Choosing what to read

In the choice between changing ones mind and proving there’s no need to do so, most people get busy on the proof.
– John Kenneth Galbraith

I love to read. And there have been times when people find that out and decide I love to read everything. Which is not true. I have very discerning tastes.

I like books that have integrity. If the author invents a new world, the story needs to stay true to that world to the very end, even if it’s a messy end. It’s why I’ll never read another book by Michael Crichton. He can write a good beginning and middle, but then it’s like he gets tired of writing and just changes the rules so it all ends nice and neat. And that’s just sloppy writing.

My books don’t all have to be meaty. I’ll read some fluff. But I want it to be fancy fluff that’s worth the calories. I prefer a chocolate truffle to a tootsie roll for example. I don’t like books that insult my intelligence.

I’m also not a fan of redundancy. Just because you can write a 500 page book doesn’t mean you have a 500 page story. And that goes for simply retelling the same story over and over again to publish more books. Grisham is a good read once or twice, but then you start to notice that there are only two or three differences between all his books, and one of those differences is names.

On a superficial level – I like a book that will fit in my bag. I’ve read some large coffee table sized books and enjoyed them, but they are harder to get through because they are harder to stuff in a bag to read while standing in line at the customer service desk or sitting in a waiting room or on the bus.

There will always be more books to read than I have time for.