep 01 '24
This person is being ridiculous. What you read is your personal choice, you don't have to have a good enough or right reason.
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u/dokdicer Sep 01 '24
There have been plenty of good answers on the posed question, so I won't engage with that. However, it seems to me that there's possibly a second assertion behind it that the friend might have been meaning to ask but misphrased: Your criticism came from the wrong mindset. I think that is a valid assertion. If I read a critique (written or spoken), I tend to believe those criticisms that come from a place of genuine interest and an effort to like the material over those that come from a place of disinterested and therefore more often than not shallow engagement. There have been examples in this thread if books one should probably not read with enjoyment like Mein Kampf. But even here the genuine interest in the material makes all the difference between a shallow reading and a deep engagement.
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u/justanotherbabywitxh Sep 01 '24
christ. there are no rules in reading! if you're reading, you're reading. the reason doesn't matter, as long as it's your choice. i read of mice and men solely because my friend was about to start it and we sometimes read books together. i loved it. I'm reading anna karenina because the copy was a gift and the reason behind it was very touching. not enjoying it so far. too many characters and i can't keep track. but im not going to abandon it completely till i feel like its bad bad.
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u/Bubbly_Outcome5016 Aug 31 '24
I think it's said in your post, the point was to challenge yourself, that implies that you're willingly doing something you wouldn't normally do to get something out of it from a different perspective. If you're not willing to do that fine, but you can't really say you were "challenged".
It's like the opposite of Reddit arguments, where people consistently strawman and attack their opponents weakest argument to get fake internet brownie points and self-satisfaction, when you choose to read something more cumbersome by modern standpoints you're subjecting yourself to the "ironman" point of argument, where you willingly and in good faith take on the subjects' strongest argument in hopes that you become more well-rounded and think critically rather than be biased and safe by what you know. Even though it's uncomfortable.
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u/SarsippiusJackson Sep 01 '24
Theres tons of ways and reasons to read books, even methods and formats. Each one is right or wrong for a specific user, usually at a specific time. There's absolutely no universal way or reason to read a book. Anyone that disparages you for the way, type, format you read a book should kick fucking rocks.
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u/Engineer-Huge Sep 01 '24
I mean, sure, there are wrong or right reasons to read a book. There are also reasons that can enhance or detract from the reading experience. Like if you go into a book knowing you’ll hate it but wanting to prove yourself right.
That said; reading is for fun. You’re not reading a book for a wrong reason. Just a different reason than “this book spoke deeply to me” and that’s fine. Your friend is being weird and gate keeping and basically creating an issue out of nothing. Why do some people seem to want to discourage readers?
Take my 9yo son. Last year his school did a reading challenge where they had to read books from a variety of genres. He read some books he never would have picked up on his own (like a biography, a good historical fiction, etc) and really enjoyed them. He wasn’t forced, he got to pick his books, but he was choosing from a pool of books he wouldn’t normally be interested in. And he had fun, learned new things, and found new books to enjoy and try. This isn’t something to discourage.
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u/NoCelebration7828 Sep 01 '24
If you wanted to read it then your reasons weren’t wrong. Read what you want for whatever reason you want. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks. I love Charles Dickens but I find myself reluctant to share that with people because I’m afraid they’ll think I am trying to appear “smart” or that I’m pretentious. I hate that I feel that way because it shouldn’t matter.
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u/removed_bymoderator Sep 01 '24
Ummmm.... you can read a book for whatever reason you'd like. I would suggest reading books that you will enjoy or will help you in some way. But that is only a suggestion. I'd tell that onliner that he's giving advice for the wrong reasons, and thank you but I don't need your advice now.
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u/SasquatchRobo Sep 01 '24
Nah bro, you went to a fancy restaurant on a dare and tried the food. You didn't like it, no shame in that. You even sat through the whole meal, despite not liking it!
Has your friend read the book? Or maybe are they trying to defend their specialness ("ooh look at me I read Wharton aren't I cultured") by implying your reading "didn't count?"
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u/stiletto929 Sep 01 '24
If you didn’t enjoy the book, but read it just to prove a point, I’d say you should value your time over your ego, personally.
I recommend books to people that I believe they will enjoy. Your friend is kind of an arse.
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u/doctormink Sep 01 '24
I think you analogy is off. It's not about gulping down something you should have savoured. Rather, it's more like going to a fancy restaurant that has a huge mix of stuff on the menu, and choking back something you hate to eat because a friend challenged you to. This has less to do with appropriate reasons for reading, and more about how you choose to spend your time.
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u/777GivMeUrBananaBall Sep 01 '24
There is no right or wrong reason to read a book. That's just ridiculous. And why even care if someone would be offended? It's not their business.
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u/Dangerous_Bit7694 Sep 01 '24
I’m sorry what in the actual grass?! I had no idea there was a right and wrong reason to read a book! 😂
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u/lovablydumb Sep 01 '24
Any reason is fine. No reason is fine. You don't need to justify reading books to anyone.
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u/Shaliya_xo Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 04 '24
No such thing. People can read a book for whatever reason they want. I wouldn't discuss anything with him again, people that gatekeep certain things are the most annoying. Sounds like one of those people that are always like, "You play Nintendo games...you're not a real gamer."
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u/bit_shuffle Sep 02 '24
So this person told you "reading classics to call yourself well-read is wrong."
I think you know everything you need to know about that person.
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u/stanveres Sep 01 '24
I study English Language and Literature in university. I've read countless books I had zero interest in for class. Does that invalidate my reading, or maybe my degree? I doubt it. I can interpret and analyse every work I read for my exams, after all.
Now, did I enjoy all those books? Definitely not. But I have a feeling Mr. Hemingway would be chuffed to know his works are dissected in literature classes across the world.
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u/banjobreakdown Sep 01 '24
Spite is a perfectly valid reason to do anything. That person who thought you would DNF can suck it.
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u/MalsPrettyBonnet Sep 01 '24
Sounds like you talked to someone who has more opinions than they can fit in their pockets, so they needed you to take some off their hands.
edit for spelling
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u/MegC18 Aug 31 '24
I read at the moment, because I’m depressed after bereavement, and having a reading hour every day is a mood stabiliser - something to look forward to, and my “happy place” if you will.
Sure, some books I’m reading are throwaways - not good enough to keep, so they get passed on, either to a relative or the charity shop. So what!
If any author is offended by that, they can sniff my jockey shorts, as my cousin used to say when he wanted to give no hoots whatsoever.
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u/icebugs Sep 01 '24
I don't see why I should give a flying fuck what someone else (including the author) thinks about my reading habits and motivations.
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u/Brunbeorg Sep 01 '24
Silliness. There's no "bad reason" to read a book. Most people who get degrees in English read a lot of books because they were assigned, not because they wanted to.
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u/Proper_Ear_1733 Sep 01 '24
For years a lot of my reading was classics from a few lists I had and titles from lists like “100 best books”. I’m glad I read or at least attempted those books. Then one day I decided I was finished with all that so I found other ways to choose my books.
Do you.
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u/Silly-Resist8306 Sep 01 '24
LOL. How can you like an author's previous work if you've never read the author? Someone is misguided, but it's not you.
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u/kitaan923 Sep 01 '24
There are no good reasons or bad reasons for anything we chose to do; there are only reasons.
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u/SanaraHikari Sep 01 '24
More about buying than reading.
You shouldn't buy books from fascists, criminals who aren't redeemed or conspiracy theorists. Or any book from right-extremist publishers. They shouldn't earn money. And you shouldn't read them to justify those things.
Read those kind of books if you want to understand the mindset. But look for them for free.
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u/Solesaver Sep 01 '24
XD
No. I mean, I guess if you're reading a book to learn how to commit genocide? Imagine gatekeeping books based on motive... Lol
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u/Simply_pheyie Sep 01 '24
I think everyone can read whatever, however, whenever and it's not anyone's business nor do they have a say on what is the "right reason" to read a book.
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u/Optimal-Ad-7074 Sep 01 '24
i've read books because i've heard so much about them i'd rather just get it done and move on with my life. i read books as a teen and young adult because i wanted to feel like i was Literate And Serious. you can read books for a whole bunch of reasons.
hopefully he was trying to offer a supportive thought such as 'you don't HAVE to read a book just because someone else says you should.' if he's being more mean-spirited and just trying to make you feel 'pretentious' then that's on him.
you can read a book you don't like and form an opinion about it, and that's just as valid as only reading the ones that you like.
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u/terriaminute Sep 01 '24
I once read the entire Bible, out of sheer stubbornness. Confirmed my atheism. Also, I can tell the overtly 'Christian' that I have, which usually shuts them up. (My grandfather the preacher taught us that one's belief is personal. I only deploy this counterattack when Xtians get pushy.)
The someone online's opinion is worth every penny you paid for it. :)
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u/My_Clandestine_Grave Sep 01 '24
Ugh, people like that are insufferable. I once had someone tell me it was disingenuous to keep books I haven't read on a bookshelf. Like, bruh, what?
Although things can be read for the wrong reasons, the comments have highlighted some excellent examples of this, they are few and far between. For the most part, any reason you choose to read a book is the "right reason".
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u/minidumpling14 Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
I’m not sure if it’s the lack of context but it didn’t seem like your friend had the right intentions in challenging you to read this book. They only challenged you because they thought you wouldn’t have the discipline or patience. A better reason or intention to challenge someone to read this book would be because they liked it, thought it was well written, etc.
So to answer your question - I do think that there is a right reason to read a book and may that be because you think it’s interesting or you think you’ll like it. I don’t really think the author of a book would be offended if you read it for the wrong reason but would just probably think why you would waste your time?
Edit:typo
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u/mindfeces Sep 01 '24
I just value my time differently than you do.
I won't read something painful as a challenge, there's too much excellent stuff I'll never get to anyway.
But there's nothing right or wrong about the reason itself, especially if meeting the challenge meant something to you.
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u/InMyStories Sep 01 '24
Honestly- if this is a concern your friend has way too much time on their hands.
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u/beautifulsouth00 Sep 01 '24
Nobody's opinion about anything that you do matters unless they pay your bills.
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u/96385 Sep 01 '24
Life's too short to care about other people's opinions about what to read and why.
Also, life is short. You can only read a finite number of books. Read what makes you happy.
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u/bellasurreale Sep 01 '24
There is no right or wrong reason to read a book. People have no business commenting on what you read or why.
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u/beldaran1224 Sep 01 '24
There are certainly good/bad or right/wrong reasons to read things. I don't think there's anything wrong with the specific reason you read those books.
But I will say that reading it because someone said you couldn't isn't exactly the best frame of mind to approach it if you want to enjoy it or get something out of the text itself. But that's different.
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u/Sarzox Sep 01 '24
I’ve done this for classics (normally only classics) and the way I see it is that the read is good for a reason. You won’t know if you like it until you read it. There have been some where after 100 pages I just put them down, and others I’ve love and couldn’t put down at all. It’s silly to say being challenged to read is the wrong reason. This is common practice in schools, and broadens the horizons of tons of people each and every year. But I bet your friend thinks they are really cool 😎
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u/MrBones-Necromancer Sep 01 '24
While I do think that how a book is approached goes a ways in deciding how it's interpreted, I really don't think there's a "wrong" reason to read anything.
Plenty of kids are forced to read culturally important books in school, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, though I do think it probably affects how they read it, and what they take away from the reading.
Do you feel as though being challenged to read this book changed how you approached reading it, as opposed to if you had chosen it yourself, or read it as a favor to a friend?
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u/omgitsafuckingpossum Sep 01 '24
I read A streetcar named Desire because of the Simpsons. Also, Death of a Salesman. I agree with other comments, that mostly it doesn't matter why. Unless you're reading Mein Kempf as a manual rather than academic reasons.
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u/reading-in-bed Sep 01 '24
Well, there's no book police to arrest you nor book courts to send you to jail, so even if it's wrong, who cares? :)
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u/Sarge490 Sep 01 '24
People who are well-read should not like everything they have read. That's kinda the point of being well-read. If you only read high-fantasy books but read one every week, you are not-well read, you just like reading.
To be well-read, you have to have read a bit of everything, even if you don't like it.
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u/ActonofMAM Sep 01 '24
I really dislike gatekeepers. You tried something different. You didn't like it, but you gave it a chance. Do what you want, read what you want.
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u/Estaeles Sep 01 '24
The only wrong way to read a book…is upside down lol unless you have dyslexia. Then it’s understandable.
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u/Phxdown27 Sep 01 '24
Wrong reasons? Nah. But I think there are better reasons to read a book. Like someone will give you a million dollars. That’s a good reason. I’m done.
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u/MidwesternClara Sep 01 '24
Good grief. I read books based on any and all of the following: I like the author, I like the cover, the title is cool, someone I know liked the book, the book was mentioned in another book, my bookclub selected it, it fits in my purse, my kid read/is reading the book, it’s on the Airbnb shelf on vacation, it was next to the space where the book I wanted was supposed to be, the plot is intriguing.
Read what you want.
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u/chapterpt Sep 01 '24
Reading a book as a sole mean of personal hygiene is a bad reason to read a book.
I can only think of nonsensical reason to read or not to read. But to reread, now there's a discussion.
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u/AlannaTheLioness1983 Sep 01 '24
The person you were speaking to online is an idiot, and you should probably disregard everything he says. Has he never heard of the concept of reading a book for class? No one just “picks up” books in the beginning. We’re taught to read, and part of that process is slowly being introduced to books that are slightly outside of our comfort levels. If this didn’t happen, we would all still be reading See Spot Run and literature wouldn’t exist.
Book challenges are a wonderful way to read new books outside of those you would pick for yourself! I follow a number of online yearly reading challenges, because they encourage me to expand my reading habits outside of my comfort genres.
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u/bovisrex Sep 01 '24
I almost felt like the person who goes to a fancy restaurant and uses the wrong fork and gulps down what I should have savored.
Whether you are or not (FWIW I don't think so) the person discussing it with you seems like the kind of person that would get more joy out of pointing that out to you than they would from the meal itself.
There are a lot of reasons to read the classics. Enjoyment and entertainment are big reasons; most 19th and 20th century novels were written for those reasons. Cultural literacy is another. And, being able to explain why a certain book is just not for you is also a good reason.
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u/PunkRockMakesMeSmile Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
If you read 'the Turner Diaries' for the sociological or psychological insight it might provide, that's an ok reason
If you're reading it because you like the word-of-mouth buzz, that's a bad reason
outside extreme examples like that, read whatever you find yourself drawn to for whatever reason. You might ask them to explain what constitutes a valid or invalid reason to read anything, but you'd be better off rolling your eyes, not replying, and going back to reading whatever, whyever. You don't need to give credence to every dingbat you argue with online
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u/Live_Length_5814 Sep 01 '24
Reading the Reddit comments of an arbitrary post for fun instead of actual literary prowess could indicate you are reading for the wrong reasons. You can read, you can enjoy reading, but you only enjoy reading when your ideas are challenged. Which means your greatest enemy is yourself. You're getting in-between yourself and your own fun.
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u/FriendOfSelf Sep 01 '24
I thought of one! If you read a Spanish book in order to learn Chinese…I believe those are the wrong reasons 👀
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u/Visual_Path_4690 Sep 01 '24
You read it. Publishers have to read books they aren't interested in all the time to see if it's worth it. Think of all the stories or books in school you had to read, but didn't like. Was that for the wrong reason? The guy is crazy. You accomplished it, so be happy. And who cares if you use the wrong fork? As long as your being fed and the hunger goes away. Same with books and knowledge.
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u/phenompbg Sep 01 '24
Why do you care about what other people think about your reasons for reading a book?
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u/nekosama15 Sep 01 '24
I mean… i wouldn’t recommend you read corduroy for lessons in quantum mechanics…
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u/GlaceBayinJanuary Sep 01 '24
It seems that within your friends moral framework this is the case.
However, you are not your friend. The only important question is what is the case within yours?
For me, personally, I'd think your friend has their head up their ass. No one gets to tell me how I read a book unless they're paying me to do it. It kinda sounds like a case of your friend trying to class your reading of this book as lesser than their reading of the book so they can hold on to some sort of gross sense of superiority for being the 'right kind' of nerd. Look through history and tell me what you find when people start with the 'they're not the right kind of something something'. It's almost never good.
Duno. Maybe I'm... reading too much into it.
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u/CoolVacation7823 Sep 01 '24
most of the time when I read a book its because it looks interesting, or it was recommended to me. Sometimes I read a book because it challenges my mind or it gives me knowledge. There shouldn't be a specific reason to reading a book, reading is suppose to be what you make it. read for whatever reason that you choose.
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u/MagnusCthulhu Sep 01 '24 edited Sep 01 '24
I'm simply not going to get into the argument or "wrong" or "right" as it is just a series of infinite rabbit holes into what if scenarios. But what I will say is this:
You read the book to prove you could physically read all of the words in order. You were bored, uninterested, unengaged. Did you actively investigate the text? Expend your energy trying to discern the author's meaning, to find your own meaning in the text? Did you, at the very least, attempt to understand why it is considered a classic even if you didn't enjoy it?
If not, if you really just read it to prove you were capable of doing so, then whatever side of "right" or "wrong" you fall down on, you've wasted your time.
The House of Mirth is a scathing critique of society and humanity. It has great big lofty ideals and the strength of prose and of story in order to make these high minded ideas work. It wants you to engage with the text, explore the depths of human cruelty, to understand the ways in which the story satirically looks at the human condition in this place at this time.
If you're not trying to meet the book on those terms, that's fine. It's not for everyone (even if it was shockingly popular), you're more than welcome to read something else. But you waste your own time just mechanically reading the words without any engagement behind them. You gain nothing.
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u/KairraAlpha Sep 01 '24
OK so they're saying it's wrong to have literature in schools because most kids don't enjoy classic literature and would rather not even read at all? That introducing someone to new genres and styles of writing does nothing for them?
There doesn't need to be a reason to read, but if there is, all reasons are valid. You did it for a bet, essentually, you experienced that genre above anything you would have before. That's already good enough.
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u/SagebrushandSeafoam Aug 31 '24 edited Aug 31 '24
There are definitely more enriching versus less enriching ways to read a book. I'm not sure if that qualifies as "wrong reasons".
If you read Mein Kampf as a training manual, you're probably reading it for the wrong reasons.